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Revision 1.4 by root, Sat Aug 1 07:36:30 2009 UTC vs.
Revision 1.138 by root, Thu Mar 22 00:48:29 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.
66
67For an introduction to this module family, see the L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro>
68manual page and the examples under F<eg/>.
31 69
32=head1 CONCEPTS 70=head1 CONCEPTS
33 71
34=over 4 72=over 4
35 73
36=item port 74=item port
37 75
38A 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
39you can register C<rcv> handlers with. All C<rcv> handlers will receive 77messages to (with the C<snd> function).
40messages they match, messages will not be queued.
41 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
42=item port id - C<noderef#portname> 85=item port ID - C<nodeid#portname>
43 86
44A 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<#>)
45by 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).
46 90
47=item node 91=item node
48 92
49A 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,
50port. 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
51among other things. 95ports.
52 96
53Initially, nodes are either private (single-process only) or hidden 97Nodes are either public (have one or more listening ports) or private
54(connected to a master node only). Only when they epxlicitly "become 98(no listening ports). Private nodes cannot talk to other private nodes
55public" can you send them messages from unrelated other nodes. 99currently, but all nodes can talk to public nodes.
56 100
57=item noderef - C<host:port,host:port...>, C<id@noderef, C<id> 101Nodes is represented by (printable) strings called "node IDs".
58 102
103=item node ID - C<[A-Za-z0-9_\-.:]*>
104
59A 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
60private 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
61node (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).
62 170
63=back 171=back
64 172
65=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS 173=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS
66 174
68 176
69=cut 177=cut
70 178
71package AnyEvent::MP; 179package AnyEvent::MP;
72 180
73use AnyEvent::MP::Util (); 181use AnyEvent::MP::Config ();
74use AnyEvent::MP::Node; 182use AnyEvent::MP::Kernel;
75use AnyEvent::MP::Transport; 183use AnyEvent::MP::Kernel qw(%NODE %PORT %PORT_DATA $UNIQ $RUNIQ $ID);
76 184
77use utf8;
78use common::sense; 185use common::sense;
79 186
80use Carp (); 187use Carp ();
81 188
82use AE (); 189use AE ();
190use Guard ();
83 191
84use base "Exporter"; 192use base "Exporter";
85 193
86our $VERSION = '0.0'; 194our $VERSION = $AnyEvent::MP::Config::VERSION;
87our @EXPORT = qw(NODE $NODE $PORT snd rcv _any_);
88 195
89our $DEFAULT_SECRET; 196our @EXPORT = qw(
90our $DEFAULT_PORT = "4040"; 197 NODE $NODE *SELF node_of after
198 configure
199 snd rcv mon mon_guard kil psub peval spawn cal
200 port
201 db_set db_del db_reg
202 db_mon db_family db_keys db_values
203);
91 204
92our $CONNECT_INTERVAL = 5; # new connect every 5s, at least 205our $SELF;
93our $CONNECT_TIMEOUT = 30; # includes handshake
94 206
95sub default_secret { 207sub _self_die() {
96 unless (defined $DEFAULT_SECRET) { 208 my $msg = $@;
97 if (open my $fh, "<$ENV{HOME}/.aemp-secret") { 209 $msg =~ s/\n+$// unless ref $msg;
98 sysread $fh, $DEFAULT_SECRET, -s $fh; 210 kil $SELF, die => $msg;
99 } else {
100 $DEFAULT_SECRET = AnyEvent::MP::Util::nonce 32;
101 }
102 }
103
104 $DEFAULT_SECRET
105} 211}
106 212
107=item NODE / $NODE 213=item $thisnode = NODE / $NODE
108 214
109The C<NODE ()> function and the C<$NODE> variable contain the noderef of 215The C<NODE> function returns, and the C<$NODE> variable contains, the node
110the 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
111C<become_slave>, after which all local port identifiers become invalid. 217a call to C<configure>.
112 218
113=cut 219=item $nodeid = node_of $port
114 220
115our $UNIQ = sprintf "%x.%x", $$, time; # per-process/node unique cookie 221Extracts and returns the node ID from a port ID or a node ID.
116our $PUBLIC = 0;
117our $NODE;
118our $PORT;
119 222
120our %NODE; # node id to transport mapping, or "undef", for local node 223=item configure $profile, key => value...
121our %PORT; # local ports
122our %LISTENER; # local transports
123 224
124sub NODE() { $NODE } 225=item configure key => value...
125 226
126{ 227Before a node can talk to other nodes on the network (i.e. enter
127 use POSIX (); 228"distributed mode") it has to configure itself - the minimum a node needs
128 my $nodename = (POSIX::uname)[1]; 229to know is its own name, and optionally it should know the addresses of
129 $NODE = "$$\@$nodename"; 230some other nodes in the network to discover other nodes.
130}
131 231
132sub _ANY_() { 1 } 232This function configures a node - it must be called exactly once (or
133sub _any_() { \&_ANY_ } 233never) before calling other AnyEvent::MP functions.
134 234
135sub add_node { 235The key/value pairs are basically the same ones as documented for the
136 my ($noderef) = @_; 236F<aemp> command line utility (sans the set/del prefix), with these additions:
137 237
138 return $NODE{$noderef} 238=over 4
139 if exists $NODE{$noderef};
140 239
141 for (split /,/, $noderef) { 240=item norc => $boolean (default false)
142 return $NODE{$noderef} = $NODE{$_}
143 if exists $NODE{$_};
144 }
145 241
146 # for indirect sends, use a different class 242If true, then the rc file (e.g. F<~/.perl-anyevent-mp>) will I<not>
147 my $node = new AnyEvent::MP::Node::Direct $noderef; 243be consulted - all configuraiton options must be specified in the
244C<configure> call.
148 245
149 $NODE{$_} = $node 246=item force => $boolean (default false)
150 for $noderef, split /,/, $noderef;
151 247
152 $node 248IF true, then the values specified in the C<configure> will take
153} 249precedence over any values configured via the rc file. The default is for
250the rc file to override any options specified in the program.
154 251
252=item secure => $pass->(@msg)
253
254In addition to specifying a boolean, you can specify a code reference that
255is called for every code execution attempt - the execution request is
256granted iff the callback returns a true value.
257
258Most of the time the callback should look only at
259C<$AnyEvent::MP::Kernel::SRCNODE> to make a decision, and not at the
260actual message (which can be about anything, and is mostly provided for
261diagnostic purposes).
