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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 # contains this node's noderef 9 $NODE # contains this node's node ID
10 NODE # returns this node's noderef 10 NODE # returns this node's node ID
11 NODE $port # returns the noderef of the port
12 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
13 snd $port, type => data...; 20 snd $port, type => data...;
21 snd $port, @msg;
22 snd @msg_with_first_element_being_a_port;
14 23
15 $SELF # receiving/own port id in rcv callbacks 24 # creating/using ports, the simple way
25 my $simple_port = port { my @msg = @_ };
16 26
17 rcv $port, smartmatch => $cb->($port, @msg); 27 # creating/using ports, tagged message matching
18 28 my $port = port;
19 # examples:
20 rcv $port2, ping => sub { snd $_[0], "pong"; 0 }; 29 rcv $port, ping => sub { snd $_[0], "pong" };
21 rcv $port1, pong => sub { warn "pong received\n" }; 30 rcv $port, pong => sub { warn "pong received\n" };
22 snd $port2, ping => $port1;
23 31
24 # more, smarter, matches (_any_ is exported by this module) 32 # create a port on another node
25 rcv $port, [child_died => $pid] => sub { ... 33 my $port = spawn $node, $initfunc, @initdata;
26 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
27 38
28 # monitoring 39 # monitoring
29 mon $port, $cb->(@msg) # callback is invoked on death 40 mon $port, $cb->(@msg) # callback is invoked on death
30 mon $port, $otherport # kill otherport on abnormal death 41 mon $port, $localport # kill localport on abnormal death
31 mon $port, $otherport, @msg # send message on 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 };
32 51
33=head1 DESCRIPTION 52=head1 DESCRIPTION
34 53
35This module (-family) implements a simple message passing framework. 54This module (-family) implements a simple message passing framework.
36 55
37Despite its simplicity, you can securely message other processes running 56Despite its simplicity, you can securely message other processes running
38on the same or other hosts. 57on the same or other hosts, and you can supervise entities remotely.
39 58
40For an introduction to this module family, see the L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro> 59For an introduction to this module family, see the L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro>
41manual page. 60manual page and the examples under F<eg/>.
42
43At the moment, this module family is severly broken and underdocumented,
44so do not use. This was uploaded mainly to reserve the CPAN namespace -
45stay tuned! The basic API should be finished, however.
46 61
47=head1 CONCEPTS 62=head1 CONCEPTS
48 63
49=over 4 64=over 4
50 65
51=item port 66=item port
52 67
53A port is something you can send messages to (with the C<snd> function). 68Not to be confused with a TCP port, a "port" is something you can send
69messages to (with the C<snd> function).
54 70
55Some ports allow you to register C<rcv> handlers that can match specific 71Ports allow you to register C<rcv> handlers that can match all or just
56messages. All C<rcv> handlers will receive messages they match, messages 72some messages. Messages send to ports will not be queued, regardless of
57will not be queued. 73anything was listening for them or not.
58 74
75Ports are represented by (printable) strings called "port IDs".
76
59=item port id - C<noderef#portname> 77=item port ID - C<nodeid#portname>
60 78
61A port id is normaly the concatenation of a noderef, a hash-mark (C<#>) as 79A port ID is the concatenation of a node ID, a hash-mark (C<#>)
62separator, and a port name (a printable string of unspecified format). An 80as separator, and a port name (a printable string of unspecified
63exception is the the node port, whose ID is identical to its node 81format created by AnyEvent::MP).
64reference.
65 82
66=item node 83=item node
67 84
68A node is a single process containing at least one port - the node 85A node is a single process containing at least one port - the node port,
69port. You can send messages to node ports to find existing ports or to 86which enables nodes to manage each other remotely, and to create new
70create new ports, among other things. 87ports.
71 88
72Nodes are either private (single-process only), slaves (connected to a 89Nodes are either public (have one or more listening ports) or private
73master node only) or public nodes (connectable from unrelated nodes). 90(no listening ports). Private nodes cannot talk to other private nodes
91currently, but all nodes can talk to public nodes.
74 92
75=item noderef - C<host:port,host:port...>, C<id@noderef>, C<id> 93Nodes is represented by (printable) strings called "node IDs".
76 94
77A node reference is a string that either simply identifies the node (for 95=item node ID - C<[A-Za-z0-9_\-.:]*>
78private and slave nodes), or contains a recipe on how to reach a given
79node (for public nodes).
80 96
81This recipe is simply a comma-separated list of C<address:port> pairs (for 97A node ID is a string that uniquely identifies the node within a
82TCP/IP, other protocols might look different). 98network. Depending on the configuration used, node IDs can look like a
99hostname, a hostname and a port, or a random string. AnyEvent::MP itself
100doesn't interpret node IDs in any way except to uniquely identify a node.
83 101
84Node references come in two flavours: resolved (containing only numerical 102=item binds - C<ip:port>
85addresses) or unresolved (where hostnames are used instead of addresses).
86 103
87Before using an unresolved node reference in a message you first have to 104Nodes can only talk to each other by creating some kind of connection to
88resolve it. 105each other. To do this, nodes should listen on one or more local transport
106endpoints - binds.
107
108Currently, only standard C<ip:port> specifications can be used, which
109specify TCP ports to listen on. So a bind is basically just a tcp socket
110in listening mode thta accepts conenctions form other nodes.
111
112=item seed nodes
113
114When a node starts, it knows nothing about the network it is in - it
115needs to connect to at least one other node that is already in the
116network. These other nodes are called "seed nodes".
117
118Seed nodes themselves are not special - they are seed nodes only because
119some other node I<uses> them as such, but any node can be used as seed
120node for other nodes, and eahc node cna use a different set of seed nodes.
121
122In addition to discovering the network, seed nodes are also used to
123maintain the network - all nodes using the same seed node form are part of
124the same network. If a network is split into multiple subnets because e.g.
125the network link between the parts goes down, then using the same seed
126nodes for all nodes ensures that eventually the subnets get merged again.
127
128Seed nodes are expected to be long-running, and at least one seed node
129should always be available. They should also be relatively responsive - a
130seed node that blocks for long periods will slow down everybody else.
131
132For small networks, it's best if every node uses the same set of seed
133nodes. For large networks, it can be useful to specify "regional" seed
134nodes for most nodes in an area, and use all seed nodes as seed nodes for
135each other. What's important is that all seed nodes connections form a
136complete graph, so that the network cannot split into separate subnets
137forever.
138
139Seed nodes are represented by seed IDs.
140
141=item seed IDs - C<host:port>
142
143Seed IDs are transport endpoint(s) (usually a hostname/IP address and a
144TCP port) of nodes that should be used as seed nodes.
145
146=item global nodes
147
148An AEMP network needs a discovery service - nodes need to know how to
149connect to other nodes they only know by name. In addition, AEMP offers a
150distributed "group database", which maps group names to a list of strings
151- for example, to register worker ports.
152
153A network needs at least one global node to work, and allows every node to
154be a global node.
