ViewVC Help
View File | Revision Log | Show Annotations | Download File
/cvs/AnyEvent-MP/MP.pm
(Generate patch)

Comparing AnyEvent-MP/MP.pm (file contents):
Revision 1.10 by root, Sun Aug 2 18:05:43 2009 UTC vs.
Revision 1.90 by root, Tue Sep 22 09:38:28 2009 UTC

1=head1 NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3AnyEvent::MP - multi-processing/message-passing framework 3AnyEvent::MP - erlang-style multi-processing/message-passing framework
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 node ID
10 NODE # returns this node's node ID
11 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
12 snd $port, type => data...; 20 snd $port, type => data...;
21 snd $port, @msg;
22 snd @msg_with_first_element_being_a_port;
13 23
14 rcv $port, smartmatch => $cb->($port, @msg); 24 # creating/using ports, the simple way
25 my $simple_port = port { my @msg = @_ };
15 26
16 # examples: 27 # creating/using ports, tagged message matching
28 my $port = port;
17 rcv $port2, ping => sub { snd $_[0], "pong"; 0 }; 29 rcv $port, ping => sub { snd $_[0], "pong" };
18 rcv $port1, pong => sub { warn "pong received\n" }; 30 rcv $port, pong => sub { warn "pong received\n" };
19 snd $port2, ping => $port1;
20 31
21 # more, smarter, matches (_any_ is exported by this module) 32 # create a port on another node
22 rcv $port, [child_died => $pid] => sub { ... 33 my $port = spawn $node, $initfunc, @initdata;
23 rcv $port, [_any_, _any_, 3] => sub { .. $_[2] is 3 34
35 # monitoring
36 mon $localport, $cb->(@msg) # callback is invoked on death
37 mon $localport, $otherport # kill otherport on abnormal death
38 mon $localport, $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 - explains most concepts.
45 AnyEvent::MP::Kernel - mostly stable API.
46 AnyEvent::MP::Global - stable API.
24 47
25=head1 DESCRIPTION 48=head1 DESCRIPTION
26 49
27This module (-family) implements a simple message passing framework. 50This module (-family) implements a simple message passing framework.
28 51
29Despite its simplicity, you can securely message other processes running 52Despite its simplicity, you can securely message other processes running
30on the same or other hosts. 53on the same or other hosts, and you can supervise entities remotely.
31 54
32At the moment, this module family is severly brokena nd underdocumented, 55For an introduction to this module family, see the L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro>
33so do not use. This was uploaded mainly to resreve the CPAN namespace - 56manual page and the examples under F<eg/>.
34stay tuned!
35 57
36=head1 CONCEPTS 58=head1 CONCEPTS
37 59
38=over 4 60=over 4
39 61
40=item port 62=item port
41 63
42A port is something you can send messages to with the C<snd> function, and 64Not to be confused with a TCP port, a "port" is something you can send
43you can register C<rcv> handlers with. All C<rcv> handlers will receive 65messages to (with the C<snd> function).
44messages they match, messages will not be queued.
45 66
67Ports allow you to register C<rcv> handlers that can match all or just
68some messages. Messages send to ports will not be queued, regardless of
69anything was listening for them or not.
70
46=item port id - C<noderef#portname> 71=item port ID - C<nodeid#portname>
47 72
48A port id is always the noderef, a hash-mark (C<#>) as separator, followed 73A port ID is the concatenation of a node ID, a hash-mark (C<#>) as
49by a port name (a printable string of unspecified format). 74separator, and a port name (a printable string of unspecified format).
50 75
51=item node 76=item node
52 77
53A node is a single process containing at least one port - the node 78A 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, 79which enables nodes to manage each other remotely, and to create new
55among other things. 80ports.
56 81
57Initially, nodes are either private (single-process only) or hidden 82Nodes are either public (have one or more listening ports) or private
58(connected to a master node only). Only when they epxlicitly "become 83(no listening ports). Private nodes cannot talk to other private nodes
59public" can you send them messages from unrelated other nodes. 84currently.
60 85
61=item noderef - C<host:port,host:port...>, C<id@noderef>, C<id> 86=item node ID - C<[A-Z_][a-zA-Z0-9_\-.:]*>
62 87
63A noderef is a string that either uniquely identifies a given node (for 88A 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 89network. Depending on the configuration used, node IDs can look like a
65node (for public nodes). 90hostname, a hostname and a port, or a random string. AnyEvent::MP itself
91doesn't interpret node IDs in any way.
