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Revision 1.110 by root, Sun Mar 7 19:29:07 2010 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 # destroy a prot again
36 kil $port; # "normal" kill
37 kil $port, my_error => "everything is broken"; # error kill
38
39 # monitoring
40 mon $localport, $cb->(@msg) # callback is invoked on death
41 mon $localport, $otherport # kill otherport on abnormal death
42 mon $localport, $otherport, @msg # send message on death
43
44 # temporarily execute code in port context
45 peval $port, sub { die "kill the port!" };
46
47 # execute callbacks in $SELF port context
48 my $timer = AE::timer 1, 0, psub {
49 die "kill the port, delayed";
50 };
51
52=head1 CURRENT STATUS
53
54 bin/aemp - stable.
55 AnyEvent::MP - stable API, should work.
56 AnyEvent::MP::Intro - explains most concepts.
57 AnyEvent::MP::Kernel - mostly stable API.
58 AnyEvent::MP::Global - stable API.
24 59
25=head1 DESCRIPTION 60=head1 DESCRIPTION
26 61
27This module (-family) implements a simple message passing framework. 62This module (-family) implements a simple message passing framework.
28 63
29Despite its simplicity, you can securely message other processes running 64Despite its simplicity, you can securely message other processes running
30on the same or other hosts. 65on the same or other hosts, and you can supervise entities remotely.
31 66
32At the moment, this module family is severly brokena nd underdocumented, 67For 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 - 68manual page and the examples under F<eg/>.
34stay tuned!
35 69
36=head1 CONCEPTS 70=head1 CONCEPTS
37 71
38=over 4 72=over 4
39 73
40=item port 74=item port
41 75
42A port is something you can send messages to with the C<snd> function, and 76Not 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 77messages to (with the C<snd> function).
44messages they match, messages will not be queued.
45 78
79Ports allow you to register C<rcv> handlers that can match all or just
80some messages. Messages send to ports will not be queued, regardless of
81anything was listening for them or not.
82
46=item port id - C<noderef#portname> 83=item port ID - C<nodeid#portname>
47 84
48A port id is always the noderef, a hash-mark (C<#>) as separator, followed 85A port ID is the concatenation of a node ID, a hash-mark (C<#>) as
49by a port name (a printable string of unspecified format). 86separator, and a port name (a printable string of unspecified format).
50 87
51=item node 88=item node
52 89
53A node is a single process containing at least one port - the node 90A 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, 91which enables nodes to manage each other remotely, and to create new
55among other things. 92ports.
56 93
57Initially, nodes are either private (single-process only) or hidden 94Nodes are either public (have one or more listening ports) or private
58(connected to a master node only). Only when they epxlicitly "become 95(no listening ports). Private nodes cannot talk to other private nodes
59public" can you send them messages from unrelated other nodes. 96currently.
60 97
61=item noderef - C<host:port,host:port...>, C<id@noderef>, C<id> 98=item node ID - C<[A-Z_][a-zA-Z0-9_\-.:]*>
62 99
63A noderef is a string that either uniquely identifies a given node (for 100A 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 101network. Depending on the configuration used, node IDs can look like a
65node (for public nodes). 102hostname, a hostname and a port, or a random string. AnyEvent::MP itself
103doesn't interpret node IDs in any way.
104
105=item binds - C<ip:port>
106
107Nodes can only talk to each other by creating some kind of connection to
108each other. To do this, nodes should listen on one or more local transport
109endpoints - binds. Currently, only standard C<ip:port> specifications can
110be used, which specify TCP ports to listen on.
111
112=item seed nodes
113
114When a node starts, it knows nothing about the network. To teach the node
115about the network it first has to contact some other node within the
116network. This node is called a seed.
117
118Apart from the fact that other nodes know them as seed nodes and they have
119to have fixed listening addresses, seed nodes are perfectly normal nodes -
120any node can function as a seed node for others.
121
122In addition to discovering the network, seed nodes are also used to
123maintain the network and to connect nodes that otherwise would have
124trouble connecting. They form the backbone of an AnyEvent::MP network.
125
126Seed nodes are expected to be long-running, and at least one seed node
127should always be available. They should also be relatively responsive - a
128seed node that blocks for long periods will slow down everybody else.
129
130=item seeds - C<host:port>
131
132Seeds are transport endpoint(s) (usually a hostname/IP address and a
133TCP port) of nodes that should be used as seed nodes.
134
135The nodes listening on those endpoints are expected to be long-running,
136and at least one of those should always be available. When nodes run out
137of connections (e.g. due to a network error), they try to re-establish
138connections to some seednodes again to join the network.