155
156Any node that loads the L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> module becomes a global
157node and tries to keep connections to all other nodes. So while it can
158make sense to make every node "global" in small networks, it usually makes
159sense to only make seed nodes into global nodes in large networks (nodes
160keep connections to seed nodes and global nodes, so makign them the same
161reduces overhead).
89 162
90=back 163=back
91 164
92=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS 165=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS
93 166
95 168
96=cut 169=cut
97 170
98package AnyEvent::MP; 171package AnyEvent::MP;
99 172
173use AnyEvent::MP::Config ();
100use AnyEvent::MP::Base; 174use AnyEvent::MP::Kernel;
175use AnyEvent::MP::Kernel qw(%NODE %PORT %PORT_DATA $UNIQ $RUNIQ $ID);
101 176
102use common::sense; 177use common::sense;
103 178
104use Carp (); 179use Carp ();
105 180
106use AE (); 181use AnyEvent ();
182use Guard ();
107 183
108use base "Exporter"; 184use base "Exporter";
109 185
110our $VERSION = '0.1'; 186our $VERSION = $AnyEvent::MP::Config::VERSION;
187
111our @EXPORT = qw( 188our @EXPORT = qw(
112 NODE $NODE *SELF node_of _any_ 189 NODE $NODE *SELF node_of after
113 resolve_node initialise_node 190 configure
114 snd rcv mon kil reg psub 191 snd rcv mon mon_guard kil psub peval spawn cal
115 port 192 port
193 db_set db_del db_reg
194 db_mon db_family db_keys db_values
116); 195);
117 196
118our $SELF; 197our $SELF;
119 198
120sub _self_die() { 199sub _self_die() {
123 kil $SELF, die => $msg; 202 kil $SELF, die => $msg;
124} 203}
125 204
126=item $thisnode = NODE / $NODE 205=item $thisnode = NODE / $NODE
127 206
128The C<NODE> function returns, and the C<$NODE> variable contains 207The C<NODE> function returns, and the C<$NODE> variable contains, the node
129the noderef of the local node. The value is initialised by a call 208ID of the node running in the current process. This value is initialised by
130to C<become_public> or C<become_slave>, after which all local port 209a call to C<configure>.
131identifiers become invalid.
132 210
133=item $noderef = node_of $port 211=item $nodeid = node_of $port
134 212
135Extracts and returns the noderef from a portid or a noderef. 213Extracts and returns the node ID from a port ID or a node ID.
136 214
137=item initialise_node $noderef, $seednode, $seednode... 215=item configure $profile, key => value...
138 216
139=item initialise_node "slave/", $master, $master... 217=item configure key => value...
140 218
141Before a node can talk to other nodes on the network it has to initialise 219Before a node can talk to other nodes on the network (i.e. enter
142itself - the minimum a node needs to know is it's own name, and optionally 220"distributed mode") it has to configure itself - the minimum a node needs
143it should know the noderefs of some other nodes in the network. 221to know is its own name, and optionally it should know the addresses of
222some other nodes in the network to discover other nodes.
144 223
145This function initialises a node - it must be called exactly once (or 224This function configures a node - it must be called exactly once (or
146never) before calling other AnyEvent::MP functions. 225never) before calling other AnyEvent::MP functions.
147 226
148All arguments are noderefs, which can be either resolved or unresolved. 227The key/value pairs are basically the same ones as documented for the
149 228F<aemp> command line utility (sans the set/del prefix), with these additions:
150There are two types of networked nodes, public nodes and slave nodes:
151 229
152=over 4 230=over 4
153 231
154=item public nodes 232=item norc => $boolean (default false)
155 233
156For public nodes, C<$noderef> must either be a (possibly unresolved) 234If true, then the rc file (e.g. F<~/.perl-anyevent-mp>) will I<not>
157noderef, in which case it will be resolved, or C<undef> (or missing), in 235be consulted - all configuraiton options must be specified in the
158which case the noderef will be guessed. 236C<configure> call.
159 237
160Afterwards, the node will bind itself on all endpoints and try to connect 238=item force => $boolean (default false)
161to all additional C<$seednodes> that are specified. Seednodes are optional
162and can be used to quickly bootstrap the node into an existing network.
163 239
164=item slave nodes 240IF true, then the values specified in the C<configure> will take
241precedence over any values configured via the rc file. The default is for
242the rc file to override any options specified in the program.
165 243
166When the C<$noderef> is the special string C<slave/>, then the node will 244=item secure => $pass->(@msg)
167become a slave node. Slave nodes cannot be contacted from outside and will
168route most of their traffic to the master node that they attach to.
169 245
170At least one additional noderef is required: The node will try to connect 246In addition to specifying a boolean, you can specify a code reference that
171to all of them and will become a slave attached to the first node it can 247is called for every code execution attempt - the execution request is
172successfully connect to. 248granted iff the callback returns a true value.
249
250Most of the time the callback should look only at
251C<$AnyEvent::MP::Kernel::SRCNODE> to make a decision, and not at the
252actual message (which can be about anything, and is mostly provided for
253diagnostic purposes).
254
255See F<semp setsecure> for more info.
173 256
174=back 257=back
175 258
176This function will block until all nodes have been resolved and, for slave
177nodes, until it has successfully established a connection to a master
178server.
179
180Example: become a public node listening on the default node.
181
182 initialise_node;
183
184Example: become a public node, and try to contact some well-known master
185servers to become part of the network.
186
187 initialise_node undef, "master1", "master2";
188
189Example: become a public node listening on port C<4041>.
190
191 initialise_node 4041;
192
193Example: become a public node, only visible on localhost port 4044.
194
195 initialise_node "locahost:4044";
196
197Example: become a slave node to any of the specified master servers.
198
199 initialise_node "slave/", "master1", "192.168.13.17", "mp.example.net";
200
201=item $cv = resolve_node $noderef
202
203Takes an unresolved node reference that may contain hostnames and
204abbreviated IDs, resolves all of them and returns a resolved node
205reference.
206
207In addition to C<address:port> pairs allowed in resolved noderefs, the
208following forms are supported:
209
210=over 4 259=over 4
211 260
212=item the empty string 261=item step 1, gathering configuration from profiles
213 262
214An empty-string component gets resolved as if the default port (4040) was 263The function first looks up a profile in the aemp configuration (see the
215specified. 264L<aemp> commandline utility). The profile name can be specified via the
265named C<profile> parameter or can simply be the first parameter). If it is
266missing, then the nodename (F<uname -n>) will be used as profile name.
216 267
217=item naked port numbers (e.g. C<1234>) 268The profile data is then gathered as follows:
218 269
219These are resolved by prepending the local nodename and a colon, to be 270First, all remaining key => value pairs (all of which are conveniently
220further resolved. 271undocumented at the moment) will be interpreted as configuration
272data. Then they will be overwritten by any values specified in the global
273default configuration (see the F<aemp> utility), then the chain of
274profiles chosen by the profile name (and any C<parent> attributes).
