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Revision 1.29 by root, Tue Aug 4 23:16:57 2009 UTC vs.
Revision 1.76 by root, Mon Aug 31 18:45:05 2009 UTC

4 4
5=head1 SYNOPSIS 5=head1 SYNOPSIS
6 6
7 use AnyEvent::MP; 7 use AnyEvent::MP;
8 8
9 $NODE # contains this node's noderef 9 $NODE # contains this node's node ID
10 NODE # returns this node's noderef 10 NODE # returns this node's node ID
11 NODE $port # returns the noderef of the port
12 11
12 $SELF # receiving/own port id in rcv callbacks
13
14 # initialise the node so it can send/receive messages
15 configure;
16
17 # ports are message destinations
18
19 # sending messages
13 snd $port, type => data...; 20 snd $port, type => data...;
21 snd $port, @msg;
22 snd @msg_with_first_element_being_a_port;
14 23
15 $SELF # receiving/own port id in rcv callbacks 24 # creating/using ports, the simple way
25 my $simple_port = port { my @msg = @_ };
16 26
17 rcv $port, smartmatch => $cb->($port, @msg); 27 # creating/using ports, tagged message matching
18 28 my $port = port;
19 # examples:
20 rcv $port2, ping => sub { snd $_[0], "pong"; 0 }; 29 rcv $port, ping => sub { snd $_[0], "pong" };
21 rcv $port1, pong => sub { warn "pong received\n" }; 30 rcv $port, pong => sub { warn "pong received\n" };
22 snd $port2, ping => $port1;
23 31
24 # more, smarter, matches (_any_ is exported by this module) 32 # create a port on another node
25 rcv $port, [child_died => $pid] => sub { ... 33 my $port = spawn $node, $initfunc, @initdata;
26 rcv $port, [_any_, _any_, 3] => sub { .. $_[2] is 3 34
35 # monitoring
36 mon $port, $cb->(@msg) # callback is invoked on death
37 mon $port, $otherport # kill otherport on abnormal death
38 mon $port, $otherport, @msg # send message on death
39
40=head1 CURRENT STATUS
41
42 bin/aemp - stable.
43 AnyEvent::MP - stable API, should work.
44 AnyEvent::MP::Intro - epxlains most concepts.
45 AnyEvent::MP::Kernel - mostly stable.
46 AnyEvent::MP::Global - stable API, protocol not yet final.
47
48 stay tuned.
27 49
28=head1 DESCRIPTION 50=head1 DESCRIPTION
29 51
30This module (-family) implements a simple message passing framework. 52This module (-family) implements a simple message passing framework.
31 53
32Despite its simplicity, you can securely message other processes running 54Despite its simplicity, you can securely message other processes running
33on the same or other hosts. 55on the same or other hosts, and you can supervise entities remotely.
34 56
35For an introduction to this module family, see the L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro> 57For an introduction to this module family, see the L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro>
36manual page. 58manual page and the examples under F<eg/>.
37
38At the moment, this module family is severly broken and underdocumented,
39so do not use. This was uploaded mainly to reserve the CPAN namespace -
40stay tuned! The basic API should be finished, however.
41 59
42=head1 CONCEPTS 60=head1 CONCEPTS
43 61
44=over 4 62=over 4
45 63
46=item port 64=item port
47 65
48A port is something you can send messages to (with the C<snd> function). 66A port is something you can send messages to (with the C<snd> function).
49 67
50Some ports allow you to register C<rcv> handlers that can match specific 68Ports allow you to register C<rcv> handlers that can match all or just
51messages. All C<rcv> handlers will receive messages they match, messages 69some messages. Messages send to ports will not be queued, regardless of
52will not be queued. 70anything was listening for them or not.
53 71
54=item port id - C<noderef#portname> 72=item port ID - C<nodeid#portname>
55 73
56A port id is normaly the concatenation of a noderef, a hash-mark (C<#>) as 74A port ID is the concatenation of a node ID, a hash-mark (C<#>) as
57separator, and a port name (a printable string of unspecified format). An 75separator, and a port name (a printable string of unspecified format).
58exception is the the node port, whose ID is identical to it's node
59reference.
60 76
61=item node 77=item node
62 78
63A node is a single process containing at least one port - the node 79A node is a single process containing at least one port - the node port,
64port. You can send messages to node ports to find existing ports or to 80which enables nodes to manage each other remotely, and to create new
65create new ports, among other things. 81ports.
66 82
67Nodes are either private (single-process only), slaves (connected to a 83Nodes are either public (have one or more listening ports) or private
68master node only) or public nodes (connectable from unrelated nodes). 84(no listening ports). Private nodes cannot talk to other private nodes
85currently.
69 86
70=item noderef - C<host:port,host:port...>, C<id@noderef>, C<id> 87=item node ID - C<[a-za-Z0-9_\-.:]+>
71 88
72A node reference is a string that either simply identifies the node (for 89A node ID is a string that uniquely identifies the node within a
73private and slave nodes), or contains a recipe on how to reach a given 90network. Depending on the configuration used, node IDs can look like a
74node (for public nodes). 91hostname, a hostname and a port, or a random string. AnyEvent::MP itself
92doesn't interpret node IDs in any way.
75 93
76This recipe is simply a comma-separated list of C<address:port> pairs (for 94=item binds - C<ip:port>
77TCP/IP, other protocols might look different).
78 95
79Node references come in two flavours: resolved (containing only numerical 96Nodes can only talk to each other by creating some kind of connection to
80addresses) or unresolved (where hostnames are used instead of addresses). 97each other. To do this, nodes should listen on one or more local transport
98endpoints - binds. Currently, only standard C<ip:port> specifications can
99be used, which specify TCP ports to listen on.