66 139
67=back 140=back
68 141
69=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS 142=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS
70 143
72 145
73=cut 146=cut
74 147
75package AnyEvent::MP; 148package AnyEvent::MP;
76 149
77use AnyEvent::MP::Base; 150use AnyEvent::MP::Kernel;
78 151
79use common::sense; 152use common::sense;
80 153
81use Carp (); 154use Carp ();
82 155
83use AE (); 156use AE ();
84 157
85use base "Exporter"; 158use base "Exporter";
86 159
87our $VERSION = '0.02'; 160our $VERSION = 1.26;
161
88our @EXPORT = qw( 162our @EXPORT = qw(
89 NODE $NODE $PORT snd rcv _any_ 163 NODE $NODE *SELF node_of after
90 create_port create_port_on 164 configure
91 create_miniport 165 snd rcv mon mon_guard kil psub peval spawn cal
92 become_slave become_public 166 port
93); 167);
94 168
169our $SELF;
170
171sub _self_die() {
172 my $msg = $@;
173 $msg =~ s/\n+$// unless ref $msg;
174 kil $SELF, die => $msg;
175}
176
95=item NODE / $NODE 177=item $thisnode = NODE / $NODE
96 178
97The C<NODE ()> function and the C<$NODE> variable contain the noderef of 179The C<NODE> function returns, and the C<$NODE> variable contains, the node
98the local node. The value is initialised by a call to C<become_public> or 180ID of the node running in the current process. This value is initialised by
99C<become_slave>, after which all local port identifiers become invalid. 181a call to C<configure>.
100 182
183=item $nodeid = node_of $port
184
185Extracts and returns the node ID from a port ID or a node ID.
186
187=item configure $profile, key => value...
188
189=item configure key => value...
190
191Before a node can talk to other nodes on the network (i.e. enter
192"distributed mode") it has to configure itself - the minimum a node needs
193to know is its own name, and optionally it should know the addresses of
194some other nodes in the network to discover other nodes.
195
196The key/value pairs are basically the same ones as documented for the
197F<aemp> command line utility (sans the set/del prefix).
198
199This function configures a node - it must be called exactly once (or
200never) before calling other AnyEvent::MP functions.
201
202=over 4
203
204=item step 1, gathering configuration from profiles
205
206The function first looks up a profile in the aemp configuration (see the
207L<aemp> commandline utility). The profile name can be specified via the
208named C<profile> parameter or can simply be the first parameter). If it is
209missing, then the nodename (F<uname -n>) will be used as profile name.
210
211The profile data is then gathered as follows:
212
213First, all remaining key => value pairs (all of which are conveniently
214undocumented at the moment) will be interpreted as configuration
215data. Then they will be overwritten by any values specified in the global
216default configuration (see the F<aemp> utility), then the chain of
217profiles chosen by the profile name (and any C<parent> attributes).
218
219That means that the values specified in the profile have highest priority
220and the values specified directly via C<configure> have lowest priority,
221and can only be used to specify defaults.
222
223If the profile specifies a node ID, then this will become the node ID of
224this process. If not, then the profile name will be used as node ID. The
225special node ID of C<anon/> will be replaced by a random node ID.
226
227=item step 2, bind listener sockets
228
229The next step is to look up the binds in the profile, followed by binding
230aemp protocol listeners on all binds specified (it is possible and valid
231to have no binds, meaning that the node cannot be contacted form the
232outside. This means the node cannot talk to other nodes that also have no
233binds, but it can still talk to all "normal" nodes).
234
235If the profile does not specify a binds list, then a default of C<*> is
236used, meaning the node will bind on a dynamically-assigned port on every
237local IP address it finds.
238
239=item step 3, connect to seed nodes
240
241As the last step, the seeds list from the profile is passed to the
242L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> module, which will then use it to keep
243connectivity with at least one node at any point in time.
244
245=back
246
247Example: become a distributed node using the local node name as profile.
248This should be the most common form of invocation for "daemon"-type nodes.
249
250 configure
251
252Example: become an anonymous node. This form is often used for commandline
253clients.
254
255 configure nodeid => "anon/";
256
257Example: configure a node using a profile called seed, which si suitable
258for a seed node as it binds on all local addresses on a fixed port (4040,
259customary for aemp).
260
261 # use the aemp commandline utility
262 # aemp profile seed nodeid anon/ binds '*:4040'
263
264 # then use it
265 configure profile => "seed";
266
267 # or simply use aemp from the shell again:
268 # aemp run profile seed
269
270 # or provide a nicer-to-remember nodeid
271 # aemp run profile seed nodeid "$(hostname)"
272
273=item $SELF
274
275Contains the current port id while executing C<rcv> callbacks or C<psub>
276blocks.
277
278=item *SELF, SELF, %SELF, @SELF...
279
280Due to some quirks in how perl exports variables, it is impossible to
281just export C<$SELF>, all the symbols named C<SELF> are exported by this
282module, but only C<$SELF> is currently used.