221 275
222=item hostnames (e.g. C<localhost:1234>, C<localhost>) 276That means that the values specified in the profile have highest priority
277and the values specified directly via C<configure> have lowest priority,
278and can only be used to specify defaults.
223 279
224These are resolved by using AnyEvent::DNS to resolve them, optionally 280If the profile specifies a node ID, then this will become the node ID of
225looking up SRV records for the C<aemp=4040> port, if no port was 281this process. If not, then the profile name will be used as node ID, with
226specified. 282a unique randoms tring (C</%u>) appended.
283
284The node ID can contain some C<%> sequences that are expanded: C<%n>
285is expanded to the local nodename, C<%u> is replaced by a random
286strign to make the node unique. For example, the F<aemp> commandline
287utility uses C<aemp/%n/%u> as nodename, which might expand to
288C<aemp/cerebro/ZQDGSIkRhEZQDGSIkRhE>.
289
290=item step 2, bind listener sockets
291
292The next step is to look up the binds in the profile, followed by binding
293aemp protocol listeners on all binds specified (it is possible and valid
294to have no binds, meaning that the node cannot be contacted form the
295outside. This means the node cannot talk to other nodes that also have no
296binds, but it can still talk to all "normal" nodes).
297
298If the profile does not specify a binds list, then a default of C<*> is
299used, meaning the node will bind on a dynamically-assigned port on every
300local IP address it finds.
301
302=item step 3, connect to seed nodes
303
304As the last step, the seed ID list from the profile is passed to the
305L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> module, which will then use it to keep
306connectivity with at least one node at any point in time.
227 307
228=back 308=back
309
310Example: become a distributed node using the local node name as profile.
311This should be the most common form of invocation for "daemon"-type nodes.
312
313 configure
314
315Example: become a semi-anonymous node. This form is often used for
316commandline clients.
317
318 configure nodeid => "myscript/%n/%u";
319
320Example: configure a node using a profile called seed, which is suitable
321for a seed node as it binds on all local addresses on a fixed port (4040,
322customary for aemp).
323
324 # use the aemp commandline utility
325 # aemp profile seed binds '*:4040'
326
327 # then use it
328 configure profile => "seed";
329
330 # or simply use aemp from the shell again:
331 # aemp run profile seed
332
333 # or provide a nicer-to-remember nodeid
334 # aemp run profile seed nodeid "$(hostname)"
229 335
230=item $SELF 336=item $SELF
231 337
232Contains the current port id while executing C<rcv> callbacks or C<psub> 338Contains the current port id while executing C<rcv> callbacks or C<psub>
233blocks. 339blocks.
234 340
235=item SELF, %SELF, @SELF... 341=item *SELF, SELF, %SELF, @SELF...
236 342
237Due to some quirks in how perl exports variables, it is impossible to 343Due to some quirks in how perl exports variables, it is impossible to
238just export C<$SELF>, all the symbols called C<SELF> are exported by this 344just export C<$SELF>, all the symbols named C<SELF> are exported by this
239module, but only C<$SELF> is currently used. 345module, but only C<$SELF> is currently used.
240 346
241=item snd $port, type => @data 347=item snd $port, type => @data
242 348
243=item snd $port, @msg 349=item snd $port, @msg
244 350
245Send the given message to the given port ID, which can identify either 351Send the given message to the given port, which can identify either a
246a local or a remote port, and can be either a string or soemthignt hat 352local or a remote port, and must be a port ID.
247stringifies a sa port ID (such as a port object :).
248 353
249While the message can be about anything, it is highly recommended to use a 354While the message can be almost anything, it is highly recommended to
250string as first element (a portid, or some word that indicates a request 355use a string as first element (a port ID, or some word that indicates a
251type etc.). 356request type etc.) and to consist if only simple perl values (scalars,
357arrays, hashes) - if you think you need to pass an object, think again.
252 358
253The message data effectively becomes read-only after a call to this 359The message data logically becomes read-only after a call to this
254function: modifying any argument is not allowed and can cause many 360function: modifying any argument (or values referenced by them) is
255problems. 361forbidden, as there can be considerable time between the call to C<snd>
362and the time the message is actually being serialised - in fact, it might
363never be copied as within the same process it is simply handed to the
364receiving port.
256 365
257The type of data you can transfer depends on the transport protocol: when 366The type of data you can transfer depends on the transport protocol: when
258JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting 367JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting
259of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything 368of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything
260that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local 369that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local
261node, anything can be passed. 370node, anything can be passed. Best rely only on the common denominator of
371these.
262 372
263=item $local_port = port 373=item $local_port = port
264 374
265Create a new local port object that can be used either as a pattern 375Create a new local port object and returns its port ID. Initially it has
266matching port ("full port") or a single-callback port ("miniport"), 376no callbacks set and will throw an error when it receives messages.
267depending on how C<rcv> callbacks are bound to the object.
268 377
269=item $port = port { my @msg = @_; $finished } 378=item $local_port = port { my @msg = @_ }
270 379
271Creates a "miniport", that is, a very lightweight port without any pattern 380Creates a new local port, and returns its ID. Semantically the same as
272matching behind it, and returns its ID. Semantically the same as creating
273a port and calling C<rcv $port, $callback> on it. 381creating a port and calling C<rcv $port, $callback> on it.
274 382
275The block will be called for every message received on the port. When the 383The block will be called for every message received on the port, with the
276callback returns a true value its job is considered "done" and the port 384global variable C<$SELF> set to the port ID. Runtime errors will cause the
277will be destroyed. Otherwise it will stay alive. 385port to be C<kil>ed. The message will be passed as-is, no extra argument
386(i.e. no port ID) will be passed to the callback.
278 387
279The message will be passed as-is, no extra argument (i.e. no port id) will 388If you want to stop/destroy the port, simply C<kil> it:
280be passed to the callback.
281 389
282If you need the local port id in the callback, this works nicely: 390 my $port = port {
283 391 my @msg = @_;
284 my $port; $port = port { 392 ...
285 snd $otherport, reply => $port; 393 kil $SELF;
286 }; 394 };
287 395
288=cut 396=cut
289 397
290sub rcv($@); 398sub rcv($@);
291 399
400my $KILME = sub {
401 (my $tag = substr $_[0], 0, 30) =~ s/([\x20-\x7e])/./g;
402 kil $SELF, unhandled_message => "no callback found for message '$tag'";
403};
404
292sub port(;&) { 405sub port(;&) {
293 my $id = "$UNIQ." . $ID++; 406 my $id = $UNIQ . ++$ID;
294 my $port = "$NODE#$id"; 407 my $port = "$NODE#$id";
295 408
296 if (@_) {
297 rcv $port, shift; 409 rcv $port, shift || $KILME;
298 } else {
299 $PORT{$id} = sub { }; # nop
300 }
301 410
302 $port 411 $port
303} 412}
304 413
305=item reg $port, $name
306
307=item reg $name
308
309Registers the given port (or C<$SELF><<< if missing) under the name
310C<$name>. If the name already exists it is replaced.
311
312A port can only be registered under one well known name.
