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Revision 1.10 by root, Sun Aug 2 18:05:43 2009 UTC vs.
Revision 1.64 by root, Fri Aug 28 00:58:44 2009 UTC

4 4
5=head1 SYNOPSIS 5=head1 SYNOPSIS
6 6
7 use AnyEvent::MP; 7 use AnyEvent::MP;
8 8
9 NODE # returns this node identifier
10 $NODE # contains this node identifier 9 $NODE # contains this node's noderef
10 NODE # returns this node's noderef
11 NODE $port # returns the noderef of the port
11 12
13 $SELF # receiving/own port id in rcv callbacks
14
15 # initialise the node so it can send/receive messages
16 initialise_node;
17
18 # ports are message endpoints
19
20 # sending messages
12 snd $port, type => data...; 21 snd $port, type => data...;
22 snd $port, @msg;
23 snd @msg_with_first_element_being_a_port;
13 24
14 rcv $port, smartmatch => $cb->($port, @msg); 25 # creating/using ports, the simple way
26 my $simple_port = port { my @msg = @_; 0 };
15 27
16 # examples: 28 # creating/using ports, tagged message matching
29 my $port = port;
17 rcv $port2, ping => sub { snd $_[0], "pong"; 0 }; 30 rcv $port, ping => sub { snd $_[0], "pong"; 0 };
18 rcv $port1, pong => sub { warn "pong received\n" }; 31 rcv $port, pong => sub { warn "pong received\n"; 0 };
19 snd $port2, ping => $port1;
20 32
21 # more, smarter, matches (_any_ is exported by this module) 33 # create a port on another node
22 rcv $port, [child_died => $pid] => sub { ... 34 my $port = spawn $node, $initfunc, @initdata;
23 rcv $port, [_any_, _any_, 3] => sub { .. $_[2] is 3 35
36 # monitoring
37 mon $port, $cb->(@msg) # callback is invoked on death
38 mon $port, $otherport # kill otherport on abnormal death
39 mon $port, $otherport, @msg # send message on death
40
41=head1 CURRENT STATUS
42
43 AnyEvent::MP - stable API, should work
44 AnyEvent::MP::Intro - outdated
45 AnyEvent::MP::Kernel - WIP
46 AnyEvent::MP::Transport - mostly stable
47
48 stay tuned.
24 49
25=head1 DESCRIPTION 50=head1 DESCRIPTION
26 51
27This module (-family) implements a simple message passing framework. 52This module (-family) implements a simple message passing framework.
28 53
29Despite its simplicity, you can securely message other processes running 54Despite its simplicity, you can securely message other processes running
30on the same or other hosts. 55on the same or other hosts.
31 56
57For an introduction to this module family, see the L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro>
58manual page.
59
32At the moment, this module family is severly brokena nd underdocumented, 60At the moment, this module family is severly broken and underdocumented,
33so do not use. This was uploaded mainly to resreve the CPAN namespace - 61so do not use. This was uploaded mainly to reserve the CPAN namespace -
34stay tuned! 62stay tuned!
35 63
36=head1 CONCEPTS 64=head1 CONCEPTS
37 65
38=over 4 66=over 4
39 67
40=item port 68=item port
41 69
42A port is something you can send messages to with the C<snd> function, and 70A port is something you can send messages to (with the C<snd> function).
43you can register C<rcv> handlers with. All C<rcv> handlers will receive
44messages they match, messages will not be queued.
45 71
72Ports allow you to register C<rcv> handlers that can match all or just
73some messages. Messages send to ports will not be queued, regardless of
74anything was listening for them or not.
75
46=item port id - C<noderef#portname> 76=item port ID - C<noderef#portname>
47 77
48A port id is always the noderef, a hash-mark (C<#>) as separator, followed 78A port ID is the concatenation of a noderef, a hash-mark (C<#>) as
49by a port name (a printable string of unspecified format). 79separator, and a port name (a printable string of unspecified format). An
80exception is the the node port, whose ID is identical to its node
81reference.
50 82
51=item node 83=item node
52 84
53A node is a single process containing at least one port - the node 85A node is a single process containing at least one port - the node port,
54port. You can send messages to node ports to let them create new ports, 86which provides nodes to manage each other remotely, and to create new
55among other things. 87ports.