81 100
82Before using an unresolved node reference in a message you first have to 101=item seeds - C<host:port>
83resolve it. 102
103When a node starts, it knows nothing about the network. To teach the node
104about the network it first has to contact some other node within the
105network. This node is called a seed.
106
107Seeds are transport endpoint(s) of as many nodes as one wants. Those nodes
108are expected to be long-running, and at least one of those should always
109be available. When nodes run out of connections (e.g. due to a network
110error), they try to re-establish connections to some seednodes again to
111join the network.
112
113Apart from being sued for seeding, seednodes are not special in any way -
114every public node can be a seednode.
84 115
85=back 116=back
86 117
87=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS 118=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS
88 119
90 121
91=cut 122=cut
92 123
93package AnyEvent::MP; 124package AnyEvent::MP;
94 125
95use AnyEvent::MP::Base; 126use AnyEvent::MP::Kernel;
96 127
97use common::sense; 128use common::sense;
98 129
99use Carp (); 130use Carp ();
100 131
101use AE (); 132use AE ();
102 133
103use base "Exporter"; 134use base "Exporter";
104 135
105our $VERSION = '0.1'; 136our $VERSION = $AnyEvent::MP::Kernel::VERSION;
137
106our @EXPORT = qw( 138our @EXPORT = qw(
107 NODE $NODE *SELF node_of _any_ 139 NODE $NODE *SELF node_of after
108 resolve_node 140 configure
109 become_slave become_public
110 snd rcv mon kil reg psub 141 snd rcv mon mon_guard kil reg psub spawn
111 port 142 port
112); 143);
113 144
114our $SELF; 145our $SELF;
115 146
119 kil $SELF, die => $msg; 150 kil $SELF, die => $msg;
120} 151}
121 152
122=item $thisnode = NODE / $NODE 153=item $thisnode = NODE / $NODE
123 154
124The C<NODE> function returns, and the C<$NODE> variable contains 155The C<NODE> function returns, and the C<$NODE> variable contains, the node
125the noderef of the local node. The value is initialised by a call 156ID of the node running in the current process. This value is initialised by
126to C<become_public> or C<become_slave>, after which all local port 157a call to C<configure>.
127identifiers become invalid.
128 158
129=item $noderef = node_of $portid 159=item $nodeid = node_of $port
130 160
131Extracts and returns the noderef from a portid or a noderef. 161Extracts and returns the node ID from a port ID or a node ID.
132 162
133=item $cv = resolve_node $noderef 163=item configure key => value...
134 164
135Takes an unresolved node reference that may contain hostnames and 165Before a node can talk to other nodes on the network (i.e. enter
136abbreviated IDs, resolves all of them and returns a resolved node 166"distributed mode") it has to configure itself - the minimum a node needs
137reference. 167to know is its own name, and optionally it should know the addresses of
168some other nodes in the network to discover other nodes.
138 169
139In addition to C<address:port> pairs allowed in resolved noderefs, the 170This function configures a node - it must be called exactly once (or
140following forms are supported: 171never) before calling other AnyEvent::MP functions.
141 172
142=over 4 173=over 4
143 174
144=item the empty string 175=item step 1, gathering configuration from profiles
145 176
146An empty-string component gets resolved as if the default port (4040) was 177The function first looks up a profile in the aemp configuration (see the
147specified. 178L<aemp> commandline utility). The profile name can be specified via the
179named C<profile> parameter. If it is missing, then the nodename (F<uname
180-n>) will be used as profile name.
148 181
149=item naked port numbers (e.g. C<1234>) 182The profile data is then gathered as follows:
150 183
151These are resolved by prepending the local nodename and a colon, to be 184First, all remaining key => value pairs (all of which are conviniently
152further resolved. 185undocumented at the moment) will be interpreted as configuration
186data. Then they will be overwritten by any values specified in the global
187default configuration (see the F<aemp> utility), then the chain of
188profiles chosen by the profile name (and any C<parent> attributes).
153 189
154=item hostnames (e.g. C<localhost:1234>, C<localhost>) 190That means that the values specified in the profile have highest priority
191and the values specified directly via C<configure> have lowest priority,
192and can only be used to specify defaults.
155 193
156These are resolved by using AnyEvent::DNS to resolve them, optionally 194If the profile specifies a node ID, then this will become the node ID of
157looking up SRV records for the C<aemp=4040> port, if no port was 195this process. If not, then the profile name will be used as node ID. The
158specified. 196special node ID of C<anon/> will be replaced by a random node ID.
197
198=item step 2, bind listener sockets
199
200The next step is to look up the binds in the profile, followed by binding
201aemp protocol listeners on all binds specified (it is possible and valid
202to have no binds, meaning that the node cannot be contacted form the
203outside. This means the node cannot talk to other nodes that also have no
204binds, but it can still talk to all "normal" nodes).
205
206If the profile does not specify a binds list, then a default of C<*> is
207used, meaning the node will bind on a dynamically-assigned port on every
208local IP address it finds.
209
210=item step 3, connect to seed nodes
211
212As the last step, the seeds list from the profile is passed to the
213L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> module, which will then use it to keep
214connectivity with at least one node at any point in time.
159 215
160=back 216=back
217
218Example: become a distributed node using the locla node name as profile.
219This should be the most common form of invocation for "daemon"-type nodes.
220
221 configure
222
223Example: become an anonymous node. This form is often used for commandline
224clients.