92
93=item binds - C<ip:port>
94
95Nodes can only talk to each other by creating some kind of connection to
96each other. To do this, nodes should listen on one or more local transport
97endpoints - binds. Currently, only standard C<ip:port> specifications can
98be used, which specify TCP ports to listen on.
99
100=item seed nodes
101
102When a node starts, it knows nothing about the network. To teach the node
103about the network it first has to contact some other node within the
104network. This node is called a seed.
105
106Apart from the fact that other nodes know them as seed nodes and they have
107to have fixed listening addresses, seed nodes are perfectly normal nodes -
108any node can function as a seed node for others.
109
110In addition to discovering the network, seed nodes are also used to
111maintain the network and to connect nodes that otherwise would have
112trouble connecting. They form the backbone of an AnyEvent::MP network.
113
114Seed nodes are expected to be long-running, and at least one seed node
115should always be available. They should also be relatively responsive - a
116seed node that blocks for long periods will slow down everybody else.
117
118=item seeds - C<host:port>
119
120Seeds are transport endpoint(s) (usually a hostname/IP address and a
121TCP port) of nodes thta should be used as seed nodes.
122
123The nodes listening on those endpoints are expected to be long-running,
124and at least one of those should always be available. When nodes run out
125of connections (e.g. due to a network error), they try to re-establish
126connections to some seednodes again to join the network.
66 127
67=back 128=back
68 129
69=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS 130=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS
70 131
72 133
73=cut 134=cut
74 135
75package AnyEvent::MP; 136package AnyEvent::MP;
76 137
77use AnyEvent::MP::Base; 138use AnyEvent::MP::Kernel;
78 139
79use common::sense; 140use common::sense;
80 141
81use Carp (); 142use Carp ();
82 143
83use AE (); 144use AE ();
84 145
85use base "Exporter"; 146use base "Exporter";
86 147
87our $VERSION = '0.02'; 148our $VERSION = $AnyEvent::MP::Kernel::VERSION;
149
88our @EXPORT = qw( 150our @EXPORT = qw(
89 NODE $NODE $PORT snd rcv _any_ 151 NODE $NODE *SELF node_of after
90 create_port create_port_on 152 configure
91 become_slave become_public 153 snd rcv mon mon_guard kil reg psub spawn cal
154 port
92); 155);
93 156
157our $SELF;
158
159sub _self_die() {
160 my $msg = $@;
161 $msg =~ s/\n+$// unless ref $msg;
162 kil $SELF, die => $msg;
163}
164
94=item NODE / $NODE 165=item $thisnode = NODE / $NODE
95 166
96The C<NODE ()> function and the C<$NODE> variable contain the noderef of 167The 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 168ID of the node running in the current process. This value is initialised by
98C<become_slave>, after which all local port identifiers become invalid. 169a call to C<configure>.
99 170
171=item $nodeid = node_of $port
172
173Extracts and returns the node ID from a port ID or a node ID.
174
175=item configure $profile, key => value...
176
177=item configure key => value...
178
179Before a node can talk to other nodes on the network (i.e. enter
180"distributed mode") it has to configure itself - the minimum a node needs
181to know is its own name, and optionally it should know the addresses of
182some other nodes in the network to discover other nodes.
183
184This function configures a node - it must be called exactly once (or
185never) before calling other AnyEvent::MP functions.
186
187=over 4
188
189=item step 1, gathering configuration from profiles
190
191The function first looks up a profile in the aemp configuration (see the
192L<aemp> commandline utility). The profile name can be specified via the
193named C<profile> parameter or can simply be the first parameter). If it is
194missing, then the nodename (F<uname -n>) will be used as profile name.
195
196The profile data is then gathered as follows:
197
198First, all remaining key => value pairs (all of which are conveniently
199undocumented at the moment) will be interpreted as configuration
200data. Then they will be overwritten by any values specified in the global
201default configuration (see the F<aemp> utility), then the chain of
202profiles chosen by the profile name (and any C<parent> attributes).
203
204That means that the values specified in the profile have highest priority
205and the values specified directly via C<configure> have lowest priority,
206and can only be used to specify defaults.
207
208If the profile specifies a node ID, then this will become the node ID of
209this process. If not, then the profile name will be used as node ID. The
210special node ID of C<anon/> will be replaced by a random node ID.
211
212=item step 2, bind listener sockets
213
214The next step is to look up the binds in the profile, followed by binding
215aemp protocol listeners on all binds specified (it is possible and valid
216to have no binds, meaning that the node cannot be contacted form the
217outside. This means the node cannot talk to other nodes that also have no
218binds, but it can still talk to all "normal" nodes).