262
263See F<semp setsecure> for more info.
264
265=back
266
267=over 4
268
269=item step 1, gathering configuration from profiles
270
271The function first looks up a profile in the aemp configuration (see the
272L<aemp> commandline utility). The profile name can be specified via the
273named C<profile> parameter or can simply be the first parameter). If it is
274missing, then the nodename (F<uname -n>) will be used as profile name.
275
276The profile data is then gathered as follows:
277
278First, all remaining key => value pairs (all of which are conveniently
279undocumented at the moment) will be interpreted as configuration
280data. Then they will be overwritten by any values specified in the global
281default configuration (see the F<aemp> utility), then the chain of
282profiles chosen by the profile name (and any C<parent> attributes).
283
284That means that the values specified in the profile have highest priority
285and the values specified directly via C<configure> have lowest priority,
286and can only be used to specify defaults.
287
288If the profile specifies a node ID, then this will become the node ID of
289this process. If not, then the profile name will be used as node ID, with
290a unique randoms tring (C</%u>) appended.
291
292The node ID can contain some C<%> sequences that are expanded: C<%n>
293is expanded to the local nodename, C<%u> is replaced by a random
294strign to make the node unique. For example, the F<aemp> commandline
295utility uses C<aemp/%n/%u> as nodename, which might expand to
296C<aemp/cerebro/ZQDGSIkRhEZQDGSIkRhE>.
297
298=item step 2, bind listener sockets
299
300The next step is to look up the binds in the profile, followed by binding
301aemp protocol listeners on all binds specified (it is possible and valid
302to have no binds, meaning that the node cannot be contacted form the
303outside. This means the node cannot talk to other nodes that also have no
304binds, but it can still talk to all "normal" nodes).
305
306If the profile does not specify a binds list, then a default of C<*> is
307used, meaning the node will bind on a dynamically-assigned port on every
308local IP address it finds.
309
310=item step 3, connect to seed nodes
311
312As the last step, the seed ID list from the profile is passed to the
313L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> module, which will then use it to keep
314connectivity with at least one node at any point in time.
315
316=back
317
318Example: become a distributed node using the local node name as profile.
319This should be the most common form of invocation for "daemon"-type nodes.
320
321 configure
322
323Example: become a semi-anonymous node. This form is often used for
324commandline clients.
325
326 configure nodeid => "myscript/%n/%u";
327
328Example: configure a node using a profile called seed, which is suitable
329for a seed node as it binds on all local addresses on a fixed port (4040,
330customary for aemp).
331
332 # use the aemp commandline utility
333 # aemp profile seed binds '*:4040'
334
335 # then use it
336 configure profile => "seed";
337
338 # or simply use aemp from the shell again:
339 # aemp run profile seed
340
341 # or provide a nicer-to-remember nodeid
342 # aemp run profile seed nodeid "$(hostname)"
343
344=item $SELF
345
346Contains the current port id while executing C<rcv> callbacks or C<psub>
347blocks.
348
349=item *SELF, SELF, %SELF, @SELF...
350
351Due to some quirks in how perl exports variables, it is impossible to
352just export C<$SELF>, all the symbols named C<SELF> are exported by this
353module, but only C<$SELF> is currently used.
354
155=item snd $portid, type => @data 355=item snd $port, type => @data
156 356
157=item snd $portid, @msg 357=item snd $port, @msg
158 358
159Send the given message to the given port ID, which can identify either a 359Send the given message to the given port, which can identify either a
160local or a remote port. 360local or a remote port, and must be a port ID.
161 361
162While the message can be about anything, it is highly recommended to use 362While the message can be almost anything, it is highly recommended to
163a constant string as first element. 363use a string as first element (a port ID, or some word that indicates a
364request type etc.) and to consist if only simple perl values (scalars,
365arrays, hashes) - if you think you need to pass an object, think again.
164 366
165The message data effectively becomes read-only after a call to this 367The message data logically becomes read-only after a call to this
166function: modifying any argument is not allowed and can cause many 368function: modifying any argument (or values referenced by them) is
167problems. 369forbidden, as there can be considerable time between the call to C<snd>
370and the time the message is actually being serialised - in fact, it might
371never be copied as within the same process it is simply handed to the
372receiving port.
168 373
169The type of data you can transfer depends on the transport protocol: when 374The type of data you can transfer depends on the transport protocol: when
170JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting 375JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting
171of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything 376of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything
172that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local 377that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local
173node, anything can be passed. 378node, anything can be passed. Best rely only on the common denominator of
379these.
380
381=item $local_port = port
382
383Create a new local port object and returns its port ID. Initially it has
384no callbacks set and will throw an error when it receives messages.
385
386=item $local_port = port { my @msg = @_ }
387
388Creates a new local port, and returns its ID. Semantically the same as
389creating a port and calling C<rcv $port, $callback> on it.
390
391The block will be called for every message received on the port, with the
392global variable C<$SELF> set to the port ID. Runtime errors will cause the
393port to be C<kil>ed. The message will be passed as-is, no extra argument
394(i.e. no port ID) will be passed to the callback.
395
396If you want to stop/destroy the port, simply C<kil> it:
397
398 my $port = port {
399 my @msg = @_;
400 ...
401 kil $SELF;
402 };
174 403
175=cut 404=cut
176 405
177sub snd(@) { 406sub rcv($@);
178 my ($noderef, $port) = split /#/, shift, 2;
179 407
180 add_node $noderef 408my $KILME = sub {
181 unless exists $NODE{$noderef}; 409 (my $tag = substr $_[0], 0, 30) =~ s/([\x20-\x7e])/./g;
410 kil $SELF, unhandled_message => "no callback found for message '$tag'";
411};
182 412
183 $NODE{$noderef}->send (["$port", [@_]]); 413sub port(;&) {
414 my $id = $UNIQ . ++$ID;
415 my $port = "$NODE#$id";
416
417 rcv $port, shift || $KILME;
418
419 $port
184} 420}
185 421
186=item rcv $portid, type => $callback->(@msg) 422=item rcv $local_port, $callback->(@msg)
187 423
188=item rcv $portid, $smartmatch => $callback->(@msg) 424Replaces the default callback on the specified port. There is no way to
425remove the default callback: use C<sub { }> to disable it, or better
426C<kil> the port when it is no longer needed.
189 427
190=item rcv $portid, [$smartmatch...] => $callback->(@msg) 428The global C<$SELF> (exported by this module) contains C<$port> while
429executing the callback. Runtime errors during callback execution will
430result in the port being C<kil>ed.
191 431
192Register a callback on the port identified by C<$portid>, which I<must> be 432The default callback receives all messages not matched by a more specific
193a local port. 433C<tag> match.
194 434
195The callback has to return a true value when its work is done, after 435=item rcv $local_port, tag => $callback->(@msg_without_tag), ...
196which is will be removed, or a false value in which case it will stay
197registered.
198 436
199If the match is an array reference, then it will be matched against the 437Register (or replace) callbacks to be called on messages starting with the
200first elements of the message, otherwise only the first element is being 438given tag on the given port (and return the port), or unregister it (when
201matched. 439C<$callback> is C<$undef> or missing). There can only be one callback
440registered for each tag.
202 441
203Any element in the match that is specified as C<_any_> (a function 442The original message will be passed to the callback, after the first
204exported by this module) matches any single element of the message. 443element (the tag) has been removed. The callback will use the same
444environment as the default callback (see above).
205 445
206While not required, it is highly recommended that the first matching 446Example: create a port and bind receivers on it in one go.
207element is a string identifying the message. The one-string-only match is 447
208also the most efficient match (by far). 448 my $port = rcv port,
449 msg1 => sub { ... },
450 msg2 => sub { ... },
451 ;
452
453Example: create a port, bind receivers and send it in a message elsewhere
454in one go:
455
456 snd $otherport, reply =>
457 rcv port,
458 msg1 => sub { ... },
459 ...
460 ;
461
462Example: temporarily register a rcv callback for a tag matching some port
463(e.g. for an rpc reply) and unregister it after a message was received.
464
465 rcv $port, $otherport => sub {
466 my @reply = @_;
467
468 rcv $SELF, $otherport;
469 };
209 470
210=cut 471=cut
211 472
212sub rcv($@) { 473sub rcv($@) {
213 my ($port, $match, $cb) = @_; 474 my $port = shift;
214
215 my $port = $PORT{$port}
216 or do {
217 my ($noderef, $lport) = split /#/, $port; 475 my ($nodeid, $portid) = split /#/, $port, 2;
218 "AnyEvent::MP::Node::Self" eq ref $NODE{$noderef} 476
477 $NODE{$nodeid} == $NODE{""}
219 or Carp::croak "$port: can only rcv on local ports"; 478 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on local ports, caught";
220 479
221 $PORT{$lport} 480 while (@_) {
222 or Carp::croak "$port: port does not exist"; 481 if (ref $_[0]) {
223 482 if (my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid}) {
224 $PORT{$port} = $PORT{$lport} # also return 483 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
225 }; 484 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
226 485
227 if (!ref $match) { 486 $self->[0] = shift;
228 push @{ $port->{rc0}{$match} }, [$cb];
229 } elsif (("ARRAY" eq ref $match && !ref $match->[0])) {
230 my ($type, @match) = @$match;
231 @match
232 ? push @{ $port->{rcv}{$match->[0]} }, [$cb, \@match]
233 : push @{ $port->{rc0}{$match->[0]} }, [$cb];
234 } else { 487 } else {
235 push @{ $port->{any} }, [$cb, $match]; 488 my $cb = shift;
236 } 489 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
237} 490 local $SELF = $port;
238 491 eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
239sub _inject {
240 my ($port, $msg) = @{+shift};
241
242 $port = $PORT{$port}
243 or return;
244
245 @_ = @$msg;
246
247 for (@{ $port->{rc0}{$msg->[0]} }) {
248 $_ && &{$_->[0]}
249 && undef $_;
250 }
251
252 for (@{ $port->{rcv}{$msg->[0]} }) {
253 $_ && [@_[1..$#{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1]
254 && &{$_->[0]}
255 && undef $_;
256 }
257
258 for (@{ $port->{any} }) {
259 $_ && [@_[0..$#{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1]
260 && &{$_->[0]}
261 && undef $_;
262 }
263}
264
265sub normalise_noderef($) {
266 my ($noderef) = @_;
267
268 my $cv = AE::cv;
269 my @res;
270
271 $cv->begin (sub {
272 my %seen;
273 my @refs;
274 for (sort { $a->[0] <=> $b->[0] } @res) {
275 push @refs, $_->[1] unless $seen{$_->[1]}++
276 }
277 shift->send (join ",", @refs);
278 });
279
280 $noderef = $DEFAULT_PORT unless length $noderef;
281
282 my $idx;
283 for my $t (split /,/, $noderef) {
284 my $pri = ++$idx;
285
286 #TODO: this should be outside normalise_noderef and in become_public
287 if ($t =~ /^\d*$/) {
288 my $nodename = (POSIX::uname)[1];
289
290 $cv->begin;
291 AnyEvent::Socket::resolve_sockaddr $nodename, $t || "aemp=$DEFAULT_PORT", "tcp", 0, undef, sub {
292 for (@_) {
293 my ($service, $host) = AnyEvent::Socket::unpack_sockaddr $_->[3];
294 push @res, [
295 $pri += 1e-5,
296 AnyEvent::Socket::format_hostport AnyEvent::Socket::format_address $host, $service
297 ];
298 } 492 };
299 $cv->end; 493 }
494 } elsif (defined $_[0]) {
495 my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid} ||= do {
496 my $self = bless [$PORT{$portid} || sub { }, { }, $port], "AnyEvent::MP::Port";
497
498 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
499 local $SELF = $port;
500
501 if (my $cb = $self->[1]{$_[0]}) {
502 shift;
503 eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
504 } else {
505 &{ $self->[0] };
506 }
507 };
508
509 $self
300 }; 510 };
301 511
302# my (undef, undef, undef, undef, @ipv4) = gethostbyname $nodename; 512 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
303# 513 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
304# for (@ipv4) { 514
305# push @res, [ 515 my ($tag, $cb) = splice @_, 0, 2;
306# $pri, 516
307# AnyEvent::Socket::format_hostport AnyEvent::Socket::format_address $_, $t || $DEFAULT_PORT, 517 if (defined $cb) {
308# ]; 518 $self->[1]{$tag} = $cb;
309# }
310 } else { 519 } else {
311 my ($host, $port) = AnyEvent::Socket::parse_hostport $t, "aemp=$DEFAULT_PORT" 520 delete $self->[1]{$tag};
312 or Carp::croak "$t: unparsable transport descriptor";
313
314 $cv->begin;
315 AnyEvent::Socket::resolve_sockaddr $host, $port, "tcp", 0, undef, sub {
316 for (@_) {
317 my ($service, $host) = AnyEvent::Socket::unpack_sockaddr $_->[3];
318 push @res, [
319 $pri += 1e-5,
320 AnyEvent::Socket::format_hostport AnyEvent::Socket::format_address $host, $service
321 ];
322 }
323 $cv->end;
324 } 521 }
325 } 522 }
326 } 523 }
327 524
328 $cv->end; 525 $port
329
330 $cv
331} 526}
332 527
333sub become_public { 528=item peval $port, $coderef[, @args]
334 return if $PUBLIC;
335 529
336 my $noderef = join ",", ref $_[0] ? @{+shift} : shift; 530Evaluates the given C<$codref> within the contetx of C<$port>, that is,
337 my @args = @_; 531when the code throews an exception the C<$port> will be killed.
338 532
339 $NODE = (normalise_noderef $noderef)->recv; 533Any remaining args will be passed to the callback. Any return values will
534be returned to the caller.
340 535
341 for my $t (split /,/, $NODE) { 536This is useful when you temporarily want to execute code in the context of
342 $NODE{$t} = $NODE{""}; 537a port.
343 538
344 my ($host, $port) = AnyEvent::Socket::parse_hostport $t; 539Example: create a port and run some initialisation code in it's context.
345 540
346 $LISTENER{$t} = AnyEvent::MP::Transport::mp_server $host, $port, 541 my $port = port { ... };
347 @args,
348 on_error => sub {
349 die "on_error<@_>\n";#d#
350 },
351 on_connect => sub {
352 my ($tp) = @_;
353 542
354 $NODE{$tp->{remote_id}} = $_[0]; 543 peval $port, sub {
355 }, 544 init
356 sub { 545 or die "unable to init";
357 my ($tp) = @_; 546 };
358 547
359 $NODE{"$tp->{peerhost}:$tp->{peerport}"} = $tp; 548=cut
360 }, 549
361 ; 550sub peval($$) {
551 local $SELF = shift;
552 my $cb = shift;
553
554 if (wantarray) {
555 my @res = eval { &$cb };
556 _self_die if $@;
557 @res
558 } else {
559 my $res = eval { &$cb };
560 _self_die if $@;
561 $res
362 } 562 }
363
364 $PUBLIC = 1;
365} 563}
366 564
367=back 565=item $closure = psub { BLOCK }
368 566
369=head1 NODE MESSAGES 567Remembers C<$SELF> and creates a closure out of the BLOCK. When the
568closure is executed, sets up the environment in the same way as in C<rcv>
569callbacks, i.e. runtime errors will cause the port to get C<kil>ed.
370 570
371Nodes understand the following messages sent to them: 571The effect is basically as if it returned C<< sub { peval $SELF, sub {
572BLOCK }, @_ } >>.
372 573
373=over 4 574This is useful when you register callbacks from C<rcv> callbacks:
575
576 rcv delayed_reply => sub {
577 my ($delay, @reply) = @_;
578 my $timer = AE::timer $delay, 0, psub {
579 snd @reply, $SELF;
580 };
581 };
374 582
375=cut 583=cut
376 584
377############################################################################# 585sub psub(&) {
378# self node code 586 my $cb = shift;
379 587
380sub _new_port($) { 588 my $port = $SELF
381 my ($name) = @_; 589 or Carp::croak "psub can only be called from within rcv or psub callbacks, not";
382 590
591 sub {
592 local $SELF = $port;
593
594 if (wantarray) {
595 my @res = eval { &$cb };
596 _self_die if $@;
597 @res
598 } else {
599 my $res = eval { &$cb };
600 _self_die if $@;
601 $res
602 }
603 }
604}
605
606=item $guard = mon $port, $cb->(@reason) # call $cb when $port dies
607
608=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport # kill $rcvport when $port dies
609
610=item $guard = mon $port # kill $SELF when $port dies
611
612=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport, @msg # send a message when $port dies
613
614Monitor the given port and do something when the port is killed or
615messages to it were lost, and optionally return a guard that can be used
616to stop monitoring again.
617
618In the first form (callback), the callback is simply called with any
619number of C<@reason> elements (no @reason means that the port was deleted
620"normally"). Note also that I<< the callback B<must> never die >>, so use
621C<eval> if unsure.
622
623In the second form (another port given), the other port (C<$rcvport>)
624will be C<kil>'ed with C<@reason>, if a @reason was specified, i.e. on
625"normal" kils nothing happens, while under all other conditions, the other
626port is killed with the same reason.
627
628The third form (kill self) is the same as the second form, except that
629C<$rvport> defaults to C<$SELF>.
630
631In the last form (message), a message of the form C<@msg, @reason> will be
632C<snd>.
633
634Monitoring-actions are one-shot: once messages are lost (and a monitoring
635alert was raised), they are removed and will not trigger again.
636
637As a rule of thumb, monitoring requests should always monitor a port from
638a local port (or callback). The reason is that kill messages might get
639lost, just like any other message. Another less obvious reason is that
640even monitoring requests can get lost (for example, when the connection
641to the other node goes down permanently). When monitoring a port locally
642these problems do not exist.
643
644C<mon> effectively guarantees that, in the absence of hardware failures,
645after starting the monitor, either all messages sent to the port will
646arrive, or the monitoring action will be invoked after possible message
647loss has been detected. No messages will be lost "in between" (after
648the first lost message no further messages will be received by the
649port). After the monitoring action was invoked, further messages might get
650delivered again.
651
652Inter-host-connection timeouts and monitoring depend on the transport
653used. The only transport currently implemented is TCP, and AnyEvent::MP
654relies on TCP to detect node-downs (this can take 10-15 minutes on a
655non-idle connection, and usually around two hours for idle connections).
656
657This means that monitoring is good for program errors and cleaning up
658stuff eventually, but they are no replacement for a timeout when you need
659to ensure some maximum latency.
660
661Example: call a given callback when C<$port> is killed.
662
663 mon $port, sub { warn "port died because of <@_>\n" };
664
665Example: kill ourselves when C<$port> is killed abnormally.
666
667 mon $port;
668
669Example: send us a restart message when another C<$port> is killed.
670
671 mon $port, $self => "restart";
672
673=cut
674
675sub mon {
383 my ($noderef, $portname) = split /#/, $name; 676 my ($nodeid, $port) = split /#/, shift, 2;
384 677
385 $PORT{$name} = 678 my $node = $NODE{$nodeid} || add_node $nodeid;
386 $PORT{$portname} = { 679
387 names => [$name, $portname], 680 my $cb = @_ ? shift : $SELF || Carp::croak 'mon: called with one argument only, but $SELF not set,';
681
682 unless (ref $cb) {
683 if (@_) {
684 # send a kill info message
685 my (@msg) = ($cb, @_);
686 $cb = sub { snd @msg, @_ };
687 } else {
688 # simply kill other port
689 my $port = $cb;
690 $cb = sub { kil $port, @_ if @_ };
691 }
692 }
693
694 $node->monitor ($port, $cb);
695
696 defined wantarray
697 and ($cb += 0, Guard::guard { $node->unmonitor ($port, $cb) })
698}
699
700=item $guard = mon_guard $port, $ref, $ref...
701
702Monitors the given C<$port> and keeps the passed references. When the port
703is killed, the references will be freed.
704
705Optionally returns a guard that will stop the monitoring.
706
707This function is useful when you create e.g. timers or other watchers and
708want to free them when the port gets killed (note the use of C<psub>):
709
710 $port->rcv (start => sub {
711 my $timer; $timer = mon_guard $port, AE::timer 1, 1, psub {
712 undef $timer if 0.9 < rand;
713 });
714 });
715
716=cut
717
718sub mon_guard {
719 my ($port, @refs) = @_;
720
721 #TODO: mon-less form?
722
723 mon $port, sub { 0 && @refs }
724}
725
726=item kil $port[, @reason]
727
728Kill the specified port with the given C<@reason>.
729
730If no C<@reason> is specified, then the port is killed "normally" -
731monitor callback will be invoked, but the kil will not cause linked ports
732(C<mon $mport, $lport> form) to get killed.
733
734If a C<@reason> is specified, then linked ports (C<mon $mport, $lport>
735form) get killed with the same reason.
736
737Runtime errors while evaluating C<rcv> callbacks or inside C<psub> blocks
738will be reported as reason C<< die => $@ >>.
739
740Transport/communication errors are reported as C<< transport_error =>
741$message >>.
742
743Common idioms:
744
745 # silently remove yourself, do not kill linked ports
746 kil $SELF;
747
748 # report a failure in some detail
749 kil $SELF, failure_mode_1 => "it failed with too high temperature";
750
751 # do not waste much time with killing, just die when something goes wrong
752 open my $fh, "<file"
753 or die "file: $!";
754
755=item $port = spawn $node, $initfunc[, @initdata]
756
757Creates a port on the node C<$node> (which can also be a port ID, in which
758case it's the node where that port resides).
759
760The port ID of the newly created port is returned immediately, and it is
761possible to immediately start sending messages or to monitor the port.
762
763After the port has been created, the init function is called on the remote
764node, in the same context as a C<rcv> callback. This function must be a
765fully-qualified function name (e.g. C<MyApp::Chat::Server::init>). To
766specify a function in the main program, use C<::name>.
767
768If the function doesn't exist, then the node tries to C<require>
769the package, then the package above the package and so on (e.g.
770C<MyApp::Chat::Server>, C<MyApp::Chat>, C<MyApp>) until the function
771exists or it runs out of package names.
772
773The init function is then called with the newly-created port as context
774object (C<$SELF>) and the C<@initdata> values as arguments. It I<must>
775call one of the C<rcv> functions to set callbacks on C<$SELF>, otherwise
776the port might not get created.
777
778A common idiom is to pass a local port, immediately monitor the spawned
779port, and in the remote init function, immediately monitor the passed
780local port. This two-way monitoring ensures that both ports get cleaned up
781when there is a problem.
782
783C<spawn> guarantees that the C<$initfunc> has no visible effects on the
784caller before C<spawn> returns (by delaying invocation when spawn is
785called for the local node).
786
787Example: spawn a chat server port on C<$othernode>.
788
789 # this node, executed from within a port context:
790 my $server = spawn $othernode, "MyApp::Chat::Server::connect", $SELF;
791 mon $server;
792
793 # init function on C<$othernode>
794 sub connect {
795 my ($srcport) = @_;
796
797 mon $srcport;
798
799 rcv $SELF, sub {
800 ...
801 };
802 }
803
804=cut
805
806sub _spawn {
807 my $port = shift;
808 my $init = shift;
809
810 # rcv will create the actual port
811 local $SELF = "$NODE#$port";
812 eval {
813 &{ load_func $init }
814 };
815 _self_die if $@;
816}
817
818sub spawn(@) {
819 my ($nodeid, undef) = split /#/, shift, 2;
820
821 my $id = $RUNIQ . ++$ID;
822
823 $_[0] =~ /::/
824 or Carp::croak "spawn init function must be a fully-qualified name, caught";
825
826 snd_to_func $nodeid, "AnyEvent::MP::_spawn" => $id, @_;
827
828 "$nodeid#$id"
829}
830
831
832=item after $timeout, @msg
833
834=item after $timeout, $callback
835
836Either sends the given message, or call the given callback, after the
837specified number of seconds.
838
839This is simply a utility function that comes in handy at times - the
840AnyEvent::MP author is not convinced of the wisdom of having it, though,
841so it may go away in the future.
842
843=cut
844
845sub after($@) {
846 my ($timeout, @action) = @_;
847
848 my $t; $t = AE::timer $timeout, 0, sub {
849 undef $t;
850 ref $action[0]
851 ? $action[0]()
852 : snd @action;
388 }; 853 };
389} 854}
390 855
391$NODE{""} = new AnyEvent::MP::Node::Self noderef => $NODE; 856#=item $cb2 = timeout $seconds, $cb[, @args]
392_new_port "";
393 857
394=item relay => $port, @msg 858=item cal $port, @msg, $callback[, $timeout]
395 859
396Simply forwards the message to the given port. 860A simple form of RPC - sends a message to the given C<$port> with the
861given contents (C<@msg>), but adds a reply port to the message.