225
226 configure nodeid => "anon/";
227
228Example: configure a node using a profile called seed, which si suitable
229for a seed node as it binds on all local addresses on a fixed port (4040,
230customary for aemp).
231
232 # use the aemp commandline utility
233 # aemp profile seed nodeid anon/ binds '*:4040'
234
235 # then use it
236 configure profile => "seed";
237
238 # or simply use aemp from the shell again:
239 # aemp run profile seed
240
241 # or provide a nicer-to-remember nodeid
242 # aemp run profile seed nodeid "$(hostname)"
161 243
162=item $SELF 244=item $SELF
163 245
164Contains the current port id while executing C<rcv> callbacks or C<psub> 246Contains the current port id while executing C<rcv> callbacks or C<psub>
165blocks. 247blocks.
166 248
167=item SELF, %SELF, @SELF... 249=item *SELF, SELF, %SELF, @SELF...
168 250
169Due to some quirks in how perl exports variables, it is impossible to 251Due to some quirks in how perl exports variables, it is impossible to
170just export C<$SELF>, all the symbols called C<SELF> are exported by this 252just export C<$SELF>, all the symbols named C<SELF> are exported by this
171module, but only C<$SELF> is currently used. 253module, but only C<$SELF> is currently used.
172 254
173=item snd $portid, type => @data 255=item snd $port, type => @data
174 256
175=item snd $portid, @msg 257=item snd $port, @msg
176 258
177Send the given message to the given port ID, which can identify either 259Send the given message to the given port, which can identify either a
178a local or a remote port, and can be either a string or soemthignt hat 260local or a remote port, and must be a port ID.
179stringifies a sa port ID (such as a port object :).
180 261
181While the message can be about anything, it is highly recommended to use a 262While the message can be almost anything, it is highly recommended to
182string as first element (a portid, or some word that indicates a request 263use a string as first element (a port ID, or some word that indicates a
183type etc.). 264request type etc.) and to consist if only simple perl values (scalars,
265arrays, hashes) - if you think you need to pass an object, think again.
184 266
185The message data effectively becomes read-only after a call to this 267The message data logically becomes read-only after a call to this
186function: modifying any argument is not allowed and can cause many 268function: modifying any argument (or values referenced by them) is
187problems. 269forbidden, as there can be considerable time between the call to C<snd>
270and the time the message is actually being serialised - in fact, it might
271never be copied as within the same process it is simply handed to the
272receiving port.
188 273
189The type of data you can transfer depends on the transport protocol: when 274The type of data you can transfer depends on the transport protocol: when
190JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting 275JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting
191of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything 276of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything
192that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local 277that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local
193node, anything can be passed. 278node, anything can be passed. Best rely only on the common denominator of
279these.
194 280
195=item kil $portid[, @reason] 281=item $local_port = port
196 282
197Kill the specified port with the given C<@reason>. 283Create a new local port object and returns its port ID. Initially it has
284no callbacks set and will throw an error when it receives messages.
198 285
199If no C<@reason> is specified, then the port is killed "normally" (linked 286=item $local_port = port { my @msg = @_ }
200ports will not be kileld, or even notified).
201 287
202Otherwise, linked ports get killed with the same reason (second form of 288Creates a new local port, and returns its ID. Semantically the same as
203C<mon>, see below). 289creating a port and calling C<rcv $port, $callback> on it.
204 290
205Runtime errors while evaluating C<rcv> callbacks or inside C<psub> blocks 291The block will be called for every message received on the port, with the
206will be reported as reason C<< die => $@ >>. 292global variable C<$SELF> set to the port ID. Runtime errors will cause the
293port to be C<kil>ed. The message will be passed as-is, no extra argument
294(i.e. no port ID) will be passed to the callback.
207 295
208Transport/communication errors are reported as C<< transport_error => 296If you want to stop/destroy the port, simply C<kil> it:
209$message >>.
210 297
211=item $guard = mon $portid, $cb->(@reason) 298 my $port = port {
299 my @msg = @_;
300 ...
301 kil $SELF;
302 };
212 303
213=item $guard = mon $portid, $otherport 304=cut
214 305
215=item $guard = mon $portid, $otherport, @msg 306sub rcv($@);
216 307
308sub _kilme {
309 die "received message on port without callback";
310}
311
312sub port(;&) {
313 my $id = "$UNIQ." . $ID++;
314 my $port = "$NODE#$id";
315
316 rcv $port, shift || \&_kilme;
317
318 $port
319}
320
321=item rcv $local_port, $callback->(@msg)
322
323Replaces the default callback on the specified port. There is no way to
324remove the default callback: use C<sub { }> to disable it, or better
325C<kil> the port when it is no longer needed.
326
327The global C<$SELF> (exported by this module) contains C<$port> while
328executing the callback. Runtime errors during callback execution will
329result in the port being C<kil>ed.
330
331The default callback received all messages not matched by a more specific
332C<tag> match.
333
334=item rcv $local_port, tag => $callback->(@msg_without_tag), ...
335
336Register (or replace) callbacks to be called on messages starting with the
337given tag on the given port (and return the port), or unregister it (when
338C<$callback> is C<$undef> or missing). There can only be one callback
339registered for each tag.
340
341The original message will be passed to the callback, after the first
342element (the tag) has been removed. The callback will use the same
343environment as the default callback (see above).
344
345Example: create a port and bind receivers on it in one go.