219
220If the profile does not specify a binds list, then a default of C<*> is
221used, meaning the node will bind on a dynamically-assigned port on every
222local IP address it finds.
223
224=item step 3, connect to seed nodes
225
226As the last step, the seeds list from the profile is passed to the
227L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> module, which will then use it to keep
228connectivity with at least one node at any point in time.
229
230=back
231
232Example: become a distributed node using the local node name as profile.
233This should be the most common form of invocation for "daemon"-type nodes.
234
235 configure
236
237Example: become an anonymous node. This form is often used for commandline
238clients.
239
240 configure nodeid => "anon/";
241
242Example: configure a node using a profile called seed, which si suitable
243for a seed node as it binds on all local addresses on a fixed port (4040,
244customary for aemp).
245
246 # use the aemp commandline utility
247 # aemp profile seed nodeid anon/ binds '*:4040'
248
249 # then use it
250 configure profile => "seed";
251
252 # or simply use aemp from the shell again:
253 # aemp run profile seed
254
255 # or provide a nicer-to-remember nodeid
256 # aemp run profile seed nodeid "$(hostname)"
257
258=item $SELF
259
260Contains the current port id while executing C<rcv> callbacks or C<psub>
261blocks.
262
263=item *SELF, SELF, %SELF, @SELF...
264
265Due to some quirks in how perl exports variables, it is impossible to
266just export C<$SELF>, all the symbols named C<SELF> are exported by this
267module, but only C<$SELF> is currently used.
268
100=item snd $portid, type => @data 269=item snd $port, type => @data
101 270
102=item snd $portid, @msg 271=item snd $port, @msg
103 272
104Send the given message to the given port ID, which can identify either 273Send the given message to the given port, which can identify either a
105a local or a remote port, and can be either a string or soemthignt hat 274local or a remote port, and must be a port ID.
106stringifies a sa port ID (such as a port object :).
107 275
108While the message can be about anything, it is highly recommended to use a 276While the message can be almost anything, it is highly recommended to
109string as first element (a portid, or some word that indicates a request 277use a string as first element (a port ID, or some word that indicates a
110type etc.). 278request type etc.) and to consist if only simple perl values (scalars,
279arrays, hashes) - if you think you need to pass an object, think again.
111 280
112The message data effectively becomes read-only after a call to this 281The message data logically becomes read-only after a call to this
113function: modifying any argument is not allowed and can cause many 282function: modifying any argument (or values referenced by them) is
114problems. 283forbidden, as there can be considerable time between the call to C<snd>
284and the time the message is actually being serialised - in fact, it might
285never be copied as within the same process it is simply handed to the
286receiving port.
115 287
116The type of data you can transfer depends on the transport protocol: when 288The type of data you can transfer depends on the transport protocol: when
117JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting 289JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting
118of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything 290of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything
119that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local 291that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local
120node, anything can be passed. 292node, anything can be passed. Best rely only on the common denominator of
293these.
121 294
122=item $local_port = create_port 295=item $local_port = port
123 296
124Create a new local port object. See the next section for allowed methods. 297Create a new local port object and returns its port ID. Initially it has
298no callbacks set and will throw an error when it receives messages.
125 299
126=cut 300=item $local_port = port { my @msg = @_ }
127 301
128sub create_port { 302Creates a new local port, and returns its ID. Semantically the same as
129 my $id = "$AnyEvent::MP::Base::UNIQ." . ++$AnyEvent::MP::Base::ID; 303creating a port and calling C<rcv $port, $callback> on it.
130 304
131 my $self = bless { 305The block will be called for every message received on the port, with the
132 id => "$NODE#$id", 306global variable C<$SELF> set to the port ID. Runtime errors will cause the
133 names => [$id], 307port to be C<kil>ed. The message will be passed as-is, no extra argument
134 }, "AnyEvent::MP::Port"; 308(i.e. no port ID) will be passed to the callback.
135 309
136 $AnyEvent::MP::Base::PORT{$id} = sub { 310If you want to stop/destroy the port, simply C<kil> it:
137 unshift @_, $self;
138 311
139 for (@{ $self->{rc0}{$_[1]} }) { 312 my $port = port {
140 $_ && &{$_->[0]} 313 my @msg = @_;
141 && undef $_; 314 ...
315 kil $SELF;
316 };
317
318=cut
319
320sub rcv($@);
321
322sub _kilme {
323 die "received message on port without callback";
324}
325
326sub port(;&) {
327 my $id = "$UNIQ." . $ID++;
328 my $port = "$NODE#$id";
329
330 rcv $port, shift || \&_kilme;
331
332 $port
333}
334
335=item rcv $local_port, $callback->(@msg)
336
337Replaces the default callback on the specified port. There is no way to
338remove the default callback: use C<sub { }> to disable it, or better
339C<kil> the port when it is no longer needed.