283
101=item snd $portid, type => @data 284=item snd $port, type => @data
102 285
103=item snd $portid, @msg 286=item snd $port, @msg
104 287
105Send the given message to the given port ID, which can identify either 288Send the given message to the given port, which can identify either a
106a local or a remote port, and can be either a string or soemthignt hat 289local or a remote port, and must be a port ID.
107stringifies a sa port ID (such as a port object :).
108 290
109While the message can be about anything, it is highly recommended to use a 291While the message can be almost anything, it is highly recommended to
110string as first element (a portid, or some word that indicates a request 292use a string as first element (a port ID, or some word that indicates a
111type etc.). 293request type etc.) and to consist if only simple perl values (scalars,
294arrays, hashes) - if you think you need to pass an object, think again.
112 295
113The message data effectively becomes read-only after a call to this 296The message data logically becomes read-only after a call to this
114function: modifying any argument is not allowed and can cause many 297function: modifying any argument (or values referenced by them) is
115problems. 298forbidden, as there can be considerable time between the call to C<snd>
299and the time the message is actually being serialised - in fact, it might
300never be copied as within the same process it is simply handed to the
301receiving port.
116 302
117The type of data you can transfer depends on the transport protocol: when 303The type of data you can transfer depends on the transport protocol: when
118JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting 304JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting
119of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything 305of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything
120that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local 306that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local
121node, anything can be passed. 307node, anything can be passed. Best rely only on the common denominator of
308these.
122 309
123=item $local_port = create_port 310=item $local_port = port
124 311
125Create a new local port object. See the next section for allowed methods. 312Create a new local port object and returns its port ID. Initially it has
313no callbacks set and will throw an error when it receives messages.
126 314
127=cut 315=item $local_port = port { my @msg = @_ }
128 316
129sub create_port { 317Creates a new local port, and returns its ID. Semantically the same as
130 my $id = "$AnyEvent::MP::Base::UNIQ." . $AnyEvent::MP::Base::ID++; 318creating a port and calling C<rcv $port, $callback> on it.
131 319
132 my $self = bless { 320The block will be called for every message received on the port, with the
133 id => "$NODE#$id", 321global variable C<$SELF> set to the port ID. Runtime errors will cause the
134 names => [$id], 322port to be C<kil>ed. The message will be passed as-is, no extra argument
135 }, "AnyEvent::MP::Port"; 323(i.e. no port ID) will be passed to the callback.
136 324
137 $AnyEvent::MP::Base::PORT{$id} = sub { 325If you want to stop/destroy the port, simply C<kil> it:
138 unshift @_, $self;
139 326
140 for (@{ $self->{rc0}{$_[1]} }) { 327 my $port = port {
141 $_ && &{$_->[0]} 328 my @msg = @_;
142 && undef $_; 329 ...
330 kil $SELF;
331 };
332
333=cut
334
335sub rcv($@);
336
337sub _kilme {
338 die "received message on port without callback";
339}
340
341sub port(;&) {
342 my $id = "$UNIQ." . $ID++;
343 my $port = "$NODE#$id";
344
345 rcv $port, shift || \&_kilme;
346
347 $port
348}
349
350=item rcv $local_port, $callback->(@msg)
351
352Replaces the default callback on the specified port. There is no way to
353remove the default callback: use C<sub { }> to disable it, or better
354C<kil> the port when it is no longer needed.
355
356The global C<$SELF> (exported by this module) contains C<$port> while
357executing the callback. Runtime errors during callback execution will
358result in the port being C<kil>ed.
359
360The default callback received all messages not matched by a more specific
361C<tag> match.
362
363=item rcv $local_port, tag => $callback->(@msg_without_tag), ...
364
365Register (or replace) callbacks to be called on messages starting with the
366given tag on the given port (and return the port), or unregister it (when
367C<$callback> is C<$undef> or missing). There can only be one callback
368registered for each tag.
369
370The original message will be passed to the callback, after the first
371element (the tag) has been removed. The callback will use the same
372environment as the default callback (see above).
373
374Example: create a port and bind receivers on it in one go.
375
376 my $port = rcv port,
377 msg1 => sub { ... },
378 msg2 => sub { ... },
379 ;
380
381Example: create a port, bind receivers and send it in a message elsewhere
382in one go:
383
384 snd $otherport, reply =>
385 rcv port,
386 msg1 => sub { ... },
387 ...
388 ;
389
390Example: temporarily register a rcv callback for a tag matching some port
391(e.g. for an rpc reply) and unregister it after a message was received.
392
393 rcv $port, $otherport => sub {
394 my @reply = @_;
395
396 rcv $SELF, $otherport;
397 };
398
399=cut
400
401sub rcv($@) {
402 my $port = shift;
403 my ($nodeid, $portid) = split /#/, $port, 2;
404
405 $NODE{$nodeid} == $NODE{""}
406 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on local ports, caught";
407
408 while (@_) {
409 if (ref $_[0]) {
410 if (my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid}) {
411 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
412 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
413
414 $self->[0] = shift;
415 } else {
416 my $cb = shift;
417 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
418 local $SELF = $port;
419 eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
420 };
421 }
422 } elsif (defined $_[0]) {
423 my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid} ||= do {
424 my $self = bless [$PORT{$portid} || sub { }, { }, $port], "AnyEvent::MP::Port";
425
426 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
427 local $SELF = $port;
428
429 if (my $cb = $self->[1]{$_[0]}) {
430 shift;
431 eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
432 } else {
433 &{ $self->[0] };
434 }
435 };
436
437 $self
438 };
439
440 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
441 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
442
443 my ($tag, $cb) = splice @_, 0, 2;
444
445 if (defined $cb) {
446 $self->[1]{$tag} = $cb;
447 } else {
448 delete $self->[1]{$tag};
449 }
143 } 450 }
451 }
144 452
145 for (@{ $self->{rcv}{$_[1]} }) { 453 $port
146 $_ && [@_[1 .. @{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1] 454}
147 && &{$_->[0]} 455
148 && undef $_; 456=item peval $port, $coderef[, @args]
457
458Evaluates the given C<$codref> within the contetx of C<$port>, that is,
459when the code throews an exception the C<$port> will be killed.
460
461Any remaining args will be passed to the callback. Any return values will
462be returned to the caller.
463
464This is useful when you temporarily want to execute code in the context of
465a port.
466
467Example: create a port and run some initialisation code in it's context.
468
469 my $port = port { ... };
470
471 peval $port, sub {
472 init
473 or die "unable to init";
474 };
475
476=cut
477
478sub peval($$) {
479 local $SELF = shift;
480 my $cb = shift;
481
482 if (wantarray) {
483 my @res = eval { &$cb };
484 _self_die if $@;
485 @res
486 } else {
487 my $res = eval { &$cb };
488 _self_die if $@;
489 $res
490 }
491}
492
493=item $closure = psub { BLOCK }
494
495Remembers C<$SELF> and creates a closure out of the BLOCK. When the
496closure is executed, sets up the environment in the same way as in C<rcv>
497callbacks, i.e. runtime errors will cause the port to get C<kil>ed.
498
499The effect is basically as if it returned C<< sub { peval $SELF, sub {
500BLOCK } } >>.
501
502This is useful when you register callbacks from C<rcv> callbacks:
503
504 rcv delayed_reply => sub {
505 my ($delay, @reply) = @_;
506 my $timer = AE::timer $delay, 0, psub {
507 snd @reply, $SELF;
508 };
509 };
510
511=cut
512
513sub psub(&) {
514 my $cb = shift;
515
516 my $port = $SELF
517 or Carp::croak "psub can only be called from within rcv or psub callbacks, not";
518
519 sub {
520 local $SELF = $port;
521
522 if (wantarray) {
523 my @res = eval { &$cb };
524 _self_die if $@;
525 @res
526 } else {
527 my $res = eval { &$cb };
528 _self_die if $@;
529 $res
149 } 530 }
531 }
532}
150 533
151 for (@{ $self->{any} }) { 534=item $guard = mon $port, $cb->(@reason) # call $cb when $port dies
152 $_ && [@_[0 .. $#{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1] 535
153 && &{$_->[0]} 536=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport # kill $rcvport when $port dies
154 && undef $_; 537
538=item $guard = mon $port # kill $SELF when $port dies
539
540=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport, @msg # send a message when $port dies
541
542Monitor the given port and do something when the port is killed or
543messages to it were lost, and optionally return a guard that can be used
544to stop monitoring again.
545
546In the first form (callback), the callback is simply called with any
547number of C<@reason> elements (no @reason means that the port was deleted
548"normally"). Note also that I<< the callback B<must> never die >>, so use
549C<eval> if unsure.
550
551In the second form (another port given), the other port (C<$rcvport>)
552will be C<kil>'ed with C<@reason>, if a @reason was specified, i.e. on
553"normal" kils nothing happens, while under all other conditions, the other
554port is killed with the same reason.
555
556The third form (kill self) is the same as the second form, except that
557C<$rvport> defaults to C<$SELF>.
558
559In the last form (message), a message of the form C<@msg, @reason> will be
560C<snd>.
561
562Monitoring-actions are one-shot: once messages are lost (and a monitoring
563alert was raised), they are removed and will not trigger again.
564
565As a rule of thumb, monitoring requests should always monitor a port from
566a local port (or callback). The reason is that kill messages might get
567lost, just like any other message. Another less obvious reason is that
568even monitoring requests can get lost (for example, when the connection
569to the other node goes down permanently). When monitoring a port locally
570these problems do not exist.
571
572C<mon> effectively guarantees that, in the absence of hardware failures,
573after starting the monitor, either all messages sent to the port will
574arrive, or the monitoring action will be invoked after possible message
575loss has been detected. No messages will be lost "in between" (after
576the first lost message no further messages will be received by the
577port). After the monitoring action was invoked, further messages might get
578delivered again.