313
314A port automatically becomes unregistered when it is killed.
315
316=cut
317
318sub reg(@) {
319 my $port = @_ > 1 ? shift : $SELF || Carp::croak 'reg: called with one argument only, but $SELF not set,';
320
321 $REG{$_[0]} = $port;
322}
323
324=item rcv $port, $callback->(@msg) 414=item rcv $local_port, $callback->(@msg)
325 415
326Replaces the callback on the specified miniport (after converting it to 416Replaces the default callback on the specified port. There is no way to
327one if required). 417remove the default callback: use C<sub { }> to disable it, or better
328 418C<kil> the port when it is no longer needed.
329=item rcv $port, tagstring => $callback->(@msg), ...
330
331=item rcv $port, $smartmatch => $callback->(@msg), ...
332
333=item rcv $port, [$smartmatch...] => $callback->(@msg), ...
334
335Register callbacks to be called on matching messages on the given full
336port (after converting it to one if required) and return the port.
337
338The callback has to return a true value when its work is done, after
339which is will be removed, or a false value in which case it will stay
340registered.
341 419
342The global C<$SELF> (exported by this module) contains C<$port> while 420The global C<$SELF> (exported by this module) contains C<$port> while
343executing the callback. 421executing the callback. Runtime errors during callback execution will
422result in the port being C<kil>ed.
344 423
345Runtime errors wdurign callback execution will result in the port being 424The default callback receives all messages not matched by a more specific
346C<kil>ed. 425C<tag> match.
347 426
348If the match is an array reference, then it will be matched against the 427=item rcv $local_port, tag => $callback->(@msg_without_tag), ...
349first elements of the message, otherwise only the first element is being
350matched.
351 428
352Any element in the match that is specified as C<_any_> (a function 429Register (or replace) callbacks to be called on messages starting with the
353exported by this module) matches any single element of the message. 430given tag on the given port (and return the port), or unregister it (when
431C<$callback> is C<$undef> or missing). There can only be one callback
432registered for each tag.
354 433
355While not required, it is highly recommended that the first matching 434The original message will be passed to the callback, after the first
356element is a string identifying the message. The one-string-only match is 435element (the tag) has been removed. The callback will use the same
357also the most efficient match (by far). 436environment as the default callback (see above).
358 437
359Example: create a port and bind receivers on it in one go. 438Example: create a port and bind receivers on it in one go.
360 439
361 my $port = rcv port, 440 my $port = rcv port,
362 msg1 => sub { ...; 0 }, 441 msg1 => sub { ... },
363 msg2 => sub { ...; 0 }, 442 msg2 => sub { ... },
364 ; 443 ;
365 444
366Example: create a port, bind receivers and send it in a message elsewhere 445Example: create a port, bind receivers and send it in a message elsewhere
367in one go: 446in one go:
368 447
369 snd $otherport, reply => 448 snd $otherport, reply =>
370 rcv port, 449 rcv port,
371 msg1 => sub { ...; 0 }, 450 msg1 => sub { ... },
372 ... 451 ...
373 ; 452 ;
374 453
454Example: temporarily register a rcv callback for a tag matching some port
455(e.g. for an rpc reply) and unregister it after a message was received.
456
457 rcv $port, $otherport => sub {
458 my @reply = @_;
459
460 rcv $SELF, $otherport;
461 };
462
375=cut 463=cut
376 464
377sub rcv($@) { 465sub rcv($@) {
378 my $port = shift; 466 my $port = shift;
379 my ($noderef, $portid) = split /#/, $port, 2; 467 my ($nodeid, $portid) = split /#/, $port, 2;
380 468
381 ($NODE{$noderef} || add_node $noderef) == $NODE{""} 469 $NODE{$nodeid} == $NODE{""}
382 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on local ports, caught"; 470 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on local ports, caught";
383 471
384 if (@_ == 1) { 472 while (@_) {
473 if (ref $_[0]) {
474 if (my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid}) {
475 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
476 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
477
478 $self->[0] = shift;
479 } else {
385 my $cb = shift; 480 my $cb = shift;
386 delete $PORT_DATA{$portid};
387 $PORT{$portid} = sub { 481 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
388 local $SELF = $port; 482 local $SELF = $port;
389 eval { 483 eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
390 &$cb 484 };
391 and kil $port;
392 }; 485 }
393 _self_die if $@; 486 } elsif (defined $_[0]) {
394 };
395 } else {
396 my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid} ||= do { 487 my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid} ||= do {
397 my $self = bless { 488 my $self = bless [$PORT{$portid} || sub { }, { }, $port], "AnyEvent::MP::Port";
398 id => $port,
399 }, "AnyEvent::MP::Port";
400 489
401 $PORT{$portid} = sub { 490 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
402 local $SELF = $port; 491 local $SELF = $port;
403 492
404 eval {
405 for (@{ $self->{rc0}{$_[0]} }) { 493 if (my $cb = $self->[1]{$_[0]}) {
406 $_ && &{$_->[0]} 494 shift;
407 && undef $_; 495 eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
408 } 496 } else {
409
410 for (@{ $self->{rcv}{$_[0]} }) {
411 $_ && [@_[1 .. @{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1]
412 && &{$_->[0]} 497 &{ $self->[0] };
413 && undef $_;
414 }
415
416 for (@{ $self->{any} }) {
417 $_ && [@_[0 .. $#{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1]
418 && &{$_->[0]}
419 && undef $_;
420 } 498 }
421 }; 499 };
422 _self_die if $@; 500
501 $self
423 }; 502 };
424 503
425 $self
426 };
427
428 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self 504 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
429 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught"; 505 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
430 506
431 while (@_) {
432 my ($match, $cb) = splice @_, 0, 2; 507 my ($tag, $cb) = splice @_, 0, 2;
433 508
434 if (!ref $match) { 509 if (defined $cb) {
435 push @{ $self->{rc0}{$match} }, [$cb]; 510 $self->[1]{$tag} = $cb;
436 } elsif (("ARRAY" eq ref $match && !ref $match->[0])) {
437 my ($type, @match) = @$match;
438 @match
439 ? push @{ $self->{rcv}{$match->[0]} }, [$cb, \@match]
440 : push @{ $self->{rc0}{$match->[0]} }, [$cb];
441 } else { 511 } else {
442 push @{ $self->{any} }, [$cb, $match]; 512 delete $self->[1]{$tag};
443 } 513 }
444 } 514 }
445 } 515 }
446 516
447 $port 517 $port
448} 518}
449 519
520=item peval $port, $coderef[, @args]
521
522Evaluates the given C<$codref> within the contetx of C<$port>, that is,
523when the code throews an exception the C<$port> will be killed.
524
525Any remaining args will be passed to the callback. Any return values will
526be returned to the caller.
527
528This is useful when you temporarily want to execute code in the context of
529a port.
530
531Example: create a port and run some initialisation code in it's context.