346
347 my $port = rcv port,
348 msg1 => sub { ... },
349 msg2 => sub { ... },
350 ;
351
352Example: create a port, bind receivers and send it in a message elsewhere
353in one go:
354
355 snd $otherport, reply =>
356 rcv port,
357 msg1 => sub { ... },
358 ...
359 ;
360
361Example: temporarily register a rcv callback for a tag matching some port
362(e.g. for a rpc reply) and unregister it after a message was received.
363
364 rcv $port, $otherport => sub {
365 my @reply = @_;
366
367 rcv $SELF, $otherport;
368 };
369
370=cut
371
372sub rcv($@) {
373 my $port = shift;
374 my ($nodeid, $portid) = split /#/, $port, 2;
375
376 $NODE{$nodeid} == $NODE{""}
377 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on local ports, caught";
378
379 while (@_) {
380 if (ref $_[0]) {
381 if (my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid}) {
382 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
383 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
384
385 $self->[2] = shift;
386 } else {
387 my $cb = shift;
388 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
389 local $SELF = $port;
390 eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
391 };
392 }
393 } elsif (defined $_[0]) {
394 my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid} ||= do {
395 my $self = bless [$PORT{$port} || sub { }, { }, $port], "AnyEvent::MP::Port";
396
397 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
398 local $SELF = $port;
399
400 if (my $cb = $self->[1]{$_[0]}) {
401 shift;
402 eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
403 } else {
404 &{ $self->[0] };
405 }
406 };
407
408 $self
409 };
410
411 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
412 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
413
414 my ($tag, $cb) = splice @_, 0, 2;
415
416 if (defined $cb) {
417 $self->[1]{$tag} = $cb;
418 } else {
419 delete $self->[1]{$tag};
420 }
421 }
422 }
423
424 $port
425}
426
427=item $closure = psub { BLOCK }
428
429Remembers C<$SELF> and creates a closure out of the BLOCK. When the
430closure is executed, sets up the environment in the same way as in C<rcv>
431callbacks, i.e. runtime errors will cause the port to get C<kil>ed.
432
433This is useful when you register callbacks from C<rcv> callbacks:
434
435 rcv delayed_reply => sub {
436 my ($delay, @reply) = @_;
437 my $timer = AE::timer $delay, 0, psub {
438 snd @reply, $SELF;
439 };
440 };
441
442=cut
443
444sub psub(&) {
445 my $cb = shift;
446
447 my $port = $SELF
448 or Carp::croak "psub can only be called from within rcv or psub callbacks, not";
449
450 sub {
451 local $SELF = $port;
452
453 if (wantarray) {
454 my @res = eval { &$cb };
455 _self_die if $@;
456 @res
457 } else {
458 my $res = eval { &$cb };
459 _self_die if $@;
460 $res
461 }
462 }
463}
464
465=item $guard = mon $port, $cb->(@reason) # call $cb when $port dies
466
467=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport # kill $rcvport when $port dies
468
469=item $guard = mon $port # kill $SELF when $port dies
470
471=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport, @msg # send a message when $port dies
472
217Monitor the given port and do something when the port is killed. 473Monitor the given port and do something when the port is killed or
474messages to it were lost, and optionally return a guard that can be used
475to stop monitoring again.
218 476
477C<mon> effectively guarantees that, in the absence of hardware failures,
478after starting the monitor, either all messages sent to the port will
479arrive, or the monitoring action will be invoked after possible message
480loss has been detected. No messages will be lost "in between" (after
481the first lost message no further messages will be received by the
482port). After the monitoring action was invoked, further messages might get
483delivered again.
484
485Note that monitoring-actions are one-shot: once messages are lost (and a
486monitoring alert was raised), they are removed and will not trigger again.
487
219In the first form, the callback is simply called with any number 488In the first form (callback), the callback is simply called with any
220of C<@reason> elements (no @reason means that the port was deleted 489number of C<@reason> elements (no @reason means that the port was deleted
221"normally"). Note also that I<< the callback B<must> never die >>, so use 490"normally"). Note also that I<< the callback B<must> never die >>, so use
222C<eval> if unsure. 491C<eval> if unsure.
223 492
224In the second form, the other port will be C<kil>'ed with C<@reason>, iff 493In the second form (another port given), the other port (C<$rcvport>)
225a @reason was specified, i.e. on "normal" kils nothing happens, while 494will be C<kil>'ed with C<@reason>, iff a @reason was specified, i.e. on
226under all other conditions, the other port is killed with the same reason. 495"normal" kils nothing happens, while under all other conditions, the other
496port is killed with the same reason.
227 497
498The third form (kill self) is the same as the second form, except that
499C<$rvport> defaults to C<$SELF>.
500
228In the last form, a message of the form C<@msg, @reason> will be C<snd>. 501In the last form (message), a message of the form C<@msg, @reason> will be
502C<snd>.
503
504As a rule of thumb, monitoring requests should always monitor a port from
505a local port (or callback). The reason is that kill messages might get
506lost, just like any other message. Another less obvious reason is that
507even monitoring requests can get lost (for exmaple, when the connection
508to the other node goes down permanently). When monitoring a port locally
509these problems do not exist.
229 510
230Example: call a given callback when C<$port> is killed. 511Example: call a given callback when C<$port> is killed.
231 512
232 mon $port, sub { warn "port died because of <@_>\n" }; 513 mon $port, sub { warn "port died because of <@_>\n" };
233 514
234Example: kill ourselves when C<$port> is killed abnormally. 515Example: kill ourselves when C<$port> is killed abnormally.
235 516
236 mon $port, $self; 517 mon $port;
237 518
238Example: send us a restart message another C<$port> is killed. 519Example: send us a restart message when another C<$port> is killed.