56 88
57Initially, nodes are either private (single-process only) or hidden 89Nodes are either private (single-process only), slaves (can only talk to
58(connected to a master node only). Only when they epxlicitly "become 90public nodes, but do not need an open port) or public nodes (connectable
59public" can you send them messages from unrelated other nodes. 91from any other node).
60 92
61=item noderef - C<host:port,host:port...>, C<id@noderef>, C<id> 93=item node ID - C<[a-za-Z0-9_\-.:]+>
62 94
63A noderef is a string that either uniquely identifies a given node (for 95A node ID is a string that uniquely identifies the node within a
64private and hidden nodes), or contains a recipe on how to reach a given 96network. Depending on the configuration used, node IDs can look like a
65node (for public nodes). 97hostname, a hostname and a port, or a random string. AnyEvent::MP itself
98doesn't interpret node IDs in any way.
99
100=item binds - C<ip:port>
101
102Nodes can only talk to each other by creating some kind of connection to
103each other. To do this, nodes should listen on one or more local transport
104endpoints - binds. Currently, only standard C<ip:port> specifications can
105be used, which specify TCP ports to listen on.
106
107=item seeds - C<host:port>
108
109When a node starts, it knows nothing about the network. To teach the node
110about the network it first has to contact some other node within the
111network. This node is called a seed.
112
113Seeds are transport endpoint(s) of as many nodes as one wants. Those nodes
114are expected to be long-running, and at least one of those should always
115be available. When nodes run out of connections (e.g. due to a network
116error), they try to re-establish connections to some seednodes again to
117join the network.
66 118
67=back 119=back
68 120
69=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS 121=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS
70 122
72 124
73=cut 125=cut
74 126
75package AnyEvent::MP; 127package AnyEvent::MP;
76 128
77use AnyEvent::MP::Base; 129use AnyEvent::MP::Kernel;
78 130
79use common::sense; 131use common::sense;
80 132
81use Carp (); 133use Carp ();
82 134
83use AE (); 135use AE ();
84 136
85use base "Exporter"; 137use base "Exporter";
86 138
87our $VERSION = '0.02'; 139our $VERSION = $AnyEvent::MP::Kernel::VERSION;
140
88our @EXPORT = qw( 141our @EXPORT = qw(
89 NODE $NODE $PORT snd rcv _any_ 142 NODE $NODE *SELF node_of after
90 create_port create_port_on 143 resolve_node initialise_node
91 become_slave become_public 144 snd rcv mon mon_guard kil reg psub spawn
145 port
92); 146);
93 147
148our $SELF;
149
150sub _self_die() {
151 my $msg = $@;
152 $msg =~ s/\n+$// unless ref $msg;
153 kil $SELF, die => $msg;
154}
155
94=item NODE / $NODE 156=item $thisnode = NODE / $NODE
95 157
96The C<NODE ()> function and the C<$NODE> variable contain the noderef of 158The C<NODE> function returns, and the C<$NODE> variable contains the node
97the local node. The value is initialised by a call to C<become_public> or 159ID of the node running in the current process. This value is initialised by
98C<become_slave>, after which all local port identifiers become invalid. 160a call to C<initialise_node>.
99 161
162=item $nodeid = node_of $port
163
164Extracts and returns the node ID part from a port ID or a node ID.
165
166=item initialise_node $profile_name
167
168Before a node can talk to other nodes on the network (i.e. enter
169"distributed mode") it has to initialise itself - the minimum a node needs
170to know is its own name, and optionally it should know the addresses of
171some other nodes in the network to discover other nodes.
172
173This function initialises a node - it must be called exactly once (or
174never) before calling other AnyEvent::MP functions.
175
176The first argument is a profile name. If it is C<undef> or missing, then
177the current nodename will be used instead (i.e. F<uname -n>).
178
179The function then looks up the profile in the aemp configuration (see the
180L<aemp> commandline utility).
181
182If the profile specifies a node ID, then this will become the node ID of
183this process. If not, then the profile name will be used as node ID. The
184special node ID of C<anon/> will be replaced by a random node ID.
185
186The next step is to look up the binds in the profile, followed by binding
187aemp protocol listeners on all binds specified (it is possible and valid
188to have no binds, meaning that the node cannot be contacted form the
189outside. This means the node cannot talk to other nodes that also have no
190binds, but it can still talk to all "normal" nodes).