532
533 my $port = port { ... };
534
535 peval $port, sub {
536 init
537 or die "unable to init";
538 };
539
540=cut
541
542sub peval($$) {
543 local $SELF = shift;
544 my $cb = shift;
545
546 if (wantarray) {
547 my @res = eval { &$cb };
548 _self_die if $@;
549 @res
550 } else {
551 my $res = eval { &$cb };
552 _self_die if $@;
553 $res
554 }
555}
556
450=item $closure = psub { BLOCK } 557=item $closure = psub { BLOCK }
451 558
452Remembers C<$SELF> and creates a closure out of the BLOCK. When the 559Remembers C<$SELF> and creates a closure out of the BLOCK. When the
453closure is executed, sets up the environment in the same way as in C<rcv> 560closure is executed, sets up the environment in the same way as in C<rcv>
454callbacks, i.e. runtime errors will cause the port to get C<kil>ed. 561callbacks, i.e. runtime errors will cause the port to get C<kil>ed.
562
563The effect is basically as if it returned C<< sub { peval $SELF, sub {
564BLOCK }, @_ } >>.
455 565
456This is useful when you register callbacks from C<rcv> callbacks: 566This is useful when you register callbacks from C<rcv> callbacks:
457 567
458 rcv delayed_reply => sub { 568 rcv delayed_reply => sub {
459 my ($delay, @reply) = @_; 569 my ($delay, @reply) = @_;
483 $res 593 $res
484 } 594 }
485 } 595 }
486} 596}
487 597
488=item $guard = mon $port, $cb->(@reason) 598=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport # kill $rcvport when $port dies
489 599
490=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport 600=item $guard = mon $port # kill $SELF when $port dies
491 601
492=item $guard = mon $port 602=item $guard = mon $port, $cb->(@reason) # call $cb when $port dies
493 603
494=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport, @msg 604=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport, @msg # send a message when $port dies
495 605
496Monitor the given port and do something when the port is killed, and 606Monitor the given port and do something when the port is killed or
497optionally return a guard that can be used to stop monitoring again. 607messages to it were lost, and optionally return a guard that can be used
608to stop monitoring again.
498 609
610The first two forms distinguish between "normal" and "abnormal" kil's:
611
612In the first form (another port given), if the C<$port> is C<kil>'ed with
613a non-empty reason, the other port (C<$rcvport>) will be kil'ed with the
614same reason. That is, on "normal" kil's nothing happens, while under all
615other conditions, the other port is killed with the same reason.
616
617The second form (kill self) is the same as the first form, except that
618C<$rvport> defaults to C<$SELF>.
619
620The remaining forms don't distinguish between "normal" and "abnormal" kil's
621- it's up to the callback or receiver to check whether the C<@reason> is
622empty and act accordingly.
623
499In the first form (callback), the callback is simply called with any 624In the third form (callback), the callback is simply called with any
500number of C<@reason> elements (no @reason means that the port was deleted 625number of C<@reason> elements (empty @reason means that the port was deleted
501"normally"). Note also that I<< the callback B<must> never die >>, so use 626"normally"). Note also that I<< the callback B<must> never die >>, so use
502C<eval> if unsure. 627C<eval> if unsure.
503 628
504In the second form (another port given), the other port (C<$rcvport)
505will be C<kil>'ed with C<@reason>, iff a @reason was specified, i.e. on
506"normal" kils nothing happens, while under all other conditions, the other
507port is killed with the same reason.
508
509The third form (kill self) is the same as the second form, except that
510C<$rvport> defaults to C<$SELF>.
511
512In the last form (message), a message of the form C<@msg, @reason> will be 629In the last form (message), a message of the form C<$rcvport, @msg,
513C<snd>. 630@reason> will be C<snd>.
514 631
632Monitoring-actions are one-shot: once messages are lost (and a monitoring
633alert was raised), they are removed and will not trigger again, even if it
634turns out that the port is still alive.
635
515As a rule of thumb, monitoring requests should always monitor a port from 636As a rule of thumb, monitoring requests should always monitor a remote
516a local port (or callback). The reason is that kill messages might get 637port locally (using a local C<$rcvport> or a callback). The reason is that
517lost, just like any other message. Another less obvious reason is that 638kill messages might get lost, just like any other message. Another less
518even monitoring requests can get lost (for exmaple, when the connection 639obvious reason is that even monitoring requests can get lost (for example,
519to the other node goes down permanently). When monitoring a port locally 640when the connection to the other node goes down permanently). When
520these problems do not exist. 641monitoring a port locally these problems do not exist.
642
643C<mon> effectively guarantees that, in the absence of hardware failures,
644after starting the monitor, either all messages sent to the port will
645arrive, or the monitoring action will be invoked after possible message
646loss has been detected. No messages will be lost "in between" (after
647the first lost message no further messages will be received by the
648port). After the monitoring action was invoked, further messages might get
649delivered again.
650
651Inter-host-connection timeouts and monitoring depend on the transport
652used. The only transport currently implemented is TCP, and AnyEvent::MP
653relies on TCP to detect node-downs (this can take 10-15 minutes on a
654non-idle connection, and usually around two hours for idle connections).
655
656This means that monitoring is good for program errors and cleaning up
657stuff eventually, but they are no replacement for a timeout when you need
658to ensure some maximum latency.
521 659
522Example: call a given callback when C<$port> is killed. 660Example: call a given callback when C<$port> is killed.
523 661
524 mon $port, sub { warn "port died because of <@_>\n" }; 662 mon $port, sub { warn "port died because of <@_>\n" };
525 663
532 mon $port, $self => "restart"; 670 mon $port, $self => "restart";
533 671
534=cut 672=cut
535 673
536sub mon { 674sub mon {
537 my ($noderef, $port) = split /#/, shift, 2; 675 my ($nodeid, $port) = split /#/, shift, 2;
538 676
539 my $node = $NODE{$noderef} || add_node $noderef; 677 my $node = $NODE{$nodeid} || add_node $nodeid;
540 678
541 my $cb = @_ ? $_[0] : $SELF || Carp::croak 'mon: called with one argument only, but $SELF not set,'; 679 my $cb = @_ ? shift : $SELF || Carp::croak 'mon: called with one argument only, but $SELF not set,';
542 680
543 unless (ref $cb) { 681 unless (ref $cb) {
544 if (@_) { 682 if (@_) {
545 # send a kill info message 683 # send a kill info message
546 my (@msg) = @_; 684 my (@msg) = ($cb, @_);
547 $cb = sub { snd @msg, @_ }; 685 $cb = sub { snd @msg, @_ };
548 } else { 686 } else {
549 # simply kill other port 687 # simply kill other port
550 my $port = $cb; 688 my $port = $cb;
551 $cb = sub { kil $port, @_ if @_ }; 689 $cb = sub { kil $port, @_ if @_ };
553 } 691 }
554 692
555 $node->monitor ($port, $cb); 693 $node->monitor ($port, $cb);
556 694
557 defined wantarray 695 defined wantarray
558 and AnyEvent::Util::guard { $node->unmonitor ($port, $cb) } 696 and ($cb += 0, Guard::guard { $node->unmonitor ($port, $cb) })
559} 697}
560 698
561=item $guard = mon_guard $port, $ref, $ref... 699=item $guard = mon_guard $port, $ref, $ref...