862
863The reply port is created temporarily just for the purpose of receiving
864the reply, and will be C<kil>ed when no longer needed.
865
866A reply message sent to the port is passed to the C<$callback> as-is.
867
868If an optional time-out (in seconds) is given and it is not C<undef>,
869then the callback will be called without any arguments after the time-out
870elapsed and the port is C<kil>ed.
871
872If no time-out is given (or it is C<undef>), then the local port will
873monitor the remote port instead, so it eventually gets cleaned-up.
874
875Currently this function returns the temporary port, but this "feature"
876might go in future versions unless you can make a convincing case that
877this is indeed useful for something.
397 878
398=cut 879=cut
399 880
400rcv "", relay => \&snd; 881sub cal(@) {
882 my $timeout = ref $_[-1] ? undef : pop;
883 my $cb = pop;
401 884
402=item eval => $string[ @reply] 885 my $port = port {
886 undef $timeout;
887 kil $SELF;
888 &$cb;
889 };
403 890
404Evaluates the given string. If C<@reply> is given, then a message of the 891 if (defined $timeout) {
405form C<@reply, $@, @evalres> is sent (C<$reply[0]> is the port to reply to). 892 $timeout = AE::timer $timeout, 0, sub {
893 undef $timeout;
894 kil $port;
895 $cb->();
896 };
897 } else {
898 mon $_[0], sub {
899 kil $port;
900 $cb->();
901 };
902 }
903
904 push @_, $port;
905 &snd;
906
907 $port
908}
909
910=back
911
912=head1 DISTRIBUTED DATABASE
913
914AnyEvent::MP comes with a simple distributed database. The database will
915be mirrored asynchronously on all global nodes. Other nodes bind to one
916of the global nodes for their needs. Every node has a "local database"
917which contains all the values that are set locally. All local databases
918are merged together to form the global database, which can be queried.
919
920The database structure is that of a two-level hash - the database hash
921contains hashes which contain values, similarly to a perl hash of hashes,
922i.e.:
923
924 $DATABASE{$family}{$subkey} = $value
925
926The top level hash key is called "family", and the second-level hash key
927is called "subkey" or simply "key".
928
929The family must be alphanumeric, i.e. start with a letter and consist
930of letters, digits, underscores and colons (C<[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_:]*>,
931pretty much like Perl module names.
932
933As the family namespace is global, it is recommended to prefix family names
934with the name of the application or module using it.
935
936The subkeys must be non-empty strings, with no further restrictions.
937
938The values should preferably be strings, but other perl scalars should
939work as well (such as C<undef>, arrays and hashes).
940
941Every database entry is owned by one node - adding the same family/subkey
942combination on multiple nodes will not cause discomfort for AnyEvent::MP,
943but the result might be nondeterministic, i.e. the key might have
944different values on different nodes.
945
946Different subkeys in the same family can be owned by different nodes
947without problems, and in fact, this is the common method to create worker
948pools. For example, a worker port for image scaling might do this:
949
950 db_set my_image_scalers => $port;
951
952And clients looking for an image scaler will want to get the
953C<my_image_scalers> keys from time to time:
954
955 db_keys my_image_scalers => sub {
956 @ports = @{ $_[0] };
957 };
958
959Or better yet, they want to monitor the database family, so they always
960have a reasonable up-to-date copy:
961
962 db_mon my_image_scalers => sub {
963 @ports = keys %{ $_[0] };
964 };
965
966In general, you can set or delete single subkeys, but query and monitor
967whole families only.
968
969If you feel the need to monitor or query a single subkey, try giving it
970it's own family.
971
972=over
973
974=item $guard = db_set $family => $subkey [=> $value]
975
976Sets (or replaces) a key to the database - if C<$value> is omitted,
977C<undef> is used instead.
978
979When called in non-void context, C<db_set> returns a guard that
980automatically calls C<db_del> when it is destroyed.
981
982=item db_del $family => $subkey...
983
984Deletes one or more subkeys from the database family.
985
986=item $guard = db_reg $family => $port => $value
987
988=item $guard = db_reg $family => $port
989
990=item $guard = db_reg $family
991
992Registers a port in the given family and optionally returns a guard to
993remove it.
994
995This function basically does the same as:
996
997 db_set $family => $port => $value
998
999Except that the port is monitored and automatically removed from the
1000database family when it is kil'ed.
1001
1002If C<$value> is missing, C<undef> is used. If C<$port> is missing, then
1003C<$SELF> is used.
1004
1005This function is most useful to register a port in some port group (which
1006is just another name for a database family), and have it removed when the
1007port is gone. This works best when the port is a local port.
406 1008
407=cut 1009=cut
408 1010
409rcv "", eval => sub { 1011sub db_reg($$;$) {
410 my (undef, $string, @reply) = @_; 1012 my $family = shift;
411 my @res = eval $string; 1013 my $port = @_ ? shift : $SELF;
412 snd @reply, "$@", @res if @reply;
413};
414 1014
415=item time => @reply 1015 my $clr = sub { db_del $family => $port };
1016 mon $port, $clr;
416 1017
417Replies the the current node time to C<@reply>. 1018 db_set $family => $port => $_[0];
1019
1020 defined wantarray
1021 and &Guard::guard ($clr)
1022}
1023
1024=item db_family $family => $cb->(\%familyhash)
1025
1026Queries the named database C<$family> and call the callback with the
1027family represented as a hash. You can keep and freely modify the hash.
1028
1029=item db_keys $family => $cb->(\@keys)
1030
1031Same as C<db_family>, except it only queries the family I<subkeys> and passes
1032them as array reference to the callback.
1033
1034=item db_values $family => $cb->(\@values)
1035
1036Same as C<db_family>, except it only queries the family I<values> and passes them
1037as array reference to the callback.
1038
1039=item $guard = db_mon $family => $cb->($familyhash, \@added, \@changed, \@deleted)
1040
1041Creates a monitor on the given database family. Each time a key is set
1042or or is deleted the callback is called with a hash containing the
1043database family and three lists of added, changed and deleted subkeys,
1044respectively. If no keys have changed then the array reference might be
1045C<undef> or even missing.
1046
1047If not called in void context, a guard object is returned that, when
1048destroyed, stops the monitor.
1049
1050The family hash reference and the key arrays belong to AnyEvent::MP and
1051B<must not be modified or stored> by the callback. When in doubt, make a
1052copy.