239 520
240 mon $port, $self => "restart"; 521 mon $port, $self => "restart";
241 522
242=cut 523=cut
243 524
244sub mon { 525sub mon {
245 my ($noderef, $port, $cb) = ((split /#/, shift, 2), shift); 526 my ($nodeid, $port) = split /#/, shift, 2;
246 527
247 my $node = $NODE{$noderef} || add_node $noderef; 528 my $node = $NODE{$nodeid} || add_node $nodeid;
248 529
249 #TODO: ports must not be references 530 my $cb = @_ ? shift : $SELF || Carp::croak 'mon: called with one argument only, but $SELF not set,';
250 if (!ref $cb or "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $cb) { 531
532 unless (ref $cb) {
251 if (@_) { 533 if (@_) {
252 # send a kill info message 534 # send a kill info message
253 my (@msg) = ($cb, @_); 535 my (@msg) = ($cb, @_);
254 $cb = sub { snd @msg, @_ }; 536 $cb = sub { snd @msg, @_ };
255 } else { 537 } else {
271is killed, the references will be freed. 553is killed, the references will be freed.
272 554
273Optionally returns a guard that will stop the monitoring. 555Optionally returns a guard that will stop the monitoring.
274 556
275This function is useful when you create e.g. timers or other watchers and 557This function is useful when you create e.g. timers or other watchers and
276want to free them when the port gets killed: 558want to free them when the port gets killed (note the use of C<psub>):
277 559
278 $port->rcv (start => sub { 560 $port->rcv (start => sub {
279 my $timer; $timer = mon_guard $port, AE::timer 1, 1, sub { 561 my $timer; $timer = mon_guard $port, AE::timer 1, 1, psub {
280 undef $timer if 0.9 < rand; 562 undef $timer if 0.9 < rand;
281 }); 563 });
282 }); 564 });
283 565
284=cut 566=cut
285 567
286sub mon_guard { 568sub mon_guard {
287 my ($port, @refs) = @_; 569 my ($port, @refs) = @_;
288 570
571 #TODO: mon-less form?
572
289 mon $port, sub { 0 && @refs } 573 mon $port, sub { 0 && @refs }
290} 574}
291 575
292=item lnk $port1, $port2 576=item kil $port[, @reason]
293 577
294Link two ports. This is simply a shorthand for: 578Kill the specified port with the given C<@reason>.
295 579
296 mon $port1, $port2; 580If no C<@reason> is specified, then the port is killed "normally" (ports
297 mon $port2, $port1; 581monitoring other ports will not necessarily die because a port dies
582"normally").
298 583
299It means that if either one is killed abnormally, the other one gets 584Otherwise, linked ports get killed with the same reason (second form of
300killed as well. 585C<mon>, see above).
301 586
302=item $local_port = port 587Runtime errors while evaluating C<rcv> callbacks or inside C<psub> blocks
588will be reported as reason C<< die => $@ >>.
303 589
304Create a new local port object that supports message matching. 590Transport/communication errors are reported as C<< transport_error =>
591$message >>.
305 592
306=item $portid = port { my @msg = @_; $finished }
307
308Creates a "mini port", that is, a very lightweight port without any
309pattern matching behind it, and returns its ID.
310
311The block will be called for every message received on the port. When the
312callback returns a true value its job is considered "done" and the port
313will be destroyed. Otherwise it will stay alive.
314
315The message will be passed as-is, no extra argument (i.e. no port id) will
316be passed to the callback.
317
318If you need the local port id in the callback, this works nicely:
319
320 my $port; $port = miniport {
321 snd $otherport, reply => $port;
322 };
323
324=cut 593=cut
325 594
326sub port(;&) { 595=item $port = spawn $node, $initfunc[, @initdata]
327 my $id = "$UNIQ." . $ID++;
328 my $port = "$NODE#$id";
329 596
330 if (@_) { 597Creates a port on the node C<$node> (which can also be a port ID, in which
331 my $cb = shift; 598case it's the node where that port resides).
332 $PORT{$id} = sub { 599
333 local $SELF = $port; 600The port ID of the newly created port is returned immediately, and it is
334 eval { 601possible to immediately start sending messages or to monitor the port.
335 &$cb 602
336 and kil $id; 603After the port has been created, the init function is called on the remote
604node, in the same context as a C<rcv> callback. This function must be a
605fully-qualified function name (e.g. C<MyApp::Chat::Server::init>). To
606specify a function in the main program, use C<::name>.
607
608If the function doesn't exist, then the node tries to C<require>
609the package, then the package above the package and so on (e.g.
610C<MyApp::Chat::Server>, C<MyApp::Chat>, C<MyApp>) until the function
611exists or it runs out of package names.
612
613The init function is then called with the newly-created port as context
614object (C<$SELF>) and the C<@initdata> values as arguments.
615
616A common idiom is to pass a local port, immediately monitor the spawned
617port, and in the remote init function, immediately monitor the passed
618local port. This two-way monitoring ensures that both ports get cleaned up
619when there is a problem.
620
621Example: spawn a chat server port on C<$othernode>.
622
623 # this node, executed from within a port context:
624 my $server = spawn $othernode, "MyApp::Chat::Server::connect", $SELF;
625 mon $server;
626
627 # init function on C<$othernode>
628 sub connect {
629 my ($srcport) = @_;
630
631 mon $srcport;
632
633 rcv $SELF, sub {
337 }; 634 ...