562 700
563Monitors the given C<$port> and keeps the passed references. When the port 701Monitors the given C<$port> and keeps the passed references. When the port
564is killed, the references will be freed. 702is killed, the references will be freed.
565 703
566Optionally returns a guard that will stop the monitoring. 704Optionally returns a guard that will stop the monitoring.
567 705
568This function is useful when you create e.g. timers or other watchers and 706This function is useful when you create e.g. timers or other watchers and
569want to free them when the port gets killed: 707want to free them when the port gets killed (note the use of C<psub>):
570 708
571 $port->rcv (start => sub { 709 $port->rcv (start => sub {
572 my $timer; $timer = mon_guard $port, AE::timer 1, 1, sub { 710 my $timer; $timer = mon_guard $port, AE::timer 1, 1, psub {
573 undef $timer if 0.9 < rand; 711 undef $timer if 0.9 < rand;
574 }); 712 });
575 }); 713 });
576 714
577=cut 715=cut
586 724
587=item kil $port[, @reason] 725=item kil $port[, @reason]
588 726
589Kill the specified port with the given C<@reason>. 727Kill the specified port with the given C<@reason>.
590 728
591If no C<@reason> is specified, then the port is killed "normally" (linked 729If no C<@reason> is specified, then the port is killed "normally" -
592ports will not be kileld, or even notified). 730monitor callback will be invoked, but the kil will not cause linked ports
731(C<mon $mport, $lport> form) to get killed.
593 732
594Otherwise, linked ports get killed with the same reason (second form of 733If a C<@reason> is specified, then linked ports (C<mon $mport, $lport>
595C<mon>, see below). 734form) get killed with the same reason.
596 735
597Runtime errors while evaluating C<rcv> callbacks or inside C<psub> blocks 736Runtime errors while evaluating C<rcv> callbacks or inside C<psub> blocks
598will be reported as reason C<< die => $@ >>. 737will be reported as reason C<< die => $@ >>.
599 738
600Transport/communication errors are reported as C<< transport_error => 739Transport/communication errors are reported as C<< transport_error =>
601$message >>. 740$message >>.
602 741
742Common idioms:
743
744 # silently remove yourself, do not kill linked ports
745 kil $SELF;
746
747 # report a failure in some detail
748 kil $SELF, failure_mode_1 => "it failed with too high temperature";
749
750 # do not waste much time with killing, just die when something goes wrong
751 open my $fh, "<file"
752 or die "file: $!";
753
754=item $port = spawn $node, $initfunc[, @initdata]
755
756Creates a port on the node C<$node> (which can also be a port ID, in which
757case it's the node where that port resides).
758
759The port ID of the newly created port is returned immediately, and it is
760possible to immediately start sending messages or to monitor the port.
761
762After the port has been created, the init function is called on the remote
763node, in the same context as a C<rcv> callback. This function must be a
764fully-qualified function name (e.g. C<MyApp::Chat::Server::init>). To
765specify a function in the main program, use C<::name>.
766
767If the function doesn't exist, then the node tries to C<require>
768the package, then the package above the package and so on (e.g.
769C<MyApp::Chat::Server>, C<MyApp::Chat>, C<MyApp>) until the function
770exists or it runs out of package names.
771
772The init function is then called with the newly-created port as context
773object (C<$SELF>) and the C<@initdata> values as arguments. It I<must>
774call one of the C<rcv> functions to set callbacks on C<$SELF>, otherwise
775the port might not get created.
776
777A common idiom is to pass a local port, immediately monitor the spawned
778port, and in the remote init function, immediately monitor the passed
779local port. This two-way monitoring ensures that both ports get cleaned up
780when there is a problem.
781
782C<spawn> guarantees that the C<$initfunc> has no visible effects on the
783caller before C<spawn> returns (by delaying invocation when spawn is
784called for the local node).
785
786Example: spawn a chat server port on C<$othernode>.
787
788 # this node, executed from within a port context:
789 my $server = spawn $othernode, "MyApp::Chat::Server::connect", $SELF;
790 mon $server;
791
792 # init function on C<$othernode>
793 sub connect {
794 my ($srcport) = @_;
795
796 mon $srcport;
797
798 rcv $SELF, sub {
799 ...
800 };
801 }
802
803=cut
804
805sub _spawn {
806 my $port = shift;
807 my $init = shift;
808
809 # rcv will create the actual port
810 local $SELF = "$NODE#$port";
811 eval {
812 &{ load_func $init }
813 };
814 _self_die if $@;
815}
816
817sub spawn(@) {
818 my ($nodeid, undef) = split /#/, shift, 2;
819
820 my $id = $RUNIQ . ++$ID;
821
822 $_[0] =~ /::/
823 or Carp::croak "spawn init function must be a fully-qualified name, caught";
824
825 snd_to_func $nodeid, "AnyEvent::MP::_spawn" => $id, @_;
826
827 "$nodeid#$id"
828}
829
830
831=item after $timeout, @msg
832
833=item after $timeout, $callback
834
835Either sends the given message, or call the given callback, after the
836specified number of seconds.
837
838This is simply a utility function that comes in handy at times - the
839AnyEvent::MP author is not convinced of the wisdom of having it, though,
840so it may go away in the future.
841
842=cut
843
844sub after($@) {
845 my ($timeout, @action) = @_;
846
847 my $t; $t = AE::timer $timeout, 0, sub {
848 undef $t;
849 ref $action[0]
850 ? $action[0]()
851 : snd @action;
852 };
853}
854
855#=item $cb2 = timeout $seconds, $cb[, @args]
856
857=item cal $port, @msg, $callback[, $timeout]
858
859A simple form of RPC - sends a message to the given C<$port> with the
860given contents (C<@msg>), but adds a reply port to the message.
861
862The reply port is created temporarily just for the purpose of receiving
863the reply, and will be C<kil>ed when no longer needed.
864
865A reply message sent to the port is passed to the C<$callback> as-is.
866
867If an optional time-out (in seconds) is given and it is not C<undef>,
868then the callback will be called without any arguments after the time-out
869elapsed and the port is C<kil>ed.
870
871If no time-out is given (or it is C<undef>), then the local port will
872monitor the remote port instead, so it eventually gets cleaned-up.
873
874Currently this function returns the temporary port, but this "feature"
875might go in future versions unless you can make a convincing case that
876this is indeed useful for something.
877
878=cut
879
880sub cal(@) {
881 my $timeout = ref $_[-1] ? undef : pop;
882 my $cb = pop;
883
884 my $port = port {
885 undef $timeout;
886 kil $SELF;
887 &$cb;
888 };
889
890 if (defined $timeout) {
891 $timeout = AE::timer $timeout, 0, sub {
892 undef $timeout;
893 kil $port;
894 $cb->();
895 };
896 } else {
897 mon $_[0], sub {
898 kil $port;
899 $cb->();
900 };
901 }
902
903 push @_, $port;
904 &snd;
905
906 $port
907}
908
603=back 909=back
604 910
605=head1 NODE MESSAGES 911=head1 DISTRIBUTED DATABASE
606 912
607Nodes understand the following messages sent to them. Many of them take 913AnyEvent::MP comes with a simple distributed database. The database will
608arguments called C<@reply>, which will simply be used to compose a reply 914be mirrored asynchronously on all global nodes. Other nodes bind to one
609message - C<$reply[0]> is the port to reply to, C<$reply[1]> the type and 915of the global nodes for their needs. Every node has a "local database"
610the remaining arguments are simply the message data. 916which contains all the values that are set locally. All local databases
917are merged together to form the global database, which can be queried.
611 918
612While other messages exist, they are not public and subject to change. 919The database structure is that of a two-level hash - the database hash
920contains hashes which contain values, similarly to a perl hash of hashes,
921i.e.:
613 922
923 $DATABASE{$family}{$subkey} = $value
924
925The top level hash key is called "family", and the second-level hash key
926is called "subkey" or simply "key".
927
928The family must be alphanumeric, i.e. start with a letter and consist
929of letters, digits, underscores and colons (C<[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_:]*>,
930pretty much like Perl module names.
931
932As the family namespace is global, it is recommended to prefix family names
933with the name of the application or module using it.
934
935The subkeys must be non-empty strings, with no further restrictions.
936
937The values should preferably be strings, but other perl scalars should
938work as well (such as C<undef>, arrays and hashes).
939
940Every database entry is owned by one node - adding the same family/subkey
941combination on multiple nodes will not cause discomfort for AnyEvent::MP,
942but the result might be nondeterministic, i.e. the key might have
943different values on different nodes.
944
945Different subkeys in the same family can be owned by different nodes
946without problems, and in fact, this is the common method to create worker
947pools. For example, a worker port for image scaling might do this:
948
949 db_set my_image_scalers => $port;
950
951And clients looking for an image scaler will want to get the
952C<my_image_scalers> keys from time to time:
953
954 db_keys my_image_scalers => sub {
955 @ports = @{ $_[0] };
956 };
957
958Or better yet, they want to monitor the database family, so they always
959have a reasonable up-to-date copy:
960
961 db_mon my_image_scalers => sub {
962 @ports = keys %{ $_[0] };
963 };
964
965In general, you can set or delete single subkeys, but query and monitor
966whole families only.
967
968If you feel the need to monitor or query a single subkey, try giving it
969it's own family.
970
614=over 4 971=over
972
973=item $guard = db_set $family => $subkey [=> $value]
974
975Sets (or replaces) a key to the database - if C<$value> is omitted,
976C<undef> is used instead.
977
978When called in non-void context, C<db_set> returns a guard that
979automatically calls C<db_del> when it is destroyed.
980
981=item db_del $family => $subkey...
982
983Deletes one or more subkeys from the database family.
984
985=item $guard = db_reg $family => $port => $value
986
987=item $guard = db_reg $family => $port
988
989=item $guard = db_reg $family
990
991Registers a port in the given family and optionally returns a guard to
992remove it.
993
994This function basically does the same as:
995
996 db_set $family => $port => $value
997
998Except that the port is monitored and automatically removed from the
999database family when it is kil'ed.
1000
1001If C<$value> is missing, C<undef> is used. If C<$port> is missing, then
1002C<$SELF> is used.
1003
1004This function is most useful to register a port in some port group (which
1005is just another name for a database family), and have it removed when the
1006port is gone. This works best when the port is a local port.
615 1007
616=cut 1008=cut
617 1009
618=item lookup => $name, @reply 1010sub db_reg($$;$) {
1011 my $family = shift;
1012 my $port = @_ ? shift : $SELF;
619 1013
620Replies with the port ID of the specified well-known port, or C<undef>. 1014 my $clr = sub { db_del $family => $port };
1015 mon $port, $clr;
621 1016
622=item devnull => ... 1017 db_set $family => $port => $_[0];
623 1018
624Generic data sink/CPU heat conversion. 1019 defined wantarray
1020 and &Guard::guard ($clr)
1021}
625 1022
626=item relay => $port, @msg 1023=item db_family $family => $cb->(\%familyhash)
627 1024
628Simply forwards the message to the given port. 1025Queries the named database C<$family> and call the callback with the
1026family represented as a hash. You can keep and freely modify the hash.
629 1027
630=item eval => $string[ @reply] 1028=item db_keys $family => $cb->(\@keys)
631 1029
632Evaluates the given string. If C<@reply> is given, then a message of the 1030Same as C<db_family>, except it only queries the family I<subkeys> and passes
633form C<@reply, $@, @evalres> is sent. 1031them as array reference to the callback.
634 1032
635Example: crash another node. 1033=item db_values $family => $cb->(\@values)
636 1034
637 snd $othernode, eval => "exit"; 1035Same as C<db_family>, except it only queries the family I<values> and passes them
1036as array reference to the callback.
638 1037
639=item time => @reply 1038=item $guard = db_mon $family => $cb->($familyhash, \@added, \@changed, \@deleted)
640 1039
641Replies the the current node time to C<@reply>. 1040Creates a monitor on the given database family. Each time a key is set
1041or or is deleted the callback is called with a hash containing the
1042database family and three lists of added, changed and deleted subkeys,
1043respectively. If no keys have changed then the array reference might be
1044C<undef> or even missing.
642 1045
643Example: tell the current node to send the current time to C<$myport> in a 1046If not called in void context, a guard object is returned that, when
644C<timereply> message. 1047destroyed, stops the monitor.
645 1048
646 snd $NODE, time => $myport, timereply => 1, 2; 1049The family hash reference and the key arrays belong to AnyEvent::MP and
647 # => snd $myport, timereply => 1, 2, <time> 1050B<must not be modified or stored> by the callback. When in doubt, make a
1051copy.
1052
1053As soon as possible after the monitoring starts, the callback will be
1054called with the intiial contents of the family, even if it is empty,
1055i.e. there will always be a timely call to the callback with the current
1056contents.
1057
1058It is possible that the callback is called with a change event even though
1059the subkey is already present and the value has not changed.
1060
1061The monitoring stops when the guard object is destroyed.
1062
1063Example: on every change to the family "mygroup", print out all keys.
1064
1065 my $guard = db_mon mygroup => sub {
1066 my ($family, $a, $c, $d) = @_;
1067 print "mygroup members: ", (join " ", keys %$family), "\n";
1068 };
1069
1070Exmaple: wait until the family "My::Module::workers" is non-empty.
1071
1072 my $guard; $guard = db_mon My::Module::workers => sub {
1073 my ($family, $a, $c, $d) = @_;
1074 return unless %$family;
1075 undef $guard;
1076 print "My::Module::workers now nonempty\n";
1077 };
1078
1079Example: print all changes to the family "AnyRvent::Fantasy::Module".
1080
1081 my $guard = db_mon AnyRvent::Fantasy::Module => sub {
1082 my ($family, $a, $c, $d) = @_;
1083
1084 print "+$_=$family->{$_}\n" for @$a;
1085 print "*$_=$family->{$_}\n" for @$c;
1086 print "-$_=$family->{$_}\n" for @$d;
1087 };
1088
1089=cut
648 1090
649=back 1091=back
650 1092
651=head1 AnyEvent::MP vs. Distributed Erlang 1093=head1 AnyEvent::MP vs. Distributed Erlang
652 1094
653AnyEvent::MP got lots of its ideas from distributed Erlang (Erlang node 1095AnyEvent::MP got lots of its ideas from distributed Erlang (Erlang node
654== aemp node, Erlang process == aemp port), so many of the documents and 1096== aemp node, Erlang process == aemp port), so many of the documents and
655programming techniques employed by Erlang apply to AnyEvent::MP. Here is a 1097programming techniques employed by Erlang apply to AnyEvent::MP. Here is a
656sample: 1098sample:
657 1099
658 http://www.Erlang.se/doc/programming_rules.shtml 1100 http://www.erlang.se/doc/programming_rules.shtml
659 http://Erlang.org/doc/getting_started/part_frame.html # chapters 3 and 4 1101 http://erlang.org/doc/getting_started/part_frame.html # chapters 3 and 4
660 http://Erlang.org/download/Erlang-book-part1.pdf # chapters 5 and 6 1102 http://erlang.org/download/erlang-book-part1.pdf # chapters 5 and 6
661 http://Erlang.org/download/armstrong_thesis_2003.pdf # chapters 4 and 5 1103 http://erlang.org/download/armstrong_thesis_2003.pdf # chapters 4 and 5
662 1104
663Despite the similarities, there are also some important differences: 1105Despite the similarities, there are also some important differences:
664 1106
665=over 4 1107=over 4
666 1108
667=item * Node references contain the recipe on how to contact them. 1109=item * Node IDs are arbitrary strings in AEMP.
668 1110
669Erlang relies on special naming and DNS to work everywhere in the 1111Erlang relies on special naming and DNS to work everywhere in the same
670same way. AEMP relies on each node knowing it's own address(es), with 1112way. AEMP relies on each node somehow knowing its own address(es) (e.g. by
671convenience functionality. 1113configuration or DNS), and possibly the addresses of some seed nodes, but
1114will otherwise discover other nodes (and their IDs) itself.
672 1115
673This means that AEMP requires a less tightly controlled environment at the 1116=item * Erlang has a "remote ports are like local ports" philosophy, AEMP
674cost of longer node references and a slightly higher management overhead. 1117uses "local ports are like remote ports".
1118
1119The failure modes for local ports are quite different (runtime errors
1120only) then for remote ports - when a local port dies, you I<know> it dies,
1121when a connection to another node dies, you know nothing about the other
1122port.
1123
1124Erlang pretends remote ports are as reliable as local ports, even when
1125they are not.
1126
1127AEMP encourages a "treat remote ports differently" philosophy, with local
1128ports being the special case/exception, where transport errors cannot
1129occur.
675 1130
676=item * Erlang uses processes and a mailbox, AEMP does not queue. 1131=item * Erlang uses processes and a mailbox, AEMP does not queue.
677 1132
678Erlang uses processes that selctively receive messages, and therefore 1133Erlang uses processes that selectively receive messages out of order, and
679needs a queue. AEMP is event based, queuing messages would serve no useful 1134therefore needs a queue. AEMP is event based, queuing messages would serve
680purpose. 1135no useful purpose. For the same reason the pattern-matching abilities
1136of AnyEvent::MP are more limited, as there is little need to be able to
1137filter messages without dequeuing them.
681 1138
682(But see L<Coro::MP> for a more Erlang-like process model on top of AEMP). 1139This is not a philosophical difference, but simply stems from AnyEvent::MP
1140being event-based, while Erlang is process-based.
1141
1142You cna have a look at L<Coro::MP> for a more Erlang-like process model on
1143top of AEMP and Coro threads.
683 1144
684=item * Erlang sends are synchronous, AEMP sends are asynchronous. 1145=item * Erlang sends are synchronous, AEMP sends are asynchronous.
685 1146
686Sending messages in Erlang is synchronous and blocks the process. AEMP 1147Sending messages in Erlang is synchronous and blocks the process until
687sends are immediate, connection establishment is handled in the 1148a conenction has been established and the message sent (and so does not
688background. 1149need a queue that can overflow). AEMP sends return immediately, connection
1150establishment is handled in the background.
689 1151
690=item * Erlang can silently lose messages, AEMP cannot. 1152=item * Erlang suffers from silent message loss, AEMP does not.
691 1153
692Erlang makes few guarantees on messages delivery - messages can get lost 1154Erlang implements few guarantees on messages delivery - messages can get
693without any of the processes realising it (i.e. you send messages a, b, 1155lost without any of the processes realising it (i.e. you send messages a,
694and c, and the other side only receives messages a and c). 1156b, and c, and the other side only receives messages a and c).
695 1157
696AEMP guarantees correct ordering, and the guarantee that there are no 1158AEMP guarantees (modulo hardware errors) correct ordering, and the
1159guarantee that after one message is lost, all following ones sent to the
1160same port are lost as well, until monitoring raises an error, so there are
697holes in the message sequence. 1161no silent "holes" in the message sequence.
698 1162
699=item * In Erlang, processes can be declared dead and later be found to be 1163If you want your software to be very reliable, you have to cope with
700alive. 1164corrupted and even out-of-order messages in both Erlang and AEMP. AEMP
701 1165simply tries to work better in common error cases, such as when a network
702In Erlang it can happen that a monitored process is declared dead and 1166link goes down.
703linked processes get killed, but later it turns out that the process is
704still alive - and can receive messages.
705
706In AEMP, when port monitoring detects a port as dead, then that port will
707eventually be killed - it cannot happen that a node detects a port as dead
708and then later sends messages to it, finding it is still alive.
709 1167
710=item * Erlang can send messages to the wrong port, AEMP does not. 1168=item * Erlang can send messages to the wrong port, AEMP does not.
711 1169
712In Erlang it is quite possible that a node that restarts reuses a process 1170In Erlang it is quite likely that a node that restarts reuses an Erlang
713ID known to other nodes for a completely different process, causing 1171process ID known to other nodes for a completely different process,
714messages destined for that process to end up in an unrelated process. 1172causing messages destined for that process to end up in an unrelated
1173process.
715 1174
716AEMP never reuses port IDs, so old messages or old port IDs floating 1175AEMP does not reuse port IDs, so old messages or old port IDs floating
717around in the network will not be sent to an unrelated port. 1176around in the network will not be sent to an unrelated port.
718 1177
719=item * Erlang uses unprotected connections, AEMP uses secure 1178=item * Erlang uses unprotected connections, AEMP uses secure
720authentication and can use TLS. 1179authentication and can use TