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Revision 1.134 by root, Mon Mar 12 14:47:23 2012 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 port again
36 kil $port; # "normal" kill
37 kil $port, my_error => "everything is broken"; # error kill
38
39 # monitoring
40 mon $port, $cb->(@msg) # callback is invoked on death
41 mon $port, $localport # kill localport on abnormal death
42 mon $port, $localport, @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 reserve 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
83Ports are represented by (printable) strings called "port IDs".
84
46=item port id - C<noderef#portname> 85=item port ID - C<nodeid#portname>
47 86
48A port id is always the noderef, a hash-mark (C<#>) as separator, followed 87A port ID is the concatenation of a node ID, a hash-mark (C<#>)
49by a port name (a printable string of unspecified format). 88as separator, and a port name (a printable string of unspecified
89format created by AnyEvent::MP).
50 90
51=item node 91=item node
52 92
53A node is a single process containing at least one port - the node 93A 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, 94which enables nodes to manage each other remotely, and to create new
55among other things. 95ports.
56 96
57Initially, nodes are either private (single-process only) or hidden 97Nodes are either public (have one or more listening ports) or private
58(connected to a master node only). Only when they epxlicitly "become 98(no listening ports). Private nodes cannot talk to other private nodes
59public" can you send them messages from unrelated other nodes. 99currently, but all nodes can talk to public nodes.
60 100
61=item noderef - C<host:port,host:port...>, C<id@noderef>, C<id> 101Nodes is represented by (printable) strings called "node IDs".
62 102
103=item node ID - C<[A-Za-z0-9_\-.:]*>
104
63A noderef is a string that either uniquely identifies a given node (for 105A 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 106network. Depending on the configuration used, node IDs can look like a
65node (for public nodes). 107hostname, a hostname and a port, or a random string. AnyEvent::MP itself
108doesn't interpret node IDs in any way except to uniquely identify a node.
109
110=item binds - C<ip:port>
111
112Nodes can only talk to each other by creating some kind of connection to
113each other. To do this, nodes should listen on one or more local transport
114endpoints - binds.
115
116Currently, only standard C<ip:port> specifications can be used, which
117specify TCP ports to listen on. So a bind is basically just a tcp socket
118in listening mode thta accepts conenctions form other nodes.
119
120=item seed nodes
121
122When a node starts, it knows nothing about the network it is in - it
123needs to connect to at least one other node that is already in the
124network. These other nodes are called "seed nodes".
125
126Seed nodes themselves are not special - they are seed nodes only because
127some other node I<uses> them as such, but any node can be used as seed
128node for other nodes, and eahc node cna use a different set of seed nodes.
129
130In addition to discovering the network, seed nodes are also used to
131maintain the network - all nodes using the same seed node form are part of
132the same network. If a network is split into multiple subnets because e.g.
133the network link between the parts goes down, then using the same seed
134nodes for all nodes ensures that eventually the subnets get merged again.
135
136Seed nodes are expected to be long-running, and at least one seed node
137should always be available. They should also be relatively responsive - a
138seed node that blocks for long periods will slow down everybody else.
139
140For small networks, it's best if every node uses the same set of seed
141nodes. For large networks, it can be useful to specify "regional" seed
142nodes for most nodes in an area, and use all seed nodes as seed nodes for
143each other. What's important is that all seed nodes connections form a
144complete graph, so that the network cannot split into separate subnets
145forever.
146
147Seed nodes are represented by seed IDs.
148
149=item seed IDs - C<host:port>
150
151Seed IDs are transport endpoint(s) (usually a hostname/IP address and a
152TCP port) of nodes that should be used as seed nodes.
153
154=item global nodes
155
156An AEMP network needs a discovery service - nodes need to know how to
157connect to other nodes they only know by name. In addition, AEMP offers a
158distributed "group database", which maps group names to a list of strings
159- for example, to register worker ports.
160
161A network needs at least one global node to work, and allows every node to
162be a global node.
163
164Any node that loads the L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> module becomes a global
165node and tries to keep connections to all other nodes. So while it can
166make sense to make every node "global" in small networks, it usually makes
167sense to only make seed nodes into global nodes in large networks (nodes
168keep connections to seed nodes and global nodes, so makign them the same
169reduces overhead).
66 170
67=back 171=back
68 172
69=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS 173=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS
70 174
72 176
73=cut 177=cut
74 178
75package AnyEvent::MP; 179package AnyEvent::MP;
76 180
181use AnyEvent::MP::Config ();
77use AnyEvent::MP::Base; 182use AnyEvent::MP::Kernel;
183use AnyEvent::MP::Kernel qw(%NODE %PORT %PORT_DATA $UNIQ $RUNIQ $ID);
78 184
79use common::sense; 185use common::sense;
80 186
81use Carp (); 187use Carp ();
82 188
83use AE (); 189use AE ();
190use Guard ();
84 191
85use base "Exporter"; 192use base "Exporter";
86 193
87our $VERSION = '0.02'; 194our $VERSION = $AnyEvent::MP::Config::VERSION;
195
88our @EXPORT = qw( 196our @EXPORT = qw(
89 NODE $NODE $PORT snd rcv mon kil _any_ 197 NODE $NODE *SELF node_of after
90 create_port create_port_on 198 configure
199 snd rcv mon mon_guard kil psub peval spawn cal
91 miniport 200 port
92 become_slave become_public 201 db_set db_del db_reg
202 db_mon db_family db_keys db_values
93); 203);
94 204
205our $SELF;
206
207sub _self_die() {
208 my $msg = $@;
209 $msg =~ s/\n+$// unless ref $msg;
210 kil $SELF, die => $msg;
211}
212
95=item NODE / $NODE 213=item $thisnode = NODE / $NODE
96 214
97The C<NODE ()> function and the C<$NODE> variable contain the noderef of 215The 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 216ID of the node running in the current process. This value is initialised by
99C<become_slave>, after which all local port identifiers become invalid. 217a call to C<configure>.