338 _self_die if $@;
339 };
340 } else {
341 my $self = bless {
342 id => "$NODE#$id",
343 }, "AnyEvent::MP::Port";
344
345 $PORT_DATA{$id} = $self;
346 $PORT{$id} = sub {
347 local $SELF = $port;
348
349 eval {
350 for (@{ $self->{rc0}{$_[0]} }) {
351 $_ && &{$_->[0]}
352 && undef $_;
353 }
354
355 for (@{ $self->{rcv}{$_[0]} }) {
356 $_ && [@_[1 .. @{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1]
357 && &{$_->[0]}
358 && undef $_;
359 }
360
361 for (@{ $self->{any} }) {
362 $_ && [@_[0 .. $#{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1]
363 && &{$_->[0]}
364 && undef $_;
365 }
366 };
367 _self_die if $@;
368 }; 635 };
369 } 636 }
370 637
371 $port
372}
373
374=item reg $portid, $name
375
376Registers the given port under the name C<$name>. If the name already
377exists it is replaced.
378
379A port can only be registered under one well known name.
380
381A port automatically becomes unregistered when it is killed.
382
383=cut 638=cut
384 639
385sub reg(@) { 640sub _spawn {
386 my ($portid, $name) = @_; 641 my $port = shift;
642 my $init = shift;
387 643
388 $REG{$name} = $portid; 644 local $SELF = "$NODE#$port";
389} 645 eval {
390 646 &{ load_func $init }
391=item rcv $portid, tagstring => $callback->(@msg), ...
392
393=item rcv $portid, $smartmatch => $callback->(@msg), ...
394
395=item rcv $portid, [$smartmatch...] => $callback->(@msg), ...
396
397Register callbacks to be called on matching messages on the given port.
398
399The callback has to return a true value when its work is done, after
400which is will be removed, or a false value in which case it will stay
401registered.
402
403The global C<$SELF> (exported by this module) contains C<$portid> while
404executing the callback.
405
406Runtime errors wdurign callback execution will result in the port being
407C<kil>ed.
408
409If the match is an array reference, then it will be matched against the
410first elements of the message, otherwise only the first element is being
411matched.
412
413Any element in the match that is specified as C<_any_> (a function
414exported by this module) matches any single element of the message.
415
416While not required, it is highly recommended that the first matching
417element is a string identifying the message. The one-string-only match is
418also the most efficient match (by far).
419
420=cut
421
422sub rcv($@) {
423 my ($noderef, $port) = split /#/, shift, 2;
424
425 ($NODE{$noderef} || add_node $noderef) == $NODE{""}
426 or Carp::croak "$noderef#$port: rcv can only be called on local ports, caught";
427
428 my $self = $PORT_DATA{$port}
429 or Carp::croak "$noderef#$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
430
431 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
432 or Carp::croak "$noderef#$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
433
434 while (@_) {
435 my ($match, $cb) = splice @_, 0, 2;
436
437 if (!ref $match) {
438 push @{ $self->{rc0}{$match} }, [$cb];
439 } elsif (("ARRAY" eq ref $match && !ref $match->[0])) {
440 my ($type, @match) = @$match;
441 @match
442 ? push @{ $self->{rcv}{$match->[0]} }, [$cb, \@match]
443 : push @{ $self->{rc0}{$match->[0]} }, [$cb];
444 } else {
445 push @{ $self->{any} }, [$cb, $match];
446 }
447 }
448}
449
450=item $closure = psub { BLOCK }
451
452Remembers C<$SELF> and creates a closure out of the BLOCK. When the
453closure is executed, sets up the environment in the same way as in C<rcv>
454callbacks, i.e. runtime errors will cause the port to get C<kil>ed.
455
456This is useful when you register callbacks from C<rcv> callbacks:
457
458 rcv delayed_reply => sub {
459 my ($delay, @reply) = @_;
460 my $timer = AE::timer $delay, 0, psub {
461 snd @reply, $SELF;
462 };
463 }; 647 };
464
465=cut
466
467sub psub(&) {
468 my $cb = shift;
469
470 my $port = $SELF
471 or Carp::croak "psub can only be called from within rcv or psub callbacks, not";
472
473 sub {
474 local $SELF = $port;
475
476 if (wantarray) {
477 my @res = eval { &$cb };
478 _self_die if $@; 648 _self_die if $@;
479 @res 649}
480 } else { 650
481 my $res = eval { &$cb }; 651sub spawn(@) {
482 _self_die if $@; 652 my ($nodeid, undef) = split /#/, shift, 2;
483 $res 653
484 } 654 my $id = "$RUNIQ." . $ID++;
655
656 $_[0] =~ /::/
657 or Carp::croak "spawn init function must be a fully-qualified name, caught";
658
659 snd_to_func $nodeid, "AnyEvent::MP::_spawn" => $id, @_;
660
661 "$nodeid#$id"
662}
663
664=item after $timeout, @msg
665
666=item after $timeout, $callback
667
668Either sends the given message, or call the given callback, after the
669specified number of seconds.
670
671This is simply a utility function that comes in handy at times - the
672AnyEvent::MP author is not convinced of the wisdom of having it, though,
673so it may go away in the future.
674
675=cut
676
677sub after($@) {
678 my ($timeout, @action) = @_;
679
680 my $t; $t = AE::timer $timeout, 0, sub {
681 undef $t;
682 ref $action[0]
683 ? $action[0]()
684 : snd @action;
485 } 685 };
486} 686}
487 687
488=back 688=back
489 689
490=head1 FUNCTIONS FOR NODES 690=head1 AnyEvent::MP vs. Distributed Erlang
691
692AnyEvent::MP got lots of its ideas from distributed Erlang (Erlang node
693== aemp node, Erlang process == aemp port), so many of the documents and
694programming techniques employed by Erlang apply to AnyEvent::MP. Here is a
695sample:
696
697 http://www.Erlang.se/doc/programming_rules.shtml
698 http://Erlang.org/doc/getting_started/part_frame.html # chapters 3 and 4
699 http://Erlang.org/download/Erlang-book-part1.pdf # chapters 5 and 6
700 http://Erlang.org/download/armstrong_thesis_2003.pdf # chapters 4 and 5
701
702Despite the similarities, there are also some important differences:
491 703
492=over 4 704=over 4
493 705
494=item become_public $noderef 706=item * Node IDs are arbitrary strings in AEMP.
495 707
496Tells the node to become a public node, i.e. reachable from other nodes.
497
498The first argument is the (unresolved) node reference of the local node
499(if missing then the empty string is used).
500
501It is quite common to not specify anything, in which case the local node
502tries to listen on the default port, or to only specify a port number, in
503which case AnyEvent::MP tries to guess the local addresses.
504
505=cut
506
507=back
508
509=head1 NODE MESSAGES
510
511Nodes understand the following messages sent to them. Many of them take
512arguments called C<@reply>, which will simply be used to compose a reply
513message - C<$reply[0]> is the port to reply to, C<$reply[1]> the type and
514the remaining arguments are simply the message data.
515
516While other messages exist, they are not public and subject to change.
517
518=over 4
519
520=cut
521
522=item lookup => $name, @reply
523
524Replies with the port ID of the specified well-known port, or C<undef>.
525
526=item devnull => ...
527
528Generic data sink/CPU heat conversion.
529
530=item relay => $port, @msg
531
532Simply forwards the message to the given port.
533
534=item eval => $string[ @reply]
535
536Evaluates the given string. If C<@reply> is given, then a message of the
537form C<@reply, $@, @evalres> is sent.
538
539Example: crash another node.
540
541 snd $othernode, eval => "exit";
542
543=item time => @reply
544
545Replies the the current node time to C<@reply>.
546
547Example: tell the current node to send the current time to C<$myport> in a
548C<timereply> message.
549
550 snd $NODE, time => $myport, timereply => 1, 2;
551 # => snd $myport, timereply => 1, 2, <time>
552
553=back
554
555=head1 AnyEvent::MP vs. Distributed Erlang
556
557AnyEvent::MP got lots of its ideas from distributed erlang (erlang node
558== aemp node, erlang process == aemp port), so many of the documents and
559programming techniques employed by erlang apply to AnyEvent::MP. Here is a
560sample:
561
562 http://www.erlang.se/doc/programming_rules.shtml
563 http://erlang.org/doc/getting_started/part_frame.html # chapters 3 and 4
564 http://erlang.org/download/erlang-book-part1.pdf # chapters 5 and 6
565 http://erlang.org/download/armstrong_thesis_2003.pdf # chapters 4 and 5
566
567Despite the similarities, there are also some important differences:
568
569=over 4
570
571=item * Node references contain the recipe on how to contact them.
572
573Erlang relies on special naming and DNS to work everywhere in the 708Erlang relies on special naming and DNS to work everywhere in the same
574same way. AEMP relies on each node knowing it's own address(es), with 709way. AEMP relies on each node somehow knowing its own address(es) (e.g. by
575convenience functionality. 710configuraiton or DNS), but will otherwise discover other odes itself.
576 711
577This means that AEMP requires a less tightly controlled environment at the 712=item * Erlang has a "remote ports are like local ports" philosophy, AEMP
578cost of longer node references and a slightly higher management overhead. 713uses "local ports are like remote ports".
714
715The failure modes for local ports are quite different (runtime errors
716only) then for remote ports - when a local port dies, you I<know> it dies,
717when a connection to another node dies, you know nothing about the other
718port.
719
720Erlang pretends remote ports are as reliable as local ports, even when
721they are not.
722
723AEMP encourages a "treat remote ports differently" philosophy, with local
724ports being the special case/exception, where transport errors cannot
725occur.
579 726
580=item * Erlang uses processes and a mailbox, AEMP does not queue. 727=item * Erlang uses processes and a mailbox, AEMP does not queue.
581 728
582Erlang uses processes that selctively receive messages, and therefore 729Erlang uses processes that selectively receive messages, and therefore
583needs a queue. AEMP is event based, queuing messages would serve no useful 730needs a queue. AEMP is event based, queuing messages would serve no
584purpose. 731useful purpose. For the same reason the pattern-matching abilities of
732AnyEvent::MP are more limited, as there is little need to be able to
733filter messages without dequeing them.
585 734
586(But see L<Coro::MP> for a more erlang-like process model on top of AEMP). 735(But see L<Coro::MP> for a more Erlang-like process model on top of AEMP).
587 736
588=item * Erlang sends are synchronous, AEMP sends are asynchronous. 737=item * Erlang sends are synchronous, AEMP sends are asynchronous.
589 738
590Sending messages in erlang is synchronous and blocks the process. AEMP 739Sending messages in Erlang is synchronous and blocks the process (and
591sends are immediate, connection establishment is handled in the 740so does not need a queue that can overflow). AEMP sends are immediate,
592background. 741connection establishment is handled in the background.
593 742
594=item * Erlang can silently lose messages, AEMP cannot. 743=item * Erlang suffers from silent message loss, AEMP does not.