579
580Inter-host-connection timeouts and monitoring depend on the transport
581used. The only transport currently implemented is TCP, and AnyEvent::MP
582relies on TCP to detect node-downs (this can take 10-15 minutes on a
583non-idle connection, and usually around two hours for idle connections).
584
585This means that monitoring is good for program errors and cleaning up
586stuff eventually, but they are no replacement for a timeout when you need
587to ensure some maximum latency.
588
589Example: call a given callback when C<$port> is killed.
590
591 mon $port, sub { warn "port died because of <@_>\n" };
592
593Example: kill ourselves when C<$port> is killed abnormally.
594
595 mon $port;
596
597Example: send us a restart message when another C<$port> is killed.
598
599 mon $port, $self => "restart";
600
601=cut
602
603sub mon {
604 my ($nodeid, $port) = split /#/, shift, 2;
605
606 my $node = $NODE{$nodeid} || add_node $nodeid;
607
608 my $cb = @_ ? shift : $SELF || Carp::croak 'mon: called with one argument only, but $SELF not set,';
609
610 unless (ref $cb) {
611 if (@_) {
612 # send a kill info message
613 my (@msg) = ($cb, @_);
614 $cb = sub { snd @msg, @_ };
615 } else {
616 # simply kill other port
617 my $port = $cb;
618 $cb = sub { kil $port, @_ if @_ };
155 } 619 }
620 }
621
622 $node->monitor ($port, $cb);
623
624 defined wantarray
625 and ($cb += 0, AnyEvent::Util::guard { $node->unmonitor ($port, $cb) })
626}
627
628=item $guard = mon_guard $port, $ref, $ref...
629
630Monitors the given C<$port> and keeps the passed references. When the port
631is killed, the references will be freed.
632
633Optionally returns a guard that will stop the monitoring.
634
635This function is useful when you create e.g. timers or other watchers and
636want to free them when the port gets killed (note the use of C<psub>):
637
638 $port->rcv (start => sub {
639 my $timer; $timer = mon_guard $port, AE::timer 1, 1, psub {
640 undef $timer if 0.9 < rand;
641 });
642 });
643
644=cut
645
646sub mon_guard {
647 my ($port, @refs) = @_;
648
649 #TODO: mon-less form?
650
651 mon $port, sub { 0 && @refs }
652}
653
654=item kil $port[, @reason]
655
656Kill the specified port with the given C<@reason>.
657
658If no C<@reason> is specified, then the port is killed "normally" -
659monitor callback will be invoked, but the kil will not cause linked ports
660(C<mon $mport, $lport> form) to get killed.
661
662If a C<@reason> is specified, then linked ports (C<mon $mport, $lport>
663form) get killed with the same reason.
664
665Runtime errors while evaluating C<rcv> callbacks or inside C<psub> blocks
666will be reported as reason C<< die => $@ >>.
667
668Transport/communication errors are reported as C<< transport_error =>
669$message >>.
670
671=cut
672
673=item $port = spawn $node, $initfunc[, @initdata]
674
675Creates a port on the node C<$node> (which can also be a port ID, in which
676case it's the node where that port resides).
677
678The port ID of the newly created port is returned immediately, and it is
679possible to immediately start sending messages or to monitor the port.
680
681After the port has been created, the init function is called on the remote
682node, in the same context as a C<rcv> callback. This function must be a
683fully-qualified function name (e.g. C<MyApp::Chat::Server::init>). To
684specify a function in the main program, use C<::name>.
685
686If the function doesn't exist, then the node tries to C<require>
687the package, then the package above the package and so on (e.g.
688C<MyApp::Chat::Server>, C<MyApp::Chat>, C<MyApp>) until the function
689exists or it runs out of package names.
690
691The init function is then called with the newly-created port as context
692object (C<$SELF>) and the C<@initdata> values as arguments. It I<must>
693call one of the C<rcv> functions to set callbacks on C<$SELF>, otherwise
694the port might not get created.
695
696A common idiom is to pass a local port, immediately monitor the spawned
697port, and in the remote init function, immediately monitor the passed
698local port. This two-way monitoring ensures that both ports get cleaned up
699when there is a problem.
700
701C<spawn> guarantees that the C<$initfunc> has no visible effects on the
702caller before C<spawn> returns (by delaying invocation when spawn is
703called for the local node).
704
705Example: spawn a chat server port on C<$othernode>.
706
707 # this node, executed from within a port context:
708 my $server = spawn $othernode, "MyApp::Chat::Server::connect", $SELF;
709 mon $server;
710
711 # init function on C<$othernode>
712 sub connect {
713 my ($srcport) = @_;
714
715 mon $srcport;
716
717 rcv $SELF, sub {
718 ...
719 };
720 }
721
722=cut
723
724sub _spawn {
725 my $port = shift;
726 my $init = shift;
727
728 # rcv will create the actual port
729 local $SELF = "$NODE#$port";
730 eval {
731 &{ load_func $init }
156 }; 732 };
157 733 _self_die if $@;
158 $self
159} 734}
160 735
161=item $portid = miniport { my @msg = @_; $finished } 736sub spawn(@) {
737 my ($nodeid, undef) = split /#/, shift, 2;
162 738
163Creates a "mini port", that is, a very lightweight port without any 739 my $id = "$RUNIQ." . $ID++;
164pattern matching behind it, and returns its ID.
165 740
166The block will be called for every message received on the port. When the 741 $_[0] =~ /::/
167callback returns a true value its job is considered "done" and the port 742 or Carp::croak "spawn init function must be a fully-qualified name, caught";
168will be destroyed. Otherwise it will stay alive.
169 743
170The message will be passed as-is, no extra argument (i.e. no port id) will 744 snd_to_func $nodeid, "AnyEvent::MP::_spawn" => $id, @_;
171be passed to the callback.
172 745
173If you need the local port id in the callback, this works nicely: 746 "$nodeid#$id"
747}
174 748
175 my $port; $port = miniport { 749=item after $timeout, @msg
176 snd $otherport, reply => $port; 750
751=item after $timeout, $callback
752
753Either sends the given message, or call the given callback, after the
754specified number of seconds.
755
756This is simply a utility function that comes in handy at times - the
757AnyEvent::MP author is not convinced of the wisdom of having it, though,
758so it may go away in the future.
759
760=cut
761
762sub after($@) {
763 my ($timeout, @action) = @_;
764
765 my $t; $t = AE::timer $timeout, 0, sub {
766 undef $t;
767 ref $action[0]
768 ? $action[0]()
769 : snd @action;
177 }; 770 };
771}
178 772
179=cut 773=item cal $port, @msg, $callback[, $timeout]
180 774
181sub miniport(&) { 775A simple form of RPC - sends a message to the given C<$port> with the
776given contents (C<@msg>), but adds a reply port to the message.
777
778The reply port is created temporarily just for the purpose of receiving
779the reply, and will be C<kil>ed when no longer needed.
780
781A reply message sent to the port is passed to the C<$callback> as-is.
782
783If an optional time-out (in seconds) is given and it is not C<undef>,
784then the callback will be called without any arguments after the time-out
785elapsed and the port is C<kil>ed.
786
787If no time-out is given (or it is C<undef>), then the local port will
788monitor the remote port instead, so it eventually gets cleaned-up.
789
790Currently this function returns the temporary port, but this "feature"
791might go in future versions unless you can make a convincing case that
792this is indeed useful for something.
793
794=cut
795
796sub cal(@) {
797 my $timeout = ref $_[-1] ? undef : pop;
182 my $cb = shift; 798 my $cb = pop;
183 my $id = "$AnyEvent::MP::Base::UNIQ." . $AnyEvent::MP::Base::ID++;
184 799
185 $AnyEvent::MP::Base::PORT{$id} = sub { 800 my $port = port {
801 undef $timeout;
802 kil $SELF;
186 &$cb 803 &$cb;
187 and delete $AnyEvent::MP::Base::PORT{$id};
188 }; 804 };
189 805
190 "$NODE#$id" 806 if (defined $timeout) {
191} 807 $timeout = AE::timer $timeout, 0, sub {
808 undef $timeout;
809 kil $port;
810 $cb->();
811 };
812 } else {
813 mon $_[0], sub {
814 kil $port;
815 $cb->();
816 };
817 }
192 818
193package AnyEvent::MP::Port; 819 push @_, $port;
820 &snd;
821
822 $port
823}
194 824
195=back 825=back
196 826
197=head1 METHODS FOR PORT OBJECTS 827=head1 AnyEvent::MP vs. Distributed Erlang
828
829AnyEvent::MP got lots of its ideas from distributed Erlang (Erlang node
830== aemp node, Erlang process == aemp port), so many of the documents and
831programming techniques employed by Erlang apply to AnyEvent::MP. Here is a
832sample:
833
834 http://www.erlang.se/doc/programming_rules.shtml
835 http://erlang.org/doc/getting_started/part_frame.html # chapters 3 and 4
836 http://erlang.org/download/erlang-book-part1.pdf # chapters 5 and 6
837 http://erlang.org/download/armstrong_thesis_2003.pdf # chapters 4 and 5
838
839Despite the similarities, there are also some important differences:
198 840
199=over 4 841=over 4
200 842
201=item "$port" 843=item * Node IDs are arbitrary strings in AEMP.
202 844
203A port object stringifies to its port ID, so can be used directly for 845Erlang relies on special naming and DNS to work everywhere in the same
204C<snd> operations. 846way. AEMP relies on each node somehow knowing its own address(es) (e.g. by
847configuration or DNS), and possibly the addresses of some seed nodes, but
848will otherwise discover other nodes (and their IDs) itself.
205 849
206=cut 850=item * Erlang has a "remote ports are like local ports" philosophy, AEMP
851uses "local ports are like remote ports".
207 852
208use overload 853The failure modes for local ports are quite different (runtime errors
209 '""' => sub { $_[0]{id} }, 854only) then for remote ports - when a local port dies, you I<know> it dies,
210 fallback => 1; 855when a connection to another node dies, you know nothing about the other
856port.
211 857
212=item $port->rcv (type => $callback->($port, @msg)) 858Erlang pretends remote ports are as reliable as local ports, even when
859they are not.
213 860
214=item $port->rcv ($smartmatch => $callback->($port, @msg)) 861AEMP encourages a "treat remote ports differently" philosophy, with local
862ports being the special case/exception, where transport errors cannot
863occur.
215 864
216=item $port->rcv ([$smartmatch...] => $callback->($port, @msg)) 865=item * Erlang uses processes and a mailbox, AEMP does not queue.
217 866
218Register a callback on the given port. 867Erlang uses processes that selectively receive messages, and therefore
868needs a queue. AEMP is event based, queuing messages would serve no
869useful purpose. For the same reason the pattern-matching abilities of
870AnyEvent::MP are more limited, as there is little need to be able to
871filter messages without dequeuing them.
219 872
220The callback has to return a true value when its work is done, after 873(But see L<Coro::MP> for a more Erlang-like process model on top of AEMP).
221which is will be removed, or a false value in which case it will stay
222registered.
223 874
224If the match is an array reference, then it will be matched against the 875=item * Erlang sends are synchronous, AEMP sends are asynchronous.
225first elements of the message, otherwise only the first element is being
226matched.
227 876
228Any element in the match that is specified as C<_any_> (a function 877Sending messages in Erlang is synchronous and blocks the process (and
229exported by this module) matches any single element of the message. 878so does not need a queue that can overflow). AEMP sends are immediate,
879connection establishment is handled in the background.
230 880
231While not required, it is highly recommended that the first matching 881=item * Erlang suffers from silent message loss, AEMP does not.
232element is a string identifying the message. The one-string-only match is
233also the most efficient match (by far).
234 882
235=cut 883Erlang implements few guarantees on messages delivery - messages can get
884lost without any of the processes realising it (i.e. you send messages a,
885b, and c, and the other side only receives messages a and c).
236 886
237sub rcv($@) { 887AEMP guarantees correct ordering, and the guarantee that after one message
238 my ($self, $match, $cb) = @_; 888is lost, all following ones sent to the same port are lost as well, until
889monitoring raises an error, so there are no silent "holes" in the message
890sequence.
239 891
240 if (!ref $match) { 892=item * Erlang can send messages to the wrong port, AEMP does not.
241 push @{ $self->{rc0}{$match} }, [$cb];
242 } elsif (("ARRAY" eq ref $match && !ref $match->[0])) {
243 my ($type, @match) = @$match;
244 @match
245 ? push @{ $self->{rcv}{$match->[0]} }, [$cb, \@match]
246 : push @{ $self->{rc0}{$match->[0]} }, [$cb];
247 } else {
248 push @{ $self->{any} }, [$cb, $match];
249 }
250}
251 893
252=item $port->register ($name) 894In Erlang it is quite likely that a node that restarts reuses a process ID
895known to other nodes for a completely different process, causing messages
896destined for that process to end up in an unrelated process.
253 897
254Registers the given port under the well known name C<$name>. If the name 898AEMP never reuses port IDs, so old messages or old port IDs floating
255already exists it is replaced. 899around in the network will not be sent to an unrelated port.
256 900
257A port can only be registered under one well known name. 901=item * Erlang uses unprotected connections, AEMP uses secure
902authentication and can use TLS.
258 903
259=cut 904AEMP can use a proven protocol - TLS - to protect connections and
905securely authenticate nodes.
260 906
261sub register { 907=item * The AEMP protocol is optimised for both text-based and binary
262 my ($self, $name) = @_; 908communications.
263 909
264 $self->{wkname} = $name; 910The AEMP protocol, unlike the Erlang protocol, supports both programming
265 $AnyEvent::MP::Base::WKP{$name} = "$self"; 911language independent text-only protocols (good for debugging) and binary,
266} 912language-specific serialisers (e.g. Storable). By default, unless TLS is
913used, the protocol is actually completely text-based.
267 914
268=item $port->destroy 915It has also been carefully designed to be implementable in other languages
916with a minimum of work while gracefully degrading functionality to make the
917protocol simple.
269 918
270Explicitly destroy/remove/nuke/vaporise the port. 919=item * AEMP has more flexible monitoring options than Erlang.
271 920
272Ports are normally kept alive by there mere existance alone, and need to 921In Erlang, you can chose to receive I<all> exit signals as messages
273be destroyed explicitly. 922or I<none>, there is no in-between, so monitoring single processes is
923difficult to implement. Monitoring in AEMP is more flexible than in
924Erlang, as one can choose between automatic kill, exit message or callback
925on a per-process basis.
274 926
275=cut 927=item * Erlang tries to hide remote/local connections, AEMP does not.
276 928
277sub destroy { 929Monitoring in Erlang is not an indicator of process death/crashes, in the
278 my ($self) = @_; 930same way as linking is (except linking is unreliable in Erlang).
279 931
280 delete $AnyEvent::MP::Base::WKP{ $self->{wkname} }; 932In AEMP, you don't "look up" registered port names or send to named ports
933that might or might not be persistent. Instead, you normally spawn a port
934on the remote node. The init function monitors you, and you monitor the
935remote port. Since both monitors are local to the node, they are much more
936reliable (no need for C<spawn_link>).
281 937
282 delete $AnyEvent::MP::Base::PORT{$_} 938This also saves round-trips and avoids sending messages to the wrong port
283 for @{ $self->{names} }; 939(hard to do in Erlang).
284}
285 940
286=back 941=back
287 942
288=head1 FUNCTIONS FOR NODES 943=head1 RATIONALE
289 944
290=over 4 945=over 4
291 946
292=item mon $noderef, $callback->($noderef, $status, $) 947=item Why strings for port and node IDs, why not objects?
293 948
294Monitors the given noderef. 949We considered "objects", but found that the actual number of methods
950that can be called are quite low. Since port and node IDs travel over
951the network frequently, the serialising/deserialising would add lots of
952overhead, as well as having to keep a proxy object everywhere.
295 953
296=item become_public endpoint... 954Strings can easily be printed, easily serialised etc. and need no special
955procedures to be "valid".
297 956
298Tells the node to become a public node, i.e. reachable from other nodes. 957And as a result, a port with just a default receiver consists of a single
958closure stored in a global hash - it can't become much cheaper.
299 959
300If no arguments are given, or the first argument is C<undef>, then 960=item Why favour JSON, why not a real serialising format such as Storable?
301AnyEvent::MP tries to bind on port C<4040> on all IP addresses that the
302local nodename resolves to.
303 961
304Otherwise the first argument must be an array-reference with transport 962In fact, any AnyEvent::MP node will happily accept Storable as framing
305endpoints ("ip:port", "hostname:port") or port numbers (in which case the 963format, but currently there is no way to make a node use Storable by
306local nodename is used as hostname). The endpoints are all resolved and 964default (although all nodes will accept it).
307will become the node reference.
308 965
309=cut 966The default framing protocol is JSON because a) JSON::XS is many times
967faster for small messages and b) most importantly, after years of
968experience we found that object serialisation is causing more problems
969than it solves: Just like function calls, objects simply do not travel
970easily over the network, mostly because they will always be a copy, so you
971always have to re-think your design.
972
973Keeping your messages simple, concentrating on data structures rather than
974objects, will keep your messages clean, tidy and efficient.
310 975
311=back 976=back
312 977
313=head1 NODE MESSAGES
314
315Nodes understand the following messages sent to them. Many of them take
316arguments called C<@reply>, which will simply be used to compose a reply
317message - C<$reply[0]> is the port to reply to, C<$reply[1]> the type and
318the remaining arguments are simply the message data.
319
320=over 4
321
322=cut
323
324=item wkp => $name, @reply
325
326Replies with the port ID of the specified well-known port, or C<undef>.
327
328=item devnull => ...
329
330Generic data sink/CPU heat conversion.
331
332=item relay => $port, @msg
333
334Simply forwards the message to the given port.
335
336=item eval => $string[ @reply]
337
338Evaluates the given string. If C<@reply> is given, then a message of the
339form C<@reply, $@, @evalres> is sent.
340
341Example: crash another node.
342
343 snd $othernode, eval => "exit";
344
345=item time => @reply
346
347Replies the the current node time to C<@reply>.
348
349Example: tell the current node to send the current time to C<$myport> in a
350C<timereply> message.
351
352 snd $NODE, time => $myport, timereply => 1, 2;
353 # => snd $myport, timereply => 1, 2, <time>
354
355=back
356
357=head1 SEE ALSO 978=head1 SEE ALSO
979
980L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro> - a gentle introduction.
981
982L<AnyEvent::MP::Kernel> - more, lower-level, stuff.
983
984L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> - network maintainance and port groups, to find
985your applications.
986
987L<AnyEvent::MP::DataConn> - establish data connections between nodes.
988
989L<AnyEvent::MP::LogCatcher> - simple service to display log messages from
990all nodes.
358 991
359L<AnyEvent>. 992L<AnyEvent>.
360 993
361=head1 AUTHOR 994=head1 AUTHOR
362 995

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