100 218
219=item $nodeid = node_of $port
220
221Extracts and returns the node ID from a port ID or a node ID.
222
223=item configure $profile, key => value...
224
225=item configure key => value...
226
227Before a node can talk to other nodes on the network (i.e. enter
228"distributed mode") it has to configure itself - the minimum a node needs
229to know is its own name, and optionally it should know the addresses of
230some other nodes in the network to discover other nodes.
231
232This function configures a node - it must be called exactly once (or
233never) before calling other AnyEvent::MP functions.
234
235The key/value pairs are basically the same ones as documented for the
236F<aemp> command line utility (sans the set/del prefix), with these additions:
237
238=over 4
239
240=item norc => $boolean (default false)
241
242If true, then the rc file (e.g. F<~/.perl-anyevent-mp>) will I<not>
243be consulted - all configuraiton options must be specified in the
244C<configure> call.
245
246=item force => $boolean (default false)
247
248IF true, then the values specified in the C<configure> will take
249precedence over any values configured via the rc file. The default is for
250the rc file to override any options specified in the program.
251
252=item secure => $pass->($nodeid)
253
254In addition to specifying a boolean, you can specify a code reference that
255is called for every remote execution attempt - the execution request is
256granted iff the callback returns a true value.
257
258See F<semp setsecure> for more info.
259
260=back
261
262=over 4
263
264=item step 1, gathering configuration from profiles
265
266The function first looks up a profile in the aemp configuration (see the
267L<aemp> commandline utility). The profile name can be specified via the
268named C<profile> parameter or can simply be the first parameter). If it is
269missing, then the nodename (F<uname -n>) will be used as profile name.
270
271The profile data is then gathered as follows:
272
273First, all remaining key => value pairs (all of which are conveniently
274undocumented at the moment) will be interpreted as configuration
275data. Then they will be overwritten by any values specified in the global
276default configuration (see the F<aemp> utility), then the chain of
277profiles chosen by the profile name (and any C<parent> attributes).
278
279That means that the values specified in the profile have highest priority
280and the values specified directly via C<configure> have lowest priority,
281and can only be used to specify defaults.
282
283If the profile specifies a node ID, then this will become the node ID of
284this process. If not, then the profile name will be used as node ID, with
285a unique randoms tring (C</%u>) appended.
286
287The node ID can contain some C<%> sequences that are expanded: C<%n>
288is expanded to the local nodename, C<%u> is replaced by a random
289strign to make the node unique. For example, the F<aemp> commandline
290utility uses C<aemp/%n/%u> as nodename, which might expand to
291C<aemp/cerebro/ZQDGSIkRhEZQDGSIkRhE>.
292
293=item step 2, bind listener sockets
294
295The next step is to look up the binds in the profile, followed by binding
296aemp protocol listeners on all binds specified (it is possible and valid
297to have no binds, meaning that the node cannot be contacted form the
298outside. This means the node cannot talk to other nodes that also have no
299binds, but it can still talk to all "normal" nodes).
300
301If the profile does not specify a binds list, then a default of C<*> is
302used, meaning the node will bind on a dynamically-assigned port on every
303local IP address it finds.
304
305=item step 3, connect to seed nodes
306
307As the last step, the seed ID list from the profile is passed to the
308L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> module, which will then use it to keep
309connectivity with at least one node at any point in time.
310
311=back
312
313Example: become a distributed node using the local node name as profile.
314This should be the most common form of invocation for "daemon"-type nodes.
315
316 configure
317
318Example: become a semi-anonymous node. This form is often used for
319commandline clients.
320
321 configure nodeid => "myscript/%n/%u";
322
323Example: configure a node using a profile called seed, which is suitable
324for a seed node as it binds on all local addresses on a fixed port (4040,
325customary for aemp).
326
327 # use the aemp commandline utility
328 # aemp profile seed binds '*:4040'
329
330 # then use it
331 configure profile => "seed";
332
333 # or simply use aemp from the shell again:
334 # aemp run profile seed
335
336 # or provide a nicer-to-remember nodeid
337 # aemp run profile seed nodeid "$(hostname)"
338
339=item $SELF
340
341Contains the current port id while executing C<rcv> callbacks or C<psub>
342blocks.
343
344=item *SELF, SELF, %SELF, @SELF...
345
346Due to some quirks in how perl exports variables, it is impossible to
347just export C<$SELF>, all the symbols named C<SELF> are exported by this
348module, but only C<$SELF> is currently used.
349
101=item snd $portid, type => @data 350=item snd $port, type => @data
102 351
103=item snd $portid, @msg 352=item snd $port, @msg
104 353
105Send the given message to the given port ID, which can identify either 354Send 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 355local or a remote port, and must be a port ID.
107stringifies a sa port ID (such as a port object :).
108 356
109While the message can be about anything, it is highly recommended to use a 357While the message can be almost anything, it is highly recommended to
110string as first element (a portid, or some word that indicates a request 358use a string as first element (a port ID, or some word that indicates a
111type etc.). 359request type etc.) and to consist if only simple perl values (scalars,
360arrays, hashes) - if you think you need to pass an object, think again.
112 361
113The message data effectively becomes read-only after a call to this 362The message data logically becomes read-only after a call to this
114function: modifying any argument is not allowed and can cause many 363function: modifying any argument (or values referenced by them) is
115problems. 364forbidden, as there can be considerable time between the call to C<snd>
365and the time the message is actually being serialised - in fact, it might
366never be copied as within the same process it is simply handed to the
367receiving port.
116 368
117The type of data you can transfer depends on the transport protocol: when 369The type of data you can transfer depends on the transport protocol: when
118JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting 370JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting
119of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything 371of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything
120that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local 372that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local
121node, anything can be passed. 373node, anything can be passed. Best rely only on the common denominator of
374these.
122 375
123=item $guard = mon $portid, $cb->() 376=item $local_port = port
124 377
125=item $guard = mon $portid, $otherport 378Create a new local port object and returns its port ID. Initially it has
379no callbacks set and will throw an error when it receives messages.
126 380
127=item $guard = mon $portid, $otherport, @msg 381=item $local_port = port { my @msg = @_ }
128 382
129Monitor the given port and call the given callback when the port is 383Creates a new local port, and returns its ID. Semantically the same as
130destroyed or connection to it's node is lost. 384creating a port and calling C<rcv $port, $callback> on it.
131 385
132#TODO 386The block will be called for every message received on the port, with the
387global variable C<$SELF> set to the port ID. Runtime errors will cause the
388port to be C<kil>ed. The message will be passed as-is, no extra argument
389(i.e. no port ID) will be passed to the callback.
390
391If you want to stop/destroy the port, simply C<kil> it:
392
393 my $port = port {
394 my @msg = @_;
395 ...
396 kil $SELF;
397 };
133 398
134=cut 399=cut
135 400
401sub rcv($@);
402
403my $KILME = sub {
404 (my $tag = substr $_[0], 0, 30) =~ s/([\x20-\x7e])/./g;
405 kil $SELF, unhandled_message => "missing (tag or fallback) callback for message '$tag'";
406};
407
408sub port(;&) {
409 my $id = $UNIQ . ++$ID;
410 my $port = "$NODE#$id";
411
412 rcv $port, shift || $KILME;
413
414 $port
415}
416
417=item rcv $local_port, $callback->(@msg)
418
419Replaces the default callback on the specified port. There is no way to
420remove the default callback: use C<sub { }> to disable it, or better
421C<kil> the port when it is no longer needed.
422
423The global C<$SELF> (exported by this module) contains C<$port> while
424executing the callback. Runtime errors during callback execution will
425result in the port being C<kil>ed.
426
427The default callback receives all messages not matched by a more specific
428C<tag> match.
429
430=item rcv $local_port, tag => $callback->(@msg_without_tag), ...
431
432Register (or replace) callbacks to be called on messages starting with the
433given tag on the given port (and return the port), or unregister it (when
434C<$callback> is C<$undef> or missing). There can only be one callback
435registered for each tag.
436
437The original message will be passed to the callback, after the first
438element (the tag) has been removed. The callback will use the same
439environment as the default callback (see above).
440
441Example: create a port and bind receivers on it in one go.
442
443 my $port = rcv port,
444 msg1 => sub { ... },
445 msg2 => sub { ... },
446 ;
447
448Example: create a port, bind receivers and send it in a message elsewhere
449in one go:
450
451 snd $otherport, reply =>
452 rcv port,
453 msg1 => sub { ... },
454 ...
455 ;
456
457Example: temporarily register a rcv callback for a tag matching some port
458(e.g. for an rpc reply) and unregister it after a message was received.
459
460 rcv $port, $otherport => sub {
461 my @reply = @_;
462
463 rcv $SELF, $otherport;
464 };
465
466=cut
467
468sub rcv($@) {
469 my $port = shift;
470 my ($nodeid, $portid) = split /#/, $port, 2;
471
472 $NODE{$nodeid} == $NODE{""}
473 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on local ports, caught";
474
475 while (@_) {
476 if (ref $_[0]) {
477 if (my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid}) {
478 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
479 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
480
481 $self->[0] = shift;
482 } else {
483 my $cb = shift;
484 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
485 local $SELF = $port;
486 eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
487 };
488 }
489 } elsif (defined $_[0]) {
490 my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid} ||= do {
491 my $self = bless [$PORT{$portid} || sub { }, { }, $port], "AnyEvent::MP::Port";
492
493 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
494 local $SELF = $port;
495
496 if (my $cb = $self->[1]{$_[0]}) {
497 shift;
498 eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
499 } else {
500 &{ $self->[0] };
501 }
502 };
503
504 $self
505 };
506
507 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
508 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
509
510 my ($tag, $cb) = splice @_, 0, 2;
511
512 if (defined $cb) {
513 $self->[1]{$tag} = $cb;
514 } else {
515 delete $self->[1]{$tag};
516 }
517 }
518 }
519
520 $port
521}
522
523=item peval $port, $coderef[, @args]
524
525Evaluates the given C<$codref> within the contetx of C<$port>, that is,
526when the code throews an exception the C<$port> will be killed.
527
528Any remaining args will be passed to the callback. Any return values will
529be returned to the caller.
530
531This is useful when you temporarily want to execute code in the context of
532a port.
533
534Example: create a port and run some initialisation code in it's context.
535
536 my $port = port { ... };
537
538 peval $port, sub {
539 init
540 or die "unable to init";
541 };
542
543=cut
544
545sub peval($$) {
546 local $SELF = shift;
547 my $cb = shift;
548
549 if (wantarray) {
550 my @res = eval { &$cb };
551 _self_die if $@;
552 @res
553 } else {
554 my $res = eval { &$cb };
555 _self_die if $@;
556 $res
557 }
558}
559
560=item $closure = psub { BLOCK }
561
562Remembers C<$SELF> and creates a closure out of the BLOCK. When the
563closure is executed, sets up the environment in the same way as in C<rcv>
564callbacks, i.e. runtime errors will cause the port to get C<kil>ed.
565
566The effect is basically as if it returned C<< sub { peval $SELF, sub {
567BLOCK }, @_ } >>.
568
569This is useful when you register callbacks from C<rcv> callbacks:
570
571 rcv delayed_reply => sub {
572 my ($delay, @reply) = @_;
573 my $timer = AE::timer $delay, 0, psub {
574 snd @reply, $SELF;
575 };
576 };
577
578=cut
579
580sub psub(&) {
581 my $cb = shift;
582
583 my $port = $SELF
584 or Carp::croak "psub can only be called from within rcv or psub callbacks, not";
585
586 sub {
587 local $SELF = $port;
588
589 if (wantarray) {
590 my @res = eval { &$cb };
591 _self_die if $@;
592 @res
593 } else {
594 my $res = eval { &$cb };
595 _self_die if $@;
596 $res
597 }
598 }
599}
600
601=item $guard = mon $port, $cb->(@reason) # call $cb when $port dies
602
603=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport # kill $rcvport when $port dies
604
605=item $guard = mon $port # kill $SELF when $port dies
606
607=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport, @msg # send a message when $port dies
608
609Monitor the given port and do something when the port is killed or
610messages to it were lost, and optionally return a guard that can be used
611to stop monitoring again.
612
613In the first form (callback), the callback is simply called with any
614number of C<@reason> elements (no @reason means that the port was deleted
615"normally"). Note also that I<< the callback B<must> never die >>, so use
616C<eval> if unsure.
617
618In the second form (another port given), the other port (C<$rcvport>)
619will be C<kil>'ed with C<@reason>, if a @reason was specified, i.e. on
620"normal" kils nothing happens, while under all other conditions, the other
621port is killed with the same reason.
622
623The third form (kill self) is the same as the second form, except that
624C<$rvport> defaults to C<$SELF>.
625
626In the last form (message), a message of the form C<@msg, @reason> will be
627C<snd>.
628
629Monitoring-actions are one-shot: once messages are lost (and a monitoring
630alert was raised), they are removed and will not trigger again.
631
632As a rule of thumb, monitoring requests should always monitor a port from
633a local port (or callback). The reason is that kill messages might get
634lost, just like any other message. Another less obvious reason is that
635even monitoring requests can get lost (for example, when the connection
636to the other node goes down permanently). When monitoring a port locally
637these problems do not exist.
638
639C<mon> effectively guarantees that, in the absence of hardware failures,
640after starting the monitor, either all messages sent to the port will
641arrive, or the monitoring action will be invoked after possible message
642loss has been detected. No messages will be lost "in between" (after
643the first lost message no further messages will be received by the
644port). After the monitoring action was invoked, further messages might get
645delivered again.
646
647Inter-host-connection timeouts and monitoring depend on the transport
648used. The only transport currently implemented is TCP, and AnyEvent::MP
649relies on TCP to detect node-downs (this can take 10-15 minutes on a
650non-idle connection, and usually around two hours for idle connections).
651
652This means that monitoring is good for program errors and cleaning up
653stuff eventually, but they are no replacement for a timeout when you need
654to ensure some maximum latency.
655
656Example: call a given callback when C<$port> is killed.
657
658 mon $port, sub { warn "port died because of <@_>\n" };
659
660Example: kill ourselves when C<$port> is killed abnormally.
661
662 mon $port;
663
664Example: send us a restart message when another C<$port> is killed.
665
666 mon $port, $self => "restart";
667
668=cut
669
136sub mon { 670sub mon {
137 my ($noderef, $port, $cb) = ((split /#/, shift, 2), shift); 671 my ($nodeid, $port) = split /#/, shift, 2;
138 672
139 my $node = AnyEvent::MP::Base::add_node $noderef; 673 my $node = $NODE{$nodeid} || add_node $nodeid;
140 674
141 #TODO: ports must not be references 675 my $cb = @_ ? shift : $SELF || Carp::croak 'mon: called with one argument only, but $SELF not set,';
142 if (!ref $cb or "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $cb) { 676
677 unless (ref $cb) {
143 if (@_) { 678 if (@_) {
144 # send a kill info message 679 # send a kill info message
145 my (@msg) = ($cb, @_); 680 my (@msg) = ($cb, @_);
146 $cb = sub { snd @msg, @_ }; 681 $cb = sub { snd @msg, @_ };
147 } else { 682 } else {
148 # simply kill other port 683 # simply kill other port
149 my $port = $cb; 684 my $port = $cb;
150 $cb = sub { kil $port, @_ }; 685 $cb = sub { kil $port, @_ if @_ };
151 } 686 }
152 } 687 }
153 688
154 $node->monitor ($port, $cb); 689 $node->monitor ($port, $cb);
155 690
156 defined wantarray 691 defined wantarray
157 and AnyEvent::Util::guard { $node->unmonitor ($port, $cb) } 692 and ($cb += 0, Guard::guard { $node->unmonitor ($port, $cb) })
158} 693}
159 694
160=item $guard = mon_guard $port, $ref, $ref... 695=item $guard = mon_guard $port, $ref, $ref...
161 696
162Monitors the given C<$port> and keeps the passed references. When the port 697Monitors the given C<$port> and keeps the passed references. When the port
163is killed, the references will be freed. 698is killed, the references will be freed.
164 699
165Optionally returns a guard that will stop the monitoring. 700Optionally returns a guard that will stop the monitoring.
166 701
167This function is useful when you create e.g. timers or other watchers and 702This function is useful when you create e.g. timers or other watchers and
168want to free them when the port gets killed: 703want to free them when the port gets killed (note the use of C<psub>):
169 704
170 $port->rcv (start => sub { 705 $port->rcv (start => sub {
171 my $timer; $timer = mon_guard $port, AE::timer 1, 1, sub { 706 my $timer; $timer = mon_guard $port, AE::timer 1, 1, psub {
172 undef $timer if 0.9 < rand; 707 undef $timer if 0.9 < rand;
173 }); 708 });
174 }); 709 });
175 710
176=cut 711=cut
177 712
178sub mon_guard { 713sub mon_guard {
179 my ($port, @refs) = @_; 714 my ($port, @refs) = @_;
180 715
716 #TODO: mon-less form?
717
181 mon $port, sub { 0 && @refs } 718 mon $port, sub { 0 && @refs }
182} 719}
183 720
184=item $local_port = create_port 721=item kil $port[, @reason]
185 722
186Create a new local port object. See the next section for allowed methods. 723Kill the specified port with the given C<@reason>.
724
725If no C<@reason> is specified, then the port is killed "normally" -
726monitor callback will be invoked, but the kil will not cause linked ports
727(C<mon $mport, $lport> form) to get killed.
728
729If a C<@reason> is specified, then linked ports (C<mon $mport, $lport>
730form) get killed with the same reason.
731
732Runtime errors while evaluating C<rcv> callbacks or inside C<psub> blocks
733will be reported as reason C<< die => $@ >>.
734
735Transport/communication errors are reported as C<< transport_error =>
736$message >>.
737
738Common idioms:
739
740 # silently remove yourself, do not kill linked ports
741 kil $SELF;
742
743 # report a failure in some detail
744 kil $SELF, failure_mode_1 => "it failed with too high temperature";
745
746 # do not waste much time with killing, just die when something goes wrong
747 open my $fh, "<file"
748 or die "file: $!";
749
750=item $port = spawn $node, $initfunc[, @initdata]
751
752Creates a port on the node C<$node> (which can also be a port ID, in which
753case it's the node where that port resides).
754
755The port ID of the newly created port is returned immediately, and it is
756possible to immediately start sending messages or to monitor the port.
757
758After the port has been created, the init function is called on the remote
759node, in the same context as a C<rcv> callback. This function must be a
760fully-qualified function name (e.g. C<MyApp::Chat::Server::init>). To
761specify a function in the main program, use C<::name>.
762
763If the function doesn't exist, then the node tries to C<require>
764the package, then the package above the package and so on (e.g.
765C<MyApp::Chat::Server>, C<MyApp::Chat>, C<MyApp>) until the function
766exists or it runs out of package names.
767
768The init function is then called with the newly-created port as context
769object (C<$SELF>) and the C<@initdata> values as arguments. It I<must>
770call one of the C<rcv> functions to set callbacks on C<$SELF>, otherwise
771the port might not get created.
772
773A common idiom is to pass a local port, immediately monitor the spawned
774port, and in the remote init function, immediately monitor the passed
775local port. This two-way monitoring ensures that both ports get cleaned up
776when there is a problem.
777
778C<spawn> guarantees that the C<$initfunc> has no visible effects on the
779caller before C<spawn> returns (by delaying invocation when spawn is
780called for the local node).
781
782Example: spawn a chat server port on C<$othernode>.
783
784 # this node, executed from within a port context:
785 my $server = spawn $othernode, "MyApp::Chat::Server::connect", $SELF;
786 mon $server;
787
788 # init function on C<$othernode>
789 sub connect {
790 my ($srcport) = @_;
791
792 mon $srcport;
793
794 rcv $SELF, sub {
795 ...
796 };
797 }
187 798
188=cut 799=cut
189 800
190sub create_port { 801sub _spawn {
191 my $id = "$AnyEvent::MP::Base::UNIQ." . $AnyEvent::MP::Base::ID++; 802 my $port = shift;
803 my $init = shift;
192 804
193 my $self = bless { 805 # rcv will create the actual port
194 id => "$NODE#$id", 806 local $SELF = "$NODE#$port";
195 }, "AnyEvent::MP::Port"; 807 eval {
196 808 &{ load_func $init }
197 $AnyEvent::MP::Base::PORT{$id} = sub {
198 unshift @_, $self;
199
200 for (@{ $self->{rc0}{$_[1]} }) {
201 $_ && &{$_->[0]}
202 && undef $_;
203 }
204
205 for (@{ $self->{rcv}{$_[1]} }) {
206 $_ && [@_[1 .. @{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1]
207 && &{$_->[0]}
208 && undef $_;
209 }
210
211 for (@{ $self->{any} }) {
212 $_ && [@_[0 .. $#{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1]
213 && &{$_->[0]}
214 && undef $_;
215 }
216 }; 809 };
217 810 _self_die if $@;
218 $self
219} 811}
220 812
221=item $portid = miniport { my @msg = @_; $finished } 813sub spawn(@) {
814 my ($nodeid, undef) = split /#/, shift, 2;
222 815
223Creates a "mini port", that is, a very lightweight port without any 816 my $id = $RUNIQ . ++$ID;
224pattern matching behind it, and returns its ID.
225 817
226The block will be called for every message received on the port. When the 818 $_[0] =~ /::/
227callback returns a true value its job is considered "done" and the port 819 or Carp::croak "spawn init function must be a fully-qualified name, caught";
228will be destroyed. Otherwise it will stay alive.
229 820
230The message will be passed as-is, no extra argument (i.e. no port id) will 821 snd_to_func $nodeid, "AnyEvent::MP::_spawn" => $id, @_;
231be passed to the callback.
232 822
233If you need the local port id in the callback, this works nicely: 823 "$nodeid#$id"
824}
234 825
235 my $port; $port = miniport { 826
236 snd $otherport, reply => $port; 827=item after $timeout, @msg
828
829=item after $timeout, $callback
830
831Either sends the given message, or call the given callback, after the
832specified number of seconds.
833
834This is simply a utility function that comes in handy at times - the
835AnyEvent::MP author is not convinced of the wisdom of having it, though,
836so it may go away in the future.
837
838=cut
839
840sub after($@) {
841 my ($timeout, @action) = @_;
842
843 my $t; $t = AE::timer $timeout, 0, sub {
844 undef $t;
845 ref $action[0]
846 ? $action[0]()
847 : snd @action;
237 }; 848 };
849}
850
851#=item $cb2 = timeout $seconds, $cb[, @args]
852
853=item cal $port, @msg, $callback[, $timeout]
854
855A simple form of RPC - sends a message to the given C<$port> with the
856given contents (C<@msg>), but adds a reply port to the message.
857
858The reply port is created temporarily just for the purpose of receiving
859the reply, and will be C<kil>ed when no longer needed.
860
861A reply message sent to the port is passed to the C<$callback> as-is.
862
863If an optional time-out (in seconds) is given and it is not C<undef>,
864then the callback will be called without any arguments after the time-out
865elapsed and the port is C<kil>ed.
866
867If no time-out is given (or it is C<undef>), then the local port will
868monitor the remote port instead, so it eventually gets cleaned-up.
869
870Currently this function returns the temporary port, but this "feature"
871might go in future versions unless you can make a convincing case that
872this is indeed useful for something.
238 873
239=cut 874=cut
240 875
241sub miniport(&) { 876sub cal(@) {
877 my $timeout = ref $_[-1] ? undef : pop;
242 my $cb = shift; 878 my $cb = pop;
243 my $id = "$AnyEvent::MP::Base::UNIQ." . $AnyEvent::MP::Base::ID++;
244 879
245 $AnyEvent::MP::Base::PORT{$id} = sub { 880 my $port = port {
881 undef $timeout;
882 kil $SELF;
246 &$cb 883 &$cb;
247 and kil $id;
248 }; 884 };
249 885
250 "$NODE#$id" 886 if (defined $timeout) {
887 $timeout = AE::timer $timeout, 0, sub {
888 undef $timeout;
889 kil $port;
890 $cb->();
891 };
892 } else {
893 mon $_[0], sub {
894 kil $port;
895 $cb->();
896 };
897 }
898
899 push @_, $port;
900 &snd;
901
902 $port
251} 903}
252 904
253package AnyEvent::MP::Port;
254
255=back 905=back
256 906
257=head1 METHODS FOR PORT OBJECTS 907=head1 DISTRIBUTED DATABASE
908
909AnyEvent::MP comes with a simple distributed database. The database will
910be mirrored asynchronously on all global nodes. Other nodes bind to one
911of the global nodes for their needs. Every node has a "local database"
912which contains all the values that are set locally. All local databases
913are merged together to form the global database, which can be queried.
914
915The database structure is that of a two-level hash - the database hash
916contains hashes which contain values, similarly to a perl hash of hashes,
917i.e.:
918
919 $DATABASE{$family}{$subkey} = $value
920
921The top level hash key is called "family", and the second-level hash key
922is called "subkey" or simply "key".
923
924The family must be alphanumeric, i.e. start with a letter and consist
925of letters, digits, underscores and colons (C<[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_:]*>,
926pretty much like Perl module names.
927
928As the family namespace is global, it is recommended to prefix family names
929with the name of the application or module using it.
930
931The subkeys must be non-empty strings, with no further restrictions.
932
933The values should preferably be strings, but other perl scalars should
934work as well (such as C<undef>, arrays and hashes).
935
936Every database entry is owned by one node - adding the same family/subkey
937combination on multiple nodes will not cause discomfort for AnyEvent::MP,
938but the result might be nondeterministic, i.e. the key might have
939different values on different nodes.
940
941Different subkeys in the same family can be owned by different nodes
942without problems, and in fact, this is the common method to create worker
943pools. For example, a worker port for image scaling might do this:
944
945 db_set my_image_scalers => $port;
946
947And clients looking for an image scaler will want to get the
948C<my_image_scalers> keys from time to time:
949
950 db_keys my_image_scalers => sub {
951 @ports = @{ $_[0] };
952 };
953
954Or better yet, they want to monitor the database family, so they always
955have a reasonable up-to-date copy:
956
957 db_mon my_image_scalers => sub {
958 @ports = keys %{ $_[0] };
959 };
960
961In general, you can set or delete single subkeys, but query and monitor
962whole families only.
963
964If you feel the need to monitor or query a single subkey, try giving it
965it's own family.
966
967=over
968
969=item db_set $family => $subkey [=> $value]
970
971Sets (or replaces) a key to the database - if C<$value> is omitted,
972C<undef> is used instead.
973
974=item db_del $family => $subkey...
975
976Deletes one or more subkeys from the database family.
977
978=item $guard = db_reg $family => $subkey [=> $value]
979
980Sets the key on the database and returns a guard. When the guard is
981destroyed, the key is deleted from the database. If C<$value> is missing,
982then C<undef> is used.
983
984=item db_family $family => $cb->(\%familyhash)
985
986Queries the named database C<$family> and call the callback with the
987family represented as a hash. You can keep and freely modify the hash.
988
989=item db_keys $family => $cb->(\@keys)
990
991Same as C<db_family>, except it only queries the family I<subkeys> and passes
992them as array reference to the callback.
993
994=item db_values $family => $cb->(\@values)
995
996Same as C<db_family>, except it only queries the family I<values> and passes them
997as array reference to the callback.
998
999=item $guard = db_mon $family => $cb->($familyhash, \@added, \@changed, \@deleted)
1000
1001Creates a monitor on the given database family. Each time a key is set
1002or or is deleted the callback is called with a hash containing the
1003database family and three lists of added, changed and deleted subkeys,
1004respectively. If no keys have changed then the array reference might be
1005C<undef> or even missing.
1006
1007If not called in void context, a guard object is returned that, when
1008destroyed, stops the monitor.
1009
1010The family hash reference and the key arrays belong to AnyEvent::MP and
1011B<must not be modified or stored> by the callback. When in doubt, make a
1012copy.
1013
1014As soon as possible after the monitoring starts, the callback will be
1015called with the intiial contents of the family, even if it is empty,
1016i.e. there will always be a timely call to the callback with the current
1017contents.
1018
1019It is possible that the callback is called with a change event even though
1020the subkey is already present and the value has not changed.
1021
1022The monitoring stops when the guard object is destroyed.
1023
1024Example: on every change to the family "mygroup", print out all keys.
1025
1026 my $guard = db_mon mygroup => sub {
1027 my ($family, $a, $c, $d) = @_;
1028 print "mygroup members: ", (join " ", keys %$family), "\n";
1029 };
1030
1031Exmaple: wait until the family "My::Module::workers" is non-empty.
1032
1033 my $guard; $guard = db_mon My::Module::workers => sub {
1034 my ($family, $a, $c, $d) = @_;
1035 return unless %$family;
1036 undef $guard;
1037 print "My::Module::workers now nonempty\n";
1038 };
1039
1040Example: print all changes to the family "AnyRvent::Fantasy::Module".
1041
1042 my $guard = db_mon AnyRvent::Fantasy::Module => sub {
1043 my ($family, $a, $c, $d) = @_;
1044
1045 print "+$_=$family->{$_}\n" for @$a;
1046 print "*$_=$family->{$_}\n" for @$c;
1047 print "-$_=$family->{$_}\n" for @$d;
1048 };
1049
1050=cut
1051
1052=back
1053
1054=head1 AnyEvent::MP vs. Distributed Erlang
1055
1056AnyEvent::MP got lots of its ideas from distributed Erlang (Erlang node
1057== aemp node, Erlang process == aemp port), so many of the documents and
1058programming techniques employed by Erlang apply to AnyEvent::MP. Here is a
1059sample:
1060
1061 http://www.erlang.se/doc/programming_rules.shtml
1062 http://erlang.org/doc/getting_started/part_frame.html # chapters 3 and 4
1063 http://erlang.org/download/erlang-book-part1.pdf # chapters 5 and 6
1064 http://erlang.org/download/armstrong_thesis_2003.pdf # chapters 4 and 5
1065
1066Despite the similarities, there are also some important differences:
258 1067
259=over 4 1068=over 4
260 1069
261=item "$port" 1070=item * Node IDs are arbitrary strings in AEMP.
262 1071
263A port object stringifies to its port ID, so can be used directly for 1072Erlang relies on special naming and DNS to work everywhere in the same
264C<snd> operations. 1073way. AEMP relies on each node somehow knowing its own address(es) (e.g. by
1074configuration or DNS), and possibly the addresses of some seed nodes, but
1075will otherwise discover other nodes (and their IDs) itself.
265 1076
266=cut 1077=item * Erlang has a "remote ports are like local ports" philosophy, AEMP
1078uses "local ports are like remote ports".
267 1079
268use overload 1080The failure modes for local ports are quite different (runtime errors
269 '""' => sub { $_[0]{id} }, 1081only) then for remote ports - when a local port dies, you I<know> it dies,
270 fallback => 1; 1082when a connection to another node dies, you know nothing about the other
1083port.
271 1084
272sub TO_JSON { $_[0]{id} } 1085Erlang pretends remote ports are as reliable as local ports, even when
1086they are not.
273 1087
274=item $port->rcv (type => $callback->($port, @msg)) 1088AEMP encourages a "treat remote ports differently" philosophy, with local
1089ports being the special case/exception, where transport errors cannot
1090occur.
275 1091
276=item $port->rcv ($smartmatch => $callback->($port, @msg)) 1092=item * Erlang uses processes and a mailbox, AEMP does not queue.
277 1093
278=item $port->rcv ([$smartmatch...] => $callback->($port, @msg)) 1094Erlang uses processes that selectively receive messages out of order, and
1095therefore needs a queue. AEMP is event based, queuing messages would serve
1096no useful purpose. For the same reason the pattern-matching abilities
1097of AnyEvent::MP are more limited, as there is little need to be able to
1098filter messages without dequeuing them.
279 1099
280Register a callback on the given port. 1100This is not a philosophical difference, but simply stems from AnyEvent::MP
1101being event-based, while Erlang is process-based.
281 1102
282The callback has to return a true value when its work is done, after 1103You cna have a look at L<Coro::MP> for a more Erlang-like process model on
283which is will be removed, or a false value in which case it will stay 1104top of AEMP and Coro threads.
284registered.
285 1105
286If the match is an array reference, then it will be matched against the 1106=item * Erlang sends are synchronous, AEMP sends are asynchronous.
287first elements of the message, otherwise only the first element is being
288matched.
289 1107
290Any element in the match that is specified as C<_any_> (a function 1108Sending messages in Erlang is synchronous and blocks the process until
291exported by this module) matches any single element of the message. 1109a conenction has been established and the message sent (and so does not
1110need a queue that can overflow). AEMP sends return immediately, connection
1111establishment is handled in the background.
292 1112
293While not required, it is highly recommended that the first matching 1113=item * Erlang suffers from silent message loss, AEMP does not.
294element is a string identifying the message. The one-string-only match is
295also the most efficient match (by far).
296 1114
297=cut 1115Erlang implements few guarantees on messages delivery - messages can get
1116lost without any of the processes realising it (i.e. you send messages a,
1117b, and c, and the other side only receives messages a and c).
298 1118
299sub rcv($@) { 1119AEMP guarantees (modulo hardware errors) correct ordering, and the
300 my ($self, $match, $cb) = @_; 1120guarantee that after one message is lost, all following ones sent to the
1121same port are lost as well, until monitoring raises an error, so there are
1122no silent "holes" in the message sequence.
301 1123
302 if (!ref $match) { 1124If you want your software to be very reliable, you have to cope with
303 push @{ $self->{rc0}{$match} }, [$cb]; 1125corrupted and even out-of-order messages in both Erlang and AEMP. AEMP
304 } elsif (("ARRAY" eq ref $match && !ref $match->[0])) { 1126simply tries to work better in common error cases, such as when a network
305 my ($type, @match) = @$match; 1127link goes down.
306 @match
307 ? push @{ $self->{rcv}{$match->[0]} }, [$cb, \@match]
308 : push @{ $self->{rc0}{$match->[0]} }, [$cb];
309 } else {
310 push @{ $self->{any} }, [$cb, $match];
311 }
312}
313 1128
314=item $port->register ($name) 1129=item * Erlang can send messages to the wrong port, AEMP does not.
315 1130
316Registers the given port under the well known name C<$name>. If the name 1131In Erlang it is quite likely that a node that restarts reuses an Erlang
317already exists it is replaced. 1132process ID known to other nodes for a completely different process,
1133causing messages destined for that process to end up in an unrelated
1134process.
318 1135
319A port can only be registered under one well known name. 1136AEMP does not reuse port IDs, so old messages or old port IDs floating
1137around in the network will not be sent to an unrelated port.
320 1138
321=cut 1139=item * Erlang uses unprotected connections, AEMP uses secure
1140authentication and can use TLS.
322 1141
323sub register { 1142AEMP can use a proven protocol - TLS - to protect connections and
324 my ($self, $name) = @_; 1143securely authenticate nodes.
325 1144
326 $self->{wkname} = $name; 1145=item * The AEMP protocol is optimised for both text-based and binary
327 $AnyEvent::MP::Base::WKP{$name} = "$self"; 1146communications.
328}
329 1147
330=item $port->destroy 1148The AEMP protocol, unlike the Erlang protocol, supports both programming
1149language independent text-only protocols (good for debugging), and binary,
1150language-specific serialisers (e.g. Storable). By default, unless TLS is
1151used, the protocol is actually completely text-based.
331 1152
332Explicitly destroy/remove/nuke/vaporise the port. 1153It has also been carefully designed to be implementable in other languages
1154with a minimum of work while gracefully degrading functionality to make the
1155protocol simple.
333 1156
334Ports are normally kept alive by their mere existance alone, and need to 1157=item * AEMP has more flexible monitoring options than Erlang.
335be destroyed explicitly.
336 1158
337=cut 1159In Erlang, you can chose to receive I<all> exit signals as messages or
1160I<none>, there is no in-between, so monitoring single Erlang processes is
1161difficult to implement.
338 1162
339sub destroy { 1163Monitoring in AEMP is more flexible than in Erlang, as one can choose
340 my ($self) = @_; 1164between automatic kill, exit message or callback on a per-port basis.
341 1165
342 delete $AnyEvent::MP::Base::WKP{ $self->{wkname} }; 1166=item * Erlang tries to hide remote/local connections, AEMP does not.
343 1167
344 AnyEvent::MP::Base::kil $self->{id}; 1168Monitoring in Erlang is not an indicator of process death/crashes, in the
345} 1169same way as linking is (except linking is unreliable in Erlang).
1170
1171In AEMP, you don't "look up" registered port names or send to named ports
1172that might or might not be persistent. Instead, you normally spawn a port
1173on the remote node. The init function monitors you, and you monitor the
1174remote port. Since both monitors are local to the node, they are much more
1175reliable (no need for C<spawn_link>).
1176
1177This also saves round-trips and avoids sending messages to the wrong port
1178(hard to do in Erlang).
346 1179
347=back 1180=back
348 1181
349=head1 FUNCTIONS FOR NODES 1182=head1 RATIONALE
350 1183
351=over 4 1184=over 4
352 1185
353=item mon $noderef, $callback->($noderef, $status, $) 1186=item Why strings for port and node IDs, why not objects?
354 1187
355Monitors the given noderef. 1188We considered "objects", but found that the actual number of methods
1189that can be called are quite low. Since port and node IDs travel over
1190the network frequently, the serialising/deserialising would add lots of
1191overhead, as well as having to keep a proxy object everywhere.
356 1192
357=item become_public endpoint... 1193Strings can easily be printed, easily serialised etc. and need no special
1194procedures to be "valid".
358 1195
359Tells the node to become a public node, i.e. reachable from other nodes. 1196And as a result, a port with just a default receiver consists of a single
1197code reference stored in a global hash - it can't become much cheaper.
360 1198
361If no arguments are given, or the first argument is C<undef>, then 1199=item Why favour JSON, why not a real serialising format such as Storable?
362AnyEvent::MP tries to bind on port C<4040> on all IP addresses that the
363local nodename resolves to.
364 1200
365Otherwise the first argument must be an array-reference with transport 1201In fact, any AnyEvent::MP node will happily accept Storable as framing
366endpoints ("ip:port", "hostname:port") or port numbers (in which case the 1202format, but currently there is no way to make a node use Storable by
367local nodename is used as hostname). The endpoints are all resolved and 1203default (although all nodes will accept it).
368will become the node reference.
369 1204
370=cut 1205The default framing protocol is JSON because a) JSON::XS is many times
1206faster for small messages and b) most importantly, after years of
1207experience we found that object serialisation is causing more problems
1208than it solves: Just like function calls, objects simply do not travel
1209easily over the network, mostly because they will always be a copy, so you
1210always have to re-think your design.
1211
1212Keeping your messages simple, concentrating on data structures rather than
1213objects, will keep your messages clean, tidy and efficient.
371 1214
372=back 1215=back
373 1216
374=head1 NODE MESSAGES
375
376Nodes understand the following messages sent to them. Many of them take
377arguments called C<@reply>, which will simply be used to compose a reply
378message - C<$reply[0]> is the port to reply to, C<$reply[1]> the type and
379the remaining arguments are simply the message data.
380
381=over 4
382
383=cut
384
385=item wkp => $name, @reply
386
387Replies with the port ID of the specified well-known port, or C<undef>.
388
389=item devnull => ...
390
391Generic data sink/CPU heat conversion.
392
393=item relay => $port, @msg
394
395Simply forwards the message to the given port.
396
397=item eval => $string[ @reply]
398
399Evaluates the given string. If C<@reply> is given, then a message of the
400form C<@reply, $@, @evalres> is sent.
401
402Example: crash another node.
403
404 snd $othernode, eval => "exit";
405
406=item time => @reply
407
408Replies the the current node time to C<@reply>.
409
410Example: tell the current node to send the current time to C<$myport> in a
411C<timereply> message.
412
413 snd $NODE, time => $myport, timereply => 1, 2;
414 # => snd $myport, timereply => 1, 2, <time>
415
416=back
417
418=head1 SEE ALSO 1217=head1 SEE ALSO
1218
1219L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro> - a gentle introduction.
1220
1221L<AnyEvent::MP::Kernel> - more, lower-level, stuff.
1222
1223L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> - network maintenance and port groups, to find
1224your applications.
1225
1226L<AnyEvent::MP::DataConn> - establish data connections between nodes.
1227
1228L<AnyEvent::MP::LogCatcher> - simple service to display log messages from
1229all nodes.
419 1230
420L<AnyEvent>. 1231L<AnyEvent>.
421 1232
422=head1 AUTHOR 1233=head1 AUTHOR
423 1234

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