595 744
596Erlang makes few guarantees on messages delivery - messages can get lost 745Erlang makes few guarantees on messages delivery - messages can get lost
597without any of the processes realising it (i.e. you send messages a, b, 746without any of the processes realising it (i.e. you send messages a, b,
598and c, and the other side only receives messages a and c). 747and c, and the other side only receives messages a and c).
599 748
600AEMP guarantees correct ordering, and the guarantee that there are no 749AEMP guarantees correct ordering, and the guarantee that after one message
601holes in the message sequence. 750is lost, all following ones sent to the same port are lost as well, until
602 751monitoring raises an error, so there are no silent "holes" in the message
603=item * In erlang, processes can be declared dead and later be found to be 752sequence.
604alive.
605
606In erlang it can happen that a monitored process is declared dead and
607linked processes get killed, but later it turns out that the process is
608still alive - and can receive messages.
609
610In AEMP, when port monitoring detects a port as dead, then that port will
611eventually be killed - it cannot happen that a node detects a port as dead
612and then later sends messages to it, finding it is still alive.
613 753
614=item * Erlang can send messages to the wrong port, AEMP does not. 754=item * Erlang can send messages to the wrong port, AEMP does not.
615 755
616In erlang it is quite possible that a node that restarts reuses a process 756In Erlang it is quite likely that a node that restarts reuses a process ID
617ID known to other nodes for a completely different process, causing 757known to other nodes for a completely different process, causing messages
618messages destined for that process to end up in an unrelated process. 758destined for that process to end up in an unrelated process.
619 759
620AEMP never reuses port IDs, so old messages or old port IDs floating 760AEMP never reuses port IDs, so old messages or old port IDs floating
621around in the network will not be sent to an unrelated port. 761around in the network will not be sent to an unrelated port.
622 762
623=item * Erlang uses unprotected connections, AEMP uses secure 763=item * Erlang uses unprotected connections, AEMP uses secure
624authentication and can use TLS. 764authentication and can use TLS.
625 765
626AEMP can use a proven protocol - SSL/TLS - to protect connections and 766AEMP can use a proven protocol - TLS - to protect connections and
627securely authenticate nodes. 767securely authenticate nodes.
628 768
629=item * The AEMP protocol is optimised for both text-based and binary 769=item * The AEMP protocol is optimised for both text-based and binary
630communications. 770communications.
631 771
632The AEMP protocol, unlike the erlang protocol, supports both 772The AEMP protocol, unlike the Erlang protocol, supports both programming
633language-independent text-only protocols (good for debugging) and binary, 773language independent text-only protocols (good for debugging) and binary,
634language-specific serialisers (e.g. Storable). 774language-specific serialisers (e.g. Storable). By default, unless TLS is
775used, the protocol is actually completely text-based.
635 776
636It has also been carefully designed to be implementable in other languages 777It has also been carefully designed to be implementable in other languages
637with a minimum of work while gracefully degrading fucntionality to make the 778with a minimum of work while gracefully degrading functionality to make the
638protocol simple. 779protocol simple.
639 780
781=item * AEMP has more flexible monitoring options than Erlang.
782
783In Erlang, you can chose to receive I<all> exit signals as messages
784or I<none>, there is no in-between, so monitoring single processes is
785difficult to implement. Monitoring in AEMP is more flexible than in
786Erlang, as one can choose between automatic kill, exit message or callback
787on a per-process basis.
788
789=item * Erlang tries to hide remote/local connections, AEMP does not.
790
791Monitoring in Erlang is not an indicator of process death/crashes, in the
792same way as linking is (except linking is unreliable in Erlang).
793
794In AEMP, you don't "look up" registered port names or send to named ports
795that might or might not be persistent. Instead, you normally spawn a port
796on the remote node. The init function monitors you, and you monitor the
797remote port. Since both monitors are local to the node, they are much more
798reliable (no need for C<spawn_link>).
799
800This also saves round-trips and avoids sending messages to the wrong port
801(hard to do in Erlang).
802
640=back 803=back
641 804
805=head1 RATIONALE
806
807=over 4
808
809=item Why strings for port and node IDs, why not objects?
810
811We considered "objects", but found that the actual number of methods
812that can be called are quite low. Since port and node IDs travel over
813the network frequently, the serialising/deserialising would add lots of
814overhead, as well as having to keep a proxy object everywhere.
815
816Strings can easily be printed, easily serialised etc. and need no special
817procedures to be "valid".
818
819And as a result, a miniport consists of a single closure stored in a
820global hash - it can't become much cheaper.
821
822=item Why favour JSON, why not a real serialising format such as Storable?
823
824In fact, any AnyEvent::MP node will happily accept Storable as framing
825format, but currently there is no way to make a node use Storable by
826default (although all nodes will accept it).
827
828The default framing protocol is JSON because a) JSON::XS is many times
829faster for small messages and b) most importantly, after years of
830experience we found that object serialisation is causing more problems
831than it solves: Just like function calls, objects simply do not travel
832easily over the network, mostly because they will always be a copy, so you
833always have to re-think your design.
834
835Keeping your messages simple, concentrating on data structures rather than
836objects, will keep your messages clean, tidy and efficient.
837
838=back
839
642=head1 SEE ALSO 840=head1 SEE ALSO
841
842L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro> - a gentle introduction.
843
844L<AnyEvent::MP::Kernel> - more, lower-level, stuff.
845
846L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> - network maintainance and port groups, to find
847your applications.
643 848
644L<AnyEvent>. 849L<AnyEvent>.
645 850
646=head1 AUTHOR 851=head1 AUTHOR
647 852

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