1053
1054As soon as possible after the monitoring starts, the callback will be
1055called with the intiial contents of the family, even if it is empty,
1056i.e. there will always be a timely call to the callback with the current
1057contents.
1058
1059It is possible that the callback is called with a change event even though
1060the subkey is already present and the value has not changed.
1061
1062The monitoring stops when the guard object is destroyed.
1063
1064Example: on every change to the family "mygroup", print out all keys.
1065
1066 my $guard = db_mon mygroup => sub {
1067 my ($family, $a, $c, $d) = @_;
1068 print "mygroup members: ", (join " ", keys %$family), "\n";
1069 };
1070
1071Exmaple: wait until the family "My::Module::workers" is non-empty.
1072
1073 my $guard; $guard = db_mon My::Module::workers => sub {
1074 my ($family, $a, $c, $d) = @_;
1075 return unless %$family;
1076 undef $guard;
1077 print "My::Module::workers now nonempty\n";
1078 };
1079
1080Example: print all changes to the family "AnyRvent::Fantasy::Module".
1081
1082 my $guard = db_mon AnyRvent::Fantasy::Module => sub {
1083 my ($family, $a, $c, $d) = @_;
1084
1085 print "+$_=$family->{$_}\n" for @$a;
1086 print "*$_=$family->{$_}\n" for @$c;
1087 print "-$_=$family->{$_}\n" for @$d;
1088 };
418 1089
419=cut 1090=cut
420 1091
421rcv "", time => sub { shift; snd @_, AE::time };
422
423=back 1092=back
424 1093
1094=head1 AnyEvent::MP vs. Distributed Erlang
1095
1096AnyEvent::MP got lots of its ideas from distributed Erlang (Erlang node
1097== aemp node, Erlang process == aemp port), so many of the documents and
1098programming techniques employed by Erlang apply to AnyEvent::MP. Here is a
1099sample:
1100
1101 http://www.erlang.se/doc/programming_rules.shtml
1102 http://erlang.org/doc/getting_started/part_frame.html # chapters 3 and 4
1103 http://erlang.org/download/erlang-book-part1.pdf # chapters 5 and 6
1104 http://erlang.org/download/armstrong_thesis_2003.pdf # chapters 4 and 5
1105
1106Despite the similarities, there are also some important differences:
1107
1108=over 4
1109
1110=item * Node IDs are arbitrary strings in AEMP.
1111
1112Erlang relies on special naming and DNS to work everywhere in the same
1113way. AEMP relies on each node somehow knowing its own address(es) (e.g. by
1114configuration or DNS), and possibly the addresses of some seed nodes, but
1115will otherwise discover other nodes (and their IDs) itself.
1116
1117=item * Erlang has a "remote ports are like local ports" philosophy, AEMP
1118uses "local ports are like remote ports".
1119
1120The failure modes for local ports are quite different (runtime errors
1121only) then for remote ports - when a local port dies, you I<know> it dies,
1122when a connection to another node dies, you know nothing about the other
1123port.
1124
1125Erlang pretends remote ports are as reliable as local ports, even when
1126they are not.
1127
1128AEMP encourages a "treat remote ports differently" philosophy, with local
1129ports being the special case/exception, where transport errors cannot
1130occur.
1131
1132=item * Erlang uses processes and a mailbox, AEMP does not queue.
1133
1134Erlang uses processes that selectively receive messages out of order, and
1135therefore needs a queue. AEMP is event based, queuing messages would serve
1136no useful purpose. For the same reason the pattern-matching abilities
1137of AnyEvent::MP are more limited, as there is little need to be able to
1138filter messages without dequeuing them.
1139
1140This is not a philosophical difference, but simply stems from AnyEvent::MP
1141being event-based, while Erlang is process-based.
1142
1143You cna have a look at L<Coro::MP> for a more Erlang-like process model on
1144top of AEMP and Coro threads.
1145
1146=item * Erlang sends are synchronous, AEMP sends are asynchronous.
1147
1148Sending messages in Erlang is synchronous and blocks the process until
1149a conenction has been established and the message sent (and so does not
1150need a queue that can overflow). AEMP sends return immediately, connection
1151establishment is handled in the background.
1152
1153=item * Erlang suffers from silent message loss, AEMP does not.
1154
1155Erlang implements few guarantees on messages delivery - messages can get
1156lost without any of the processes realising it (i.e. you send messages a,
1157b, and c, and the other side only receives messages a and c).
1158
1159AEMP guarantees (modulo hardware errors) correct ordering, and the
1160guarantee that after one message is lost, all following ones sent to the
1161same port are lost as well, until monitoring raises an error, so there are
1162no silent "holes" in the message sequence.
1163
1164If you want your software to be very reliable, you have to cope with
1165corrupted and even out-of-order messages in both Erlang and AEMP. AEMP
1166simply tries to work better in common error cases, such as when a network
1167link goes down.
1168
1169=item * Erlang can send messages to the wrong port, AEMP does not.
1170
1171In Erlang it is quite likely that a node that restarts reuses an Erlang
1172process ID known to other nodes for a completely different process,
1173causing messages destined for that process to end up in an unrelated
1174process.
1175
1176AEMP does not reuse port IDs, so old messages or old port IDs floating
1177around in the network will not be sent to an unrelated port.
1178
1179=item * Erlang uses unprotected connections, AEMP uses secure
1180authentication and can use TLS.
1181
1182AEMP can use a proven protocol - TLS - to protect connections and
1183securely authenticate nodes.
1184
1185=item * The AEMP protocol is optimised for both text-based and binary
1186communications.
1187
1188The AEMP protocol, unlike the Erlang protocol, supports both programming
1189language independent text-only protocols (good for debugging), and binary,
1190language-specific serialisers (e.g. Storable). By default, unless TLS is
1191used, the protocol is actually completely text-based.
1192
1193It has also been carefully designed to be implementable in other languages
1194with a minimum of work while gracefully degrading functionality to make the
1195protocol simple.
1196
1197=item * AEMP has more flexible monitoring options than Erlang.
1198
1199In Erlang, you can chose to receive I<all> exit signals as messages or
1200I<none>, there is no in-between, so monitoring single Erlang processes is
1201difficult to implement.
1202
1203Monitoring in AEMP is more flexible than in Erlang, as one can choose
1204between automatic kill, exit message or callback on a per-port basis.
1205
1206=item * Erlang tries to hide remote/local connections, AEMP does not.
1207
1208Monitoring in Erlang is not an indicator of process death/crashes, in the
1209same way as linking is (except linking is unreliable in Erlang).
1210
1211In AEMP, you don't "look up" registered port names or send to named ports
1212that might or might not be persistent. Instead, you normally spawn a port
1213on the remote node. The init function monitors you, and you monitor the
1214remote port. Since both monitors are local to the node, they are much more
1215reliable (no need for C<spawn_link>).
1216
1217This also saves round-trips and avoids sending messages to the wrong port
1218(hard to do in Erlang).
1219
1220=back
1221
1222=head1 RATIONALE
1223
1224=over 4
1225
1226=item Why strings for port and node IDs, why not objects?
1227
1228We considered "objects", but found that the actual number of methods
1229that can be called are quite low. Since port and node IDs travel over
1230the network frequently, the serialising/deserialising would add lots of
1231overhead, as well as having to keep a proxy object everywhere.
1232
1233Strings can easily be printed, easily serialised etc. and need no special
1234procedures to be "valid".
1235
1236And as a result, a port with just a default receiver consists of a single
1237code reference stored in a global hash - it can't become much cheaper.
1238
1239=item Why favour JSON, why not a real serialising format such as Storable?
1240
1241In fact, any AnyEvent::MP node will happily accept Storable as framing
1242format, but currently there is no way to make a node use Storable by
1243default (although all nodes will accept it).
1244
1245The default framing protocol is JSON because a) JSON::XS is many times
1246faster for small messages and b) most importantly, after years of
1247experience we found that object serialisation is causing more problems
1248than it solves: Just like function calls, objects simply do not travel
1249easily over the network, mostly because they will always be a copy, so you
1250always have to re-think your design.
1251
1252Keeping your messages simple, concentrating on data structures rather than
1253objects, will keep your messages clean, tidy and efficient.
1254
1255=back
1256
1257=head1 PORTING FROM AnyEvent::MP VERSION 1.X
1258
1259AEMP version 2 has three major incompatible changes compared to version 1:
1260
1261=over 4
1262
1263=item AnyEvent::MP::Global no longer has group management functions.
1264
1265AnyEvent::MP now comes with a distributed database that is more
1266powerful. It's database families map closely to ports, but the API has
1267minor differences:
1268
1269 grp_reg $group, $port # old
1270 db_reg $group, $port # new
1271
1272 $list = grp_get $group # old
1273 db_keys $group, sub { my $list = shift } # new
1274
1275 grp_mon $group, $cb->(\@ports, $add, $del) # old
1276 db_mon $group, $cb->(\%ports, $add, $change, $del) # new
1277
1278C<grp_reg> is a no-brainer (just replace by C<db_reg>), but C<grp_get>
1279is no longer instant, because the local node might not have a copy of
1280the group. This can be partially remedied by using C<db_mon> to keep an
1281updated copy of the group:
1282
1283 my $local_group_copy;
1284 db_mon $group => sub { $local_group_copy = shift };
1285
1286 # no keys %$local_group_copy always returns the most up-to-date
1287 # list of ports in the group.
1288
1289C<grp_mon> can almost be replaced by C<db_mon>:
1290
1291 db_mon $group => sub {
1292 my ($ports, $add, $chg, $lde) = @_;
1293 $ports = [keys %$ports];
1294
1295 # now $ports, $add and $del are the same as
1296 # were originally passed by grp_mon.
1297 ...
1298 };
1299
1300=item Nodes not longer connect to all other nodes.
1301
1302In AEMP 1.x, every node automatically loads the L<AnyEvent::MP::Global>
1303module, which in turn would create connections to all other nodes in the
1304network (helped by the seed nodes).
1305
1306In version 2.x, global nodes still connect to all other global nodes, but
1307other nodes don't - now every node either is a global node itself, or
1308attaches itself to another global node.
1309
1310If a node isn't a global node itself, then it attaches itself to one
1311of its seed nodes. If that seed node isn't a global node yet, it will
1312automatically be upgraded to a global node.
1313
1314So in many cases, nothing needs to be changed - one just has to make sure
1315that all seed nodes are meshed together with the other seed nodes (as with
1316AEMP 1.x), and other nodes specify them as seed nodes.
1317
1318Not opening a connection to every other node is usually an advantage,
1319except when you need the lower latency of an already established
1320connection. To ensure a node establishes a connection to another node,
1321you can monitor the node port (C<mon $node, ...>), which will attempt to
1322create the connection (and notify you when the connection fails).
1323
1324=item Listener-less nodes (nodes without binds) are gone.
1325
1326And are not coming back, at least not in their old form. If no C<binds>
1327are specified for a node, AnyEvent::MP now assumes a default of C<*:*>.
1328
1329There are vague plans to implement some form of routing domains, which
1330might or might not bring back listener-less nodes, but don't count on it.
1331
1332The fact that most connections are now optional somewhat mitigates this,
1333as a node can be effectively unreachable from the outside without any
1334problems, as long as it isn't a global node and only reaches out to other
1335nodes (as opposed to being contacted from other nodes).
1336
1337=item $AnyEvent::MP::Kernel::WARN has gone.
1338
1339AnyEvent has acquired a logging framework (L<AnyEvent::Log>), and AEMP now
1340uses this, and so should your programs.
1341
1342Every module now documents what kinds of messages it generates, with
1343AnyEvent::MP acting as a catch all.
1344
1345On the positive side, this means that instead of setting
1346C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MP_WARNLEVEL>, you can get away by setting C<AE_VERBOSE>,
1347much less to type.
1348
1349=back
1350
425=head1 SEE ALSO 1351=head1 SEE ALSO
1352
1353L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro> - a gentle introduction.
1354
1355L<AnyEvent::MP::Kernel> - more, lower-level, stuff.
1356
1357L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> - network maintenance and port groups, to find
1358your applications.
1359
1360L<AnyEvent::MP::DataConn> - establish data connections between nodes.
1361
1362L<AnyEvent::MP::LogCatcher> - simple service to display log messages from
1363all nodes.
426 1364
427L<AnyEvent>. 1365L<AnyEvent>.
428 1366
429=head1 AUTHOR 1367=head1 AUTHOR
430 1368

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