340
341The global C<$SELF> (exported by this module) contains C<$port> while
342executing the callback. Runtime errors during callback execution will
343result in the port being C<kil>ed.
344
345The default callback received all messages not matched by a more specific
346C<tag> match.
347
348=item rcv $local_port, tag => $callback->(@msg_without_tag), ...
349
350Register (or replace) callbacks to be called on messages starting with the
351given tag on the given port (and return the port), or unregister it (when
352C<$callback> is C<$undef> or missing). There can only be one callback
353registered for each tag.
354
355The original message will be passed to the callback, after the first
356element (the tag) has been removed. The callback will use the same
357environment as the default callback (see above).
358
359Example: create a port and bind receivers on it in one go.
360
361 my $port = rcv port,
362 msg1 => sub { ... },
363 msg2 => sub { ... },
364 ;
365
366Example: create a port, bind receivers and send it in a message elsewhere
367in one go:
368
369 snd $otherport, reply =>
370 rcv port,
371 msg1 => sub { ... },
372 ...
373 ;
374
375Example: temporarily register a rcv callback for a tag matching some port
376(e.g. for a rpc reply) and unregister it after a message was received.
377
378 rcv $port, $otherport => sub {
379 my @reply = @_;
380
381 rcv $SELF, $otherport;
382 };
383
384=cut
385
386sub rcv($@) {
387 my $port = shift;
388 my ($nodeid, $portid) = split /#/, $port, 2;
389
390 $NODE{$nodeid} == $NODE{""}
391 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on local ports, caught";
392
393 while (@_) {
394 if (ref $_[0]) {
395 if (my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid}) {
396 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
397 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
398
399 $self->[2] = shift;
400 } else {
401 my $cb = shift;
402 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
403 local $SELF = $port;
404 eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
405 };
406 }
407 } elsif (defined $_[0]) {
408 my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid} ||= do {
409 my $self = bless [$PORT{$port} || sub { }, { }, $port], "AnyEvent::MP::Port";
410
411 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
412 local $SELF = $port;
413
414 if (my $cb = $self->[1]{$_[0]}) {
415 shift;
416 eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
417 } else {
418 &{ $self->[0] };
419 }
420 };
421
422 $self
423 };
424
425 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
426 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
427
428 my ($tag, $cb) = splice @_, 0, 2;
429
430 if (defined $cb) {
431 $self->[1]{$tag} = $cb;
432 } else {
433 delete $self->[1]{$tag};
434 }
142 } 435 }
436 }
143 437
144 for (@{ $self->{rcv}{$_[1]} }) { 438 $port
145 $_ && [@_[1 .. @{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1] 439}
146 && &{$_->[0]} 440
147 && undef $_; 441=item $closure = psub { BLOCK }
442
443Remembers C<$SELF> and creates a closure out of the BLOCK. When the
444closure is executed, sets up the environment in the same way as in C<rcv>
445callbacks, i.e. runtime errors will cause the port to get C<kil>ed.
446
447This is useful when you register callbacks from C<rcv> callbacks:
448
449 rcv delayed_reply => sub {
450 my ($delay, @reply) = @_;
451 my $timer = AE::timer $delay, 0, psub {
452 snd @reply, $SELF;
453 };
454 };
455
456=cut
457
458sub psub(&) {
459 my $cb = shift;
460
461 my $port = $SELF
462 or Carp::croak "psub can only be called from within rcv or psub callbacks, not";
463
464 sub {
465 local $SELF = $port;
466
467 if (wantarray) {
468 my @res = eval { &$cb };
469 _self_die if $@;
470 @res
471 } else {
472 my $res = eval { &$cb };
473 _self_die if $@;
474 $res
148 } 475 }
476 }
477}
149 478
150 for (@{ $self->{any} }) { 479=item $guard = mon $port, $cb->(@reason) # call $cb when $port dies
151 $_ && [@_[0 .. $#{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1] 480
152 && &{$_->[0]} 481=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport # kill $rcvport when $port dies
153 && undef $_; 482
483=item $guard = mon $port # kill $SELF when $port dies
484
485=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport, @msg # send a message when $port dies
486
487Monitor the given port and do something when the port is killed or
488messages to it were lost, and optionally return a guard that can be used
489to stop monitoring again.
490
491In the first form (callback), the callback is simply called with any
492number of C<@reason> elements (no @reason means that the port was deleted
493"normally"). Note also that I<< the callback B<must> never die >>, so use
494C<eval> if unsure.
495
496In the second form (another port given), the other port (C<$rcvport>)
497will be C<kil>'ed with C<@reason>, if a @reason was specified, i.e. on
498"normal" kils nothing happens, while under all other conditions, the other
499port is killed with the same reason.
500
501The third form (kill self) is the same as the second form, except that
502C<$rvport> defaults to C<$SELF>.
503
504In the last form (message), a message of the form C<@msg, @reason> will be
505C<snd>.
506
507Monitoring-actions are one-shot: once messages are lost (and a monitoring
508alert was raised), they are removed and will not trigger again.
509
510As a rule of thumb, monitoring requests should always monitor a port from
511a local port (or callback). The reason is that kill messages might get
512lost, just like any other message. Another less obvious reason is that
513even monitoring requests can get lost (for example, when the connection
514to the other node goes down permanently). When monitoring a port locally
515these problems do not exist.
516
517C<mon> effectively guarantees that, in the absence of hardware failures,
518after starting the monitor, either all messages sent to the port will
519arrive, or the monitoring action will be invoked after possible message
520loss has been detected. No messages will be lost "in between" (after
521the first lost message no further messages will be received by the
522port). After the monitoring action was invoked, further messages might get
523delivered again.
524
525Inter-host-connection timeouts and monitoring depend on the transport
526used. The only transport currently implemented is TCP, and AnyEvent::MP
527relies on TCP to detect node-downs (this can take 10-15 minutes on a
528non-idle connection, and usually around two hours for idle conenctions).
529
530This means that monitoring is good for program errors and cleaning up
531stuff eventually, but they are no replacement for a timeout when you need
532to ensure some maximum latency.
533
534Example: call a given callback when C<$port> is killed.
535
536 mon $port, sub { warn "port died because of <@_>\n" };
537
538Example: kill ourselves when C<$port> is killed abnormally.
539
540 mon $port;
541
542Example: send us a restart message when another C<$port> is killed.
543
544 mon $port, $self => "restart";
545
546=cut
547
548sub mon {
549 my ($nodeid, $port) = split /#/, shift, 2;
550
551 my $node = $NODE{$nodeid} || add_node $nodeid;
552
553 my $cb = @_ ? shift : $SELF || Carp::croak 'mon: called with one argument only, but $SELF not set,';
554
555 unless (ref $cb) {
556 if (@_) {
557 # send a kill info message
558 my (@msg) = ($cb, @_);
559 $cb = sub { snd @msg, @_ };
560 } else {
561 # simply kill other port
562 my $port = $cb;
563 $cb = sub { kil $port, @_ if @_ };
154 } 564 }
565 }
566
567 $node->monitor ($port, $cb);
568
569 defined wantarray
570 and AnyEvent::Util::guard { $node->unmonitor ($port, $cb) }
571}
572
573=item $guard = mon_guard $port, $ref, $ref...
574
575Monitors the given C<$port> and keeps the passed references. When the port
576is killed, the references will be freed.
577
578Optionally returns a guard that will stop the monitoring.
579
580This function is useful when you create e.g. timers or other watchers and
581want to free them when the port gets killed (note the use of C<psub>):
582
583 $port->rcv (start => sub {
584 my $timer; $timer = mon_guard $port, AE::timer 1, 1, psub {
585 undef $timer if 0.9 < rand;
586 });
587 });
588
589=cut
590
591sub mon_guard {
592 my ($port, @refs) = @_;
593
594 #TODO: mon-less form?
595
596 mon $port, sub { 0 && @refs }
597}
598
599=item kil $port[, @reason]
600
601Kill the specified port with the given C<@reason>.
602
603If no C<@reason> is specified, then the port is killed "normally" (ports
604monitoring other ports will not necessarily die because a port dies
605"normally").
606
607Otherwise, linked ports get killed with the same reason (second form of
608C<mon>, see above).
609
610Runtime errors while evaluating C<rcv> callbacks or inside C<psub> blocks
611will be reported as reason C<< die => $@ >>.
612
613Transport/communication errors are reported as C<< transport_error =>
614$message >>.
615
616=cut
617
618=item $port = spawn $node, $initfunc[, @initdata]
619
620Creates a port on the node C<$node> (which can also be a port ID, in which
621case it's the node where that port resides).
622
623The port ID of the newly created port is returned immediately, and it is
624possible to immediately start sending messages or to monitor the port.
625
626After the port has been created, the init function is called on the remote
627node, in the same context as a C<rcv> callback. This function must be a
628fully-qualified function name (e.g. C<MyApp::Chat::Server::init>). To
629specify a function in the main program, use C<::name>.
630
631If the function doesn't exist, then the node tries to C<require>
632the package, then the package above the package and so on (e.g.
633C<MyApp::Chat::Server>, C<MyApp::Chat>, C<MyApp>) until the function
634exists or it runs out of package names.
635
636The init function is then called with the newly-created port as context
637object (C<$SELF>) and the C<@initdata> values as arguments. It I<must>
638call one of the C<rcv> functions to set callbacks on C<$SELF>, otherwise
639the port might not get created.
640
641A common idiom is to pass a local port, immediately monitor the spawned
642port, and in the remote init function, immediately monitor the passed
643local port. This two-way monitoring ensures that both ports get cleaned up
644when there is a problem.
645
646C<spawn> guarantees that the C<$initfunc> has no visible effects on the
647caller before C<spawn> returns (by delaying invocation when spawn is
648called for the local node).
649
650Example: spawn a chat server port on C<$othernode>.
651
652 # this node, executed from within a port context:
653 my $server = spawn $othernode, "MyApp::Chat::Server::connect", $SELF;
654 mon $server;
655
656 # init function on C<$othernode>
657 sub connect {
658 my ($srcport) = @_;
659
660 mon $srcport;
661
662 rcv $SELF, sub {
663 ...
664 };
665 }
666
667=cut
668
669sub _spawn {
670 my $port = shift;
671 my $init = shift;
672
673 # rcv will create the actual port
674 local $SELF = "$NODE#$port";
675 eval {
676 &{ load_func $init }
155 }; 677 };
156 678 _self_die if $@;
157 $self
158} 679}
159 680
160=item $portid = create_miniport { } 681sub spawn(@) {
682 my ($nodeid, undef) = split /#/, shift, 2;
161 683
162Creates a "mini port", that is, a port without much #TODO 684 my $id = "$RUNIQ." . $ID++;
163 685
164=cut 686 $_[0] =~ /::/
687 or Carp::croak "spawn init function must be a fully-qualified name, caught";
165 688
166sub create_miniport(&) { 689 snd_to_func $nodeid, "AnyEvent::MP::_spawn" => $id, @_;
167 my $cb = shift;
168 my $id = "$AnyEvent::MP::Base::UNIQ." . ++$AnyEvent::MP::Base::ID;
169 690
170 $AnyEvent::MP::Base::PORT{$id} = sub { 691 "$nodeid#$id"
171 &$cb 692}
172 and delete $AnyEvent::MP::Base::PORT{$id}; 693
694=item after $timeout, @msg
695
696=item after $timeout, $callback
697
698Either sends the given message, or call the given callback, after the
699specified number of seconds.
700
701This is simply a utility function that comes in handy at times - the
702AnyEvent::MP author is not convinced of the wisdom of having it, though,
703so it may go away in the future.
704
705=cut
706
707sub after($@) {
708 my ($timeout, @action) = @_;
709
710 my $t; $t = AE::timer $timeout, 0, sub {
711 undef $t;
712 ref $action[0]
713 ? $action[0]()
714 : snd @action;
173 }; 715 };
174
175 "$NODE#$id"
176} 716}
177 717
178package AnyEvent::MP::Port; 718=item cal $port, @msg, $callback[, $timeout]
719
720A simple form of RPC - sends a message to the given C<$port> with the
721given contents (C<@msg>), but adds a reply port to the message.
722
723The reply port is created temporarily just for the purpose of receiving
724the reply, and will be C<kil>ed when no longer needed.
725
726A reply message sent to the port is passed to the C<$callback> as-is.
727
728If an optional time-out (in seconds) is given and it is not C<undef>,
729then the callback will be called without any arguments after the time-out
730elapsed and the port is C<kil>ed.
731
732If no time-out is given, then the local port will monitor the remote port
733instead, so it eventually gets cleaned-up.
734
735Currently this function returns the temporary port, but this "feature"
736might go in future versions unless you can make a convincing case that
737this is indeed useful for something.
738
739=cut
740
741sub cal(@) {
742 my $timeout = ref $_[-1] ? undef : pop;
743 my $cb = pop;
744
745 my $port = port {
746 undef $timeout;
747 kil $SELF;
748 &$cb;
749 };
750
751 if (defined $timeout) {
752 $timeout = AE::timer $timeout, 0, sub {
753 undef $timeout;
754 kil $port;
755 $cb->();
756 };
757 } else {
758 mon $_[0], sub {
759 kil $port;
760 $cb->();
761 };
762 }
763
764 push @_, $port;
765 &snd;
766
767 $port
768}
179 769
180=back 770=back
181 771
182=head1 METHODS FOR PORT OBJECTS 772=head1 AnyEvent::MP vs. Distributed Erlang
773
774AnyEvent::MP got lots of its ideas from distributed Erlang (Erlang node
775== aemp node, Erlang process == aemp port), so many of the documents and
776programming techniques employed by Erlang apply to AnyEvent::MP. Here is a
777sample:
778
779 http://www.Erlang.se/doc/programming_rules.shtml
780 http://Erlang.org/doc/getting_started/part_frame.html # chapters 3 and 4
781 http://Erlang.org/download/Erlang-book-part1.pdf # chapters 5 and 6
782 http://Erlang.org/download/armstrong_thesis_2003.pdf # chapters 4 and 5
783
784Despite the similarities, there are also some important differences:
183 785
184=over 4 786=over 4
185 787
186=item "$port" 788=item * Node IDs are arbitrary strings in AEMP.
187 789
188A port object stringifies to its port ID, so can be used directly for 790Erlang relies on special naming and DNS to work everywhere in the same
189C<snd> operations. 791way. AEMP relies on each node somehow knowing its own address(es) (e.g. by
792configuration or DNS), but will otherwise discover other odes itself.
190 793
191=cut 794=item * Erlang has a "remote ports are like local ports" philosophy, AEMP
795uses "local ports are like remote ports".
192 796
193use overload 797The failure modes for local ports are quite different (runtime errors
194 '""' => sub { $_[0]{id} }, 798only) then for remote ports - when a local port dies, you I<know> it dies,
195 fallback => 1; 799when a connection to another node dies, you know nothing about the other
800port.
196 801
197=item $port->rcv (type => $callback->($port, @msg)) 802Erlang pretends remote ports are as reliable as local ports, even when
803they are not.
198 804
199=item $port->rcv ($smartmatch => $callback->($port, @msg)) 805AEMP encourages a "treat remote ports differently" philosophy, with local
806ports being the special case/exception, where transport errors cannot
807occur.
200 808
201=item $port->rcv ([$smartmatch...] => $callback->($port, @msg)) 809=item * Erlang uses processes and a mailbox, AEMP does not queue.
202 810
203Register a callback on the given port. 811Erlang uses processes that selectively receive messages, and therefore
812needs a queue. AEMP is event based, queuing messages would serve no
813useful purpose. For the same reason the pattern-matching abilities of
814AnyEvent::MP are more limited, as there is little need to be able to
815filter messages without dequeuing them.
204 816
205The callback has to return a true value when its work is done, after 817(But see L<Coro::MP> for a more Erlang-like process model on top of AEMP).
206which is will be removed, or a false value in which case it will stay
207registered.
208 818
209If the match is an array reference, then it will be matched against the 819=item * Erlang sends are synchronous, AEMP sends are asynchronous.
210first elements of the message, otherwise only the first element is being
211matched.
212 820
213Any element in the match that is specified as C<_any_> (a function 821Sending messages in Erlang is synchronous and blocks the process (and
214exported by this module) matches any single element of the message. 822so does not need a queue that can overflow). AEMP sends are immediate,
823connection establishment is handled in the background.
215 824
216While not required, it is highly recommended that the first matching 825=item * Erlang suffers from silent message loss, AEMP does not.
217element is a string identifying the message. The one-string-only match is
218also the most efficient match (by far).
219 826
220=cut 827Erlang makes few guarantees on messages delivery - messages can get lost
828without any of the processes realising it (i.e. you send messages a, b,
829and c, and the other side only receives messages a and c).
221 830
222sub rcv($@) { 831AEMP guarantees correct ordering, and the guarantee that after one message
223 my ($self, $match, $cb) = @_; 832is lost, all following ones sent to the same port are lost as well, until
833monitoring raises an error, so there are no silent "holes" in the message
834sequence.
224 835
225 if (!ref $match) { 836=item * Erlang can send messages to the wrong port, AEMP does not.
226 push @{ $self->{rc0}{$match} }, [$cb];
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}
236 837
237=item $port->register ($name) 838In Erlang it is quite likely that a node that restarts reuses a process ID
839known to other nodes for a completely different process, causing messages
840destined for that process to end up in an unrelated process.
238 841
239Registers the given port under the well known name C<$name>. If the name 842AEMP never reuses port IDs, so old messages or old port IDs floating
240already exists it is replaced. 843around in the network will not be sent to an unrelated port.
241 844
242A port can only be registered under one well known name. 845=item * Erlang uses unprotected connections, AEMP uses secure
846authentication and can use TLS.
243 847
244=cut 848AEMP can use a proven protocol - TLS - to protect connections and
849securely authenticate nodes.
245 850
246sub register { 851=item * The AEMP protocol is optimised for both text-based and binary
247 my ($self, $name) = @_; 852communications.
248 853
249 $self->{wkname} = $name; 854The AEMP protocol, unlike the Erlang protocol, supports both programming
250 $AnyEvent::MP::Base::WKP{$name} = "$self"; 855language independent text-only protocols (good for debugging) and binary,
251} 856language-specific serialisers (e.g. Storable). By default, unless TLS is
857used, the protocol is actually completely text-based.
252 858
253=item $port->destroy 859It has also been carefully designed to be implementable in other languages
860with a minimum of work while gracefully degrading functionality to make the
861protocol simple.
254 862
255Explicitly destroy/remove/nuke/vaporise the port. 863=item * AEMP has more flexible monitoring options than Erlang.
256 864
257Ports are normally kept alive by there mere existance alone, and need to 865In Erlang, you can chose to receive I<all> exit signals as messages
258be destroyed explicitly. 866or I<none>, there is no in-between, so monitoring single processes is
867difficult to implement. Monitoring in AEMP is more flexible than in
868Erlang, as one can choose between automatic kill, exit message or callback
869on a per-process basis.
259 870
260=cut 871=item * Erlang tries to hide remote/local connections, AEMP does not.
261 872
262sub destroy { 873Monitoring in Erlang is not an indicator of process death/crashes, in the
263 my ($self) = @_; 874same way as linking is (except linking is unreliable in Erlang).
264 875
265 delete $AnyEvent::MP::Base::WKP{ $self->{wkname} }; 876In AEMP, you don't "look up" registered port names or send to named ports
877that might or might not be persistent. Instead, you normally spawn a port
878on the remote node. The init function monitors you, and you monitor the
879remote port. Since both monitors are local to the node, they are much more
880reliable (no need for C<spawn_link>).
266 881
267 delete $AnyEvent::MP::Base::PORT{$_} 882This also saves round-trips and avoids sending messages to the wrong port
268 for @{ $self->{names} }; 883(hard to do in Erlang).
269}
270 884
271=back 885=back
272 886
273=head1 FUNCTIONS FOR NODES 887=head1 RATIONALE
274 888
275=over 4 889=over 4
276 890
277=item mon $noderef, $callback->($noderef, $status, $) 891=item Why strings for port and node IDs, why not objects?
278 892
279Monitors the given noderef. 893We considered "objects", but found that the actual number of methods
894that can be called are quite low. Since port and node IDs travel over
895the network frequently, the serialising/deserialising would add lots of
896overhead, as well as having to keep a proxy object everywhere.
280 897
281=item become_public endpoint... 898Strings can easily be printed, easily serialised etc. and need no special
899procedures to be "valid".
282 900
283Tells the node to become a public node, i.e. reachable from other nodes. 901And as a result, a miniport consists of a single closure stored in a
902global hash - it can't become much cheaper.
284 903
285If no arguments are given, or the first argument is C<undef>, then 904=item Why favour JSON, why not a 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.
288 905
289Otherwise the first argument must be an array-reference with transport 906In fact, any AnyEvent::MP node will happily accept Storable as framing
290endpoints ("ip:port", "hostname:port") or port numbers (in which case the 907format, 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 908default (although all nodes will accept it).
292will become the node reference.
293 909
294=cut 910The default framing protocol is JSON because a) JSON::XS is many times
911faster for small messages and b) most importantly, after years of
912experience we found that object serialisation is causing more problems
913than it solves: Just like function calls, objects simply do not travel
914easily over the network, mostly because they will always be a copy, so you
915always have to re-think your design.
916
917Keeping your messages simple, concentrating on data structures rather than
918objects, will keep your messages clean, tidy and efficient.
295 919
296=back 920=back
297 921
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
340=back
341
342=head1 SEE ALSO 922=head1 SEE ALSO
923
924L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro> - a gentle introduction.
925
926L<AnyEvent::MP::Kernel> - more, lower-level, stuff.
927
928L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> - network maintainance and port groups, to find
929your applications.
930
931L<AnyEvent::MP::LogCatcher> - simple service to display log messages from
932all nodes.
343 933
344L<AnyEvent>. 934L<AnyEvent>.
345 935
346=head1 AUTHOR 936=head1 AUTHOR
347 937

Diff Legend

Removed lines
+ Added lines
< Changed lines
> Changed lines