191
192If the profile does not specify a binds list, then the node ID will be
193treated as if it were of the form C<host:port>, which will be resolved and
194used as binds list.
195
196Lastly, the seeds list from the profile is passed to the
197L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> module, which will then use it to keep
198connectivity with at least on of those seed nodes at any point in time.
199
200Example: become a distributed node listening on the guessed noderef, or
201the one specified via C<aemp> for the current node. This should be the
202most common form of invocation for "daemon"-type nodes.
203
204 initialise_node;
205
206Example: become an anonymous node. This form is often used for commandline
207clients.
208
209 initialise_node "anon/";
210
211Example: become a distributed node. If there is no profile of the given
212name, or no binds list was specified, resolve C<localhost:4044> and bind
213on the resulting addresses.
214
215 initialise_node "localhost:4044";
216
217=item $SELF
218
219Contains the current port id while executing C<rcv> callbacks or C<psub>
220blocks.
221
222=item SELF, %SELF, @SELF...
223
224Due to some quirks in how perl exports variables, it is impossible to
225just export C<$SELF>, all the symbols called C<SELF> are exported by this
226module, but only C<$SELF> is currently used.
227
100=item snd $portid, type => @data 228=item snd $port, type => @data
101 229
102=item snd $portid, @msg 230=item snd $port, @msg
103 231
104Send the given message to the given port ID, which can identify either 232Send the given message to the given port ID, which can identify either
105a local or a remote port, and can be either a string or soemthignt hat 233a local or a remote port, and must be a port ID.
106stringifies a sa port ID (such as a port object :).
107 234
108While the message can be about anything, it is highly recommended to use a 235While the message can be about anything, it is highly recommended to use a
109string as first element (a portid, or some word that indicates a request 236string as first element (a port ID, or some word that indicates a request
110type etc.). 237type etc.).
111 238
112The message data effectively becomes read-only after a call to this 239The message data effectively becomes read-only after a call to this
113function: modifying any argument is not allowed and can cause many 240function: modifying any argument is not allowed and can cause many
114problems. 241problems.
117JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting 244JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting
118of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything 245of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything
119that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local 246that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local
120node, anything can be passed. 247node, anything can be passed.
121 248
122=item $local_port = create_port 249=item $local_port = port
123 250
124Create a new local port object. See the next section for allowed methods. 251Create a new local port object and returns its port ID. Initially it has
252no callbacks set and will throw an error when it receives messages.
125 253
126=cut 254=item $local_port = port { my @msg = @_ }
127 255
128sub create_port { 256Creates a new local port, and returns its ID. Semantically the same as
129 my $id = "$AnyEvent::MP::Base::UNIQ." . ++$AnyEvent::MP::Base::ID; 257creating a port and calling C<rcv $port, $callback> on it.
130 258
131 my $self = bless { 259The block will be called for every message received on the port, with the
132 id => "$NODE#$id", 260global variable C<$SELF> set to the port ID. Runtime errors will cause the
133 names => [$id], 261port to be C<kil>ed. The message will be passed as-is, no extra argument
134 }, "AnyEvent::MP::Port"; 262(i.e. no port ID) will be passed to the callback.
135 263
136 $AnyEvent::MP::Base::PORT{$id} = sub { 264If you want to stop/destroy the port, simply C<kil> it:
137 unshift @_, $self;
138 265
139 for (@{ $self->{rc0}{$_[1]} }) { 266 my $port = port {
140 $_ && &{$_->[0]} 267 my @msg = @_;
141 && undef $_; 268 ...
269 kil $SELF;
270 };
271
272=cut
273
274sub rcv($@);
275
276sub _kilme {
277 die "received message on port without callback";
278}
279
280sub port(;&) {
281 my $id = "$UNIQ." . $ID++;
282 my $port = "$NODE#$id";
283
284 rcv $port, shift || \&_kilme;
285
286 $port
287}
288
289=item rcv $local_port, $callback->(@msg)
290
291Replaces the default callback on the specified port. There is no way to
292remove the default callback: use C<sub { }> to disable it, or better
293C<kil> the port when it is no longer needed.
294
295The global C<$SELF> (exported by this module) contains C<$port> while
296executing the callback. Runtime errors during callback execution will
297result in the port being C<kil>ed.
298
299The default callback received all messages not matched by a more specific
300C<tag> match.
301
302=item rcv $local_port, tag => $callback->(@msg_without_tag), ...
303
304Register (or replace) callbacks to be called on messages starting with the
305given tag on the given port (and return the port), or unregister it (when
306C<$callback> is C<$undef> or missing). There can only be one callback
307registered for each tag.
308
309The original message will be passed to the callback, after the first
310element (the tag) has been removed. The callback will use the same
311environment as the default callback (see above).
312
313Example: create a port and bind receivers on it in one go.
314
315 my $port = rcv port,
316 msg1 => sub { ... },
317 msg2 => sub { ... },
318 ;
319
320Example: create a port, bind receivers and send it in a message elsewhere
321in one go:
322
323 snd $otherport, reply =>
324 rcv port,
325 msg1 => sub { ... },
326 ...
327 ;
328
329Example: temporarily register a rcv callback for a tag matching some port
330(e.g. for a rpc reply) and unregister it after a message was received.
331
332 rcv $port, $otherport => sub {
333 my @reply = @_;
334
335 rcv $SELF, $otherport;
336 };
337
338=cut
339
340sub rcv($@) {
341 my $port = shift;
342 my ($noderef, $portid) = split /#/, $port, 2;
343
344 $NODE{$noderef} == $NODE{""}
345 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on local ports, caught";
346
347 while (@_) {
348 if (ref $_[0]) {
349 if (my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid}) {
350 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
351 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
352
353 $self->[2] = shift;
354 } else {
355 my $cb = shift;
356 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
357 local $SELF = $port;
358 eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
359 };
360 }
361 } elsif (defined $_[0]) {
362 my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid} ||= do {
363 my $self = bless [$PORT{$port} || sub { }, { }, $port], "AnyEvent::MP::Port";
364
365 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
366 local $SELF = $port;
367
368 if (my $cb = $self->[1]{$_[0]}) {
369 shift;
370 eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
371 } else {
372 &{ $self->[0] };
373 }
374 };
375
376 $self
377 };
378
379 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
380 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
381
382 my ($tag, $cb) = splice @_, 0, 2;
383
384 if (defined $cb) {
385 $self->[1]{$tag} = $cb;
386 } else {
387 delete $self->[1]{$tag};
388 }
142 } 389 }
390 }
143 391
144 for (@{ $self->{rcv}{$_[1]} }) { 392 $port
145 $_ && [@_[1 .. @{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1] 393}
146 && &{$_->[0]} 394
147 && undef $_; 395=item $closure = psub { BLOCK }
396
397Remembers C<$SELF> and creates a closure out of the BLOCK. When the
398closure is executed, sets up the environment in the same way as in C<rcv>
399callbacks, i.e. runtime errors will cause the port to get C<kil>ed.
400
401This is useful when you register callbacks from C<rcv> callbacks:
402
403 rcv delayed_reply => sub {
404 my ($delay, @reply) = @_;
405 my $timer = AE::timer $delay, 0, psub {
406 snd @reply, $SELF;
407 };
408 };
409
410=cut
411
412sub psub(&) {
413 my $cb = shift;
414
415 my $port = $SELF
416 or Carp::croak "psub can only be called from within rcv or psub callbacks, not";
417
418 sub {
419 local $SELF = $port;
420
421 if (wantarray) {
422 my @res = eval { &$cb };
423 _self_die if $@;
424 @res
425 } else {
426 my $res = eval { &$cb };
427 _self_die if $@;
428 $res
148 } 429 }
430 }
431}
149 432
150 for (@{ $self->{any} }) { 433=item $guard = mon $port, $cb->(@reason)
151 $_ && [@_[0 .. $#{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1] 434
152 && &{$_->[0]} 435=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport
153 && undef $_; 436
437=item $guard = mon $port
438
439=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport, @msg
440
441Monitor the given port and do something when the port is killed or
442messages to it were lost, and optionally return a guard that can be used
443to stop monitoring again.
444
445C<mon> effectively guarantees that, in the absence of hardware failures,
446that after starting the monitor, either all messages sent to the port
447will arrive, or the monitoring action will be invoked after possible
448message loss has been detected. No messages will be lost "in between"
449(after the first lost message no further messages will be received by the
450port). After the monitoring action was invoked, further messages might get
451delivered again.
452
453Note that monitoring-actions are one-shot: once released, they are removed
454and will not trigger again.
455
456In the first form (callback), the callback is simply called with any
457number of C<@reason> elements (no @reason means that the port was deleted
458"normally"). Note also that I<< the callback B<must> never die >>, so use
459C<eval> if unsure.
460
461In the second form (another port given), the other port (C<$rcvport>)
462will be C<kil>'ed with C<@reason>, iff a @reason was specified, i.e. on
463"normal" kils nothing happens, while under all other conditions, the other
464port is killed with the same reason.
465
466The third form (kill self) is the same as the second form, except that
467C<$rvport> defaults to C<$SELF>.
468
469In the last form (message), a message of the form C<@msg, @reason> will be
470C<snd>.
471
472As a rule of thumb, monitoring requests should always monitor a port from
473a local port (or callback). The reason is that kill messages might get
474lost, just like any other message. Another less obvious reason is that
475even monitoring requests can get lost (for exmaple, when the connection
476to the other node goes down permanently). When monitoring a port locally
477these problems do not exist.
478
479Example: call a given callback when C<$port> is killed.
480
481 mon $port, sub { warn "port died because of <@_>\n" };
482
483Example: kill ourselves when C<$port> is killed abnormally.
484
485 mon $port;
486
487Example: send us a restart message when another C<$port> is killed.
488
489 mon $port, $self => "restart";
490
491=cut
492
493sub mon {
494 my ($noderef, $port) = split /#/, shift, 2;
495
496 my $node = $NODE{$noderef} || add_node $noderef;
497
498 my $cb = @_ ? shift : $SELF || Carp::croak 'mon: called with one argument only, but $SELF not set,';
499
500 unless (ref $cb) {
501 if (@_) {
502 # send a kill info message
503 my (@msg) = ($cb, @_);
504 $cb = sub { snd @msg, @_ };
505 } else {
506 # simply kill other port
507 my $port = $cb;
508 $cb = sub { kil $port, @_ if @_ };
154 } 509 }
510 }
511
512 $node->monitor ($port, $cb);
513
514 defined wantarray
515 and AnyEvent::Util::guard { $node->unmonitor ($port, $cb) }
516}
517
518=item $guard = mon_guard $port, $ref, $ref...
519
520Monitors the given C<$port> and keeps the passed references. When the port
521is killed, the references will be freed.
522
523Optionally returns a guard that will stop the monitoring.
524
525This function is useful when you create e.g. timers or other watchers and
526want to free them when the port gets killed:
527
528 $port->rcv (start => sub {
529 my $timer; $timer = mon_guard $port, AE::timer 1, 1, sub {
530 undef $timer if 0.9 < rand;
531 });
532 });
533
534=cut
535
536sub mon_guard {
537 my ($port, @refs) = @_;
538
539 #TODO: mon-less form?
540
541 mon $port, sub { 0 && @refs }
542}
543
544=item kil $port[, @reason]
545
546Kill the specified port with the given C<@reason>.
547
548If no C<@reason> is specified, then the port is killed "normally" (linked
549ports will not be kileld, or even notified).
550
551Otherwise, linked ports get killed with the same reason (second form of
552C<mon>, see below).
553
554Runtime errors while evaluating C<rcv> callbacks or inside C<psub> blocks
555will be reported as reason C<< die => $@ >>.
556
557Transport/communication errors are reported as C<< transport_error =>
558$message >>.
559
560=cut
561
562=item $port = spawn $node, $initfunc[, @initdata]
563
564Creates a port on the node C<$node> (which can also be a port ID, in which
565case it's the node where that port resides).
566
567The port ID of the newly created port is return immediately, and it is
568permissible to immediately start sending messages or monitor the port.
569
570After the port has been created, the init function is
571called. This function must be a fully-qualified function name
572(e.g. C<MyApp::Chat::Server::init>). To specify a function in the main
573program, use C<::name>.
574
575If the function doesn't exist, then the node tries to C<require>
576the package, then the package above the package and so on (e.g.
577C<MyApp::Chat::Server>, C<MyApp::Chat>, C<MyApp>) until the function
578exists or it runs out of package names.
579
580The init function is then called with the newly-created port as context
581object (C<$SELF>) and the C<@initdata> values as arguments.
582
583A common idiom is to pass your own port, monitor the spawned port, and
584in the init function, monitor the original port. This two-way monitoring
585ensures that both ports get cleaned up when there is a problem.
586
587Example: spawn a chat server port on C<$othernode>.
588
589 # this node, executed from within a port context:
590 my $server = spawn $othernode, "MyApp::Chat::Server::connect", $SELF;
591 mon $server;
592
593 # init function on C<$othernode>
594 sub connect {
595 my ($srcport) = @_;
596
597 mon $srcport;
598
599 rcv $SELF, sub {
600 ...
601 };
602 }
603
604=cut
605
606sub _spawn {
607 my $port = shift;
608 my $init = shift;
609
610 local $SELF = "$NODE#$port";
611 eval {
612 &{ load_func $init }
155 }; 613 };
156 614 _self_die if $@;
157 $self
158} 615}
159 616
160=item $portid = create_miniport { } 617sub spawn(@) {
618 my ($noderef, undef) = split /#/, shift, 2;
161 619
162Creates a "mini port", that is, a port without much #TODO 620 my $id = "$RUNIQ." . $ID++;
163 621
164=cut 622 $_[0] =~ /::/
623 or Carp::croak "spawn init function must be a fully-qualified name, caught";
165 624
166sub create_miniport(&) { 625 snd_to_func $noderef, "AnyEvent::MP::_spawn" => $id, @_;
167 my $cb = shift;
168 my $id = "$AnyEvent::MP::Base::UNIQ." . ++$AnyEvent::MP::Base::ID;
169 626
170 $AnyEvent::MP::Base::PORT{$id} = sub { 627 "$noderef#$id"
171 &$cb 628}
172 and delete $AnyEvent::MP::Base::PORT{$id}; 629
630=item after $timeout, @msg
631
632=item after $timeout, $callback
633
634Either sends the given message, or call the given callback, after the
635specified number of seconds.
636
637This is simply a utility function that come sin handy at times.
638
639=cut
640
641sub after($@) {
642 my ($timeout, @action) = @_;
643
644 my $t; $t = AE::timer $timeout, 0, sub {
645 undef $t;
646 ref $action[0]
647 ? $action[0]()
648 : snd @action;
173 }; 649 };
174
175 "$NODE#$id"
176} 650}
177
178package AnyEvent::MP::Port;
179 651
180=back 652=back
181 653
182=head1 METHODS FOR PORT OBJECTS 654=head1 AnyEvent::MP vs. Distributed Erlang
655
656AnyEvent::MP got lots of its ideas from distributed Erlang (Erlang node
657== aemp node, Erlang process == aemp port), so many of the documents and
658programming techniques employed by Erlang apply to AnyEvent::MP. Here is a
659sample:
660
661 http://www.Erlang.se/doc/programming_rules.shtml
662 http://Erlang.org/doc/getting_started/part_frame.html # chapters 3 and 4
663 http://Erlang.org/download/Erlang-book-part1.pdf # chapters 5 and 6
664 http://Erlang.org/download/armstrong_thesis_2003.pdf # chapters 4 and 5
665
666Despite the similarities, there are also some important differences:
183 667
184=over 4 668=over 4
185 669
186=item "$port" 670=item * Node references contain the recipe on how to contact them.
187 671
188A port object stringifies to its port ID, so can be used directly for 672Erlang relies on special naming and DNS to work everywhere in the
189C<snd> operations. 673same way. AEMP relies on each node knowing it's own address(es), with
674convenience functionality.
190 675
191=cut 676This means that AEMP requires a less tightly controlled environment at the
677cost of longer node references and a slightly higher management overhead.
192 678
193use overload 679=item * Erlang has a "remote ports are like local ports" philosophy, AEMP
194 '""' => sub { $_[0]{id} }, 680uses "local ports are like remote ports".
195 fallback => 1;
196 681
197=item $port->rcv (type => $callback->($port, @msg)) 682The failure modes for local ports are quite different (runtime errors
683only) then for remote ports - when a local port dies, you I<know> it dies,
684when a connection to another node dies, you know nothing about the other
685port.
198 686
199=item $port->rcv ($smartmatch => $callback->($port, @msg)) 687Erlang pretends remote ports are as reliable as local ports, even when
688they are not.
200 689
201=item $port->rcv ([$smartmatch...] => $callback->($port, @msg)) 690AEMP encourages a "treat remote ports differently" philosophy, with local
691ports being the special case/exception, where transport errors cannot
692occur.
202 693
203Register a callback on the given port. 694=item * Erlang uses processes and a mailbox, AEMP does not queue.
204 695
205The callback has to return a true value when its work is done, after 696Erlang uses processes that selectively receive messages, and therefore
206which is will be removed, or a false value in which case it will stay 697needs a queue. AEMP is event based, queuing messages would serve no
207registered. 698useful purpose. For the same reason the pattern-matching abilities of
699AnyEvent::MP are more limited, as there is little need to be able to
700filter messages without dequeing them.
208 701
209If the match is an array reference, then it will be matched against the 702(But see L<Coro::MP> for a more Erlang-like process model on top of AEMP).
210first elements of the message, otherwise only the first element is being
211matched.
212 703
213Any element in the match that is specified as C<_any_> (a function 704=item * Erlang sends are synchronous, AEMP sends are asynchronous.
214exported by this module) matches any single element of the message.
215 705
216While not required, it is highly recommended that the first matching 706Sending messages in Erlang is synchronous and blocks the process (and
217element is a string identifying the message. The one-string-only match is 707so does not need a queue that can overflow). AEMP sends are immediate,
218also the most efficient match (by far). 708connection establishment is handled in the background.
219 709
220=cut 710=item * Erlang suffers from silent message loss, AEMP does not.
221 711
222sub rcv($@) { 712Erlang makes few guarantees on messages delivery - messages can get lost
223 my ($self, $match, $cb) = @_; 713without any of the processes realising it (i.e. you send messages a, b,
714and c, and the other side only receives messages a and c).
224 715
225 if (!ref $match) { 716AEMP guarantees correct ordering, and the guarantee that there are no
226 push @{ $self->{rc0}{$match} }, [$cb]; 717holes in the message sequence.
227 } elsif (("ARRAY" eq ref $match && !ref $match->[0])) {
228 my ($type, @match) = @$match;
229 @match
230 ? push @{ $self->{rcv}{$match->[0]} }, [$cb, \@match]
231 : push @{ $self->{rc0}{$match->[0]} }, [$cb];
232 } else {
233 push @{ $self->{any} }, [$cb, $match];
234 }
235}
236 718
237=item $port->register ($name) 719=item * In Erlang, processes can be declared dead and later be found to be
720alive.
238 721
239Registers the given port under the well known name C<$name>. If the name 722In Erlang it can happen that a monitored process is declared dead and
240already exists it is replaced. 723linked processes get killed, but later it turns out that the process is
724still alive - and can receive messages.
241 725
242A port can only be registered under one well known name. 726In AEMP, when port monitoring detects a port as dead, then that port will
727eventually be killed - it cannot happen that a node detects a port as dead
728and then later sends messages to it, finding it is still alive.
243 729
244=cut 730=item * Erlang can send messages to the wrong port, AEMP does not.
245 731
246sub register { 732In Erlang it is quite likely that a node that restarts reuses a process ID
247 my ($self, $name) = @_; 733known to other nodes for a completely different process, causing messages
734destined for that process to end up in an unrelated process.
248 735
249 $self->{wkname} = $name; 736AEMP never reuses port IDs, so old messages or old port IDs floating
250 $AnyEvent::MP::Base::WKP{$name} = "$self"; 737around in the network will not be sent to an unrelated port.
251}
252 738
253=item $port->destroy 739=item * Erlang uses unprotected connections, AEMP uses secure
740authentication and can use TLS.
254 741
255Explicitly destroy/remove/nuke/vaporise the port. 742AEMP can use a proven protocol - SSL/TLS - to protect connections and
743securely authenticate nodes.
256 744
257Ports are normally kept alive by there mere existance alone, and need to 745=item * The AEMP protocol is optimised for both text-based and binary
258be destroyed explicitly. 746communications.
259 747
260=cut 748The AEMP protocol, unlike the Erlang protocol, supports both
749language-independent text-only protocols (good for debugging) and binary,
750language-specific serialisers (e.g. Storable).
261 751
262sub destroy { 752It has also been carefully designed to be implementable in other languages
263 my ($self) = @_; 753with a minimum of work while gracefully degrading fucntionality to make the
754protocol simple.
264 755
265 delete $AnyEvent::MP::Base::WKP{ $self->{wkname} }; 756=item * AEMP has more flexible monitoring options than Erlang.
266 757
267 delete $AnyEvent::MP::Base::PORT{$_} 758In Erlang, you can chose to receive I<all> exit signals as messages
268 for @{ $self->{names} }; 759or I<none>, there is no in-between, so monitoring single processes is
269} 760difficult to implement. Monitoring in AEMP is more flexible than in
761Erlang, as one can choose between automatic kill, exit message or callback
762on a per-process basis.
763
764=item * Erlang tries to hide remote/local connections, AEMP does not.
765
766Monitoring in Erlang is not an indicator of process death/crashes,
767as linking is (except linking is unreliable in Erlang).
768
769In AEMP, you don't "look up" registered port names or send to named ports
770that might or might not be persistent. Instead, you normally spawn a port
771on the remote node. The init function monitors the you, and you monitor
772the remote port. Since both monitors are local to the node, they are much
773more reliable.
774
775This also saves round-trips and avoids sending messages to the wrong port
776(hard to do in Erlang).
270 777
271=back 778=back
272 779
273=head1 FUNCTIONS FOR NODES 780=head1 RATIONALE
274 781
275=over 4 782=over 4
276 783
277=item mon $noderef, $callback->($noderef, $status, $) 784=item Why strings for ports and noderefs, why not objects?
278 785
279Monitors the given noderef. 786We considered "objects", but found that the actual number of methods
787thatc an be called are very low. Since port IDs and noderefs travel over
788the network frequently, the serialising/deserialising would add lots of
789overhead, as well as having to keep a proxy object.
280 790
281=item become_public endpoint... 791Strings can easily be printed, easily serialised etc. and need no special
792procedures to be "valid".
282 793
283Tells the node to become a public node, i.e. reachable from other nodes. 794And a a miniport consists of a single closure stored in a global hash - it
795can't become much cheaper.
284 796
285If no arguments are given, or the first argument is C<undef>, then 797=item Why favour JSON, why not real serialising format such as Storable?
286AnyEvent::MP tries to bind on port C<4040> on all IP addresses that the
287local nodename resolves to.
288 798
289Otherwise the first argument must be an array-reference with transport 799In fact, any AnyEvent::MP node will happily accept Storable as framing
290endpoints ("ip:port", "hostname:port") or port numbers (in which case the 800format, but currently there is no way to make a node use Storable by
291local nodename is used as hostname). The endpoints are all resolved and 801default.
292will become the node reference.
293 802
294=cut 803The default framing protocol is JSON because a) JSON::XS is many times
804faster for small messages and b) most importantly, after years of
805experience we found that object serialisation is causing more problems
806than it gains: Just like function calls, objects simply do not travel
807easily over the network, mostly because they will always be a copy, so you
808always have to re-think your design.
295 809
296=back 810Keeping your messages simple, concentrating on data structures rather than
297 811objects, will keep your messages clean, tidy and efficient.
298=head1 NODE MESSAGES
299
300Nodes understand the following messages sent to them. Many of them take
301arguments called C<@reply>, which will simply be used to compose a reply
302message - C<$reply[0]> is the port to reply to, C<$reply[1]> the type and
303the remaining arguments are simply the message data.
304
305=over 4
306
307=cut
308
309=item wkp => $name, @reply
310
311Replies with the port ID of the specified well-known port, or C<undef>.
312
313=item devnull => ...
314
315Generic data sink/CPU heat conversion.
316
317=item relay => $port, @msg
318
319Simply forwards the message to the given port.
320
321=item eval => $string[ @reply]
322
323Evaluates the given string. If C<@reply> is given, then a message of the
324form C<@reply, $@, @evalres> is sent.
325
326Example: crash another node.
327
328 snd $othernode, eval => "exit";
329
330=item time => @reply
331
332Replies the the current node time to C<@reply>.
333
334Example: tell the current node to send the current time to C<$myport> in a
335C<timereply> message.
336
337 snd $NODE, time => $myport, timereply => 1, 2;
338 # => snd $myport, timereply => 1, 2, <time>
339 812
340=back 813=back
341 814
342=head1 SEE ALSO 815=head1 SEE ALSO
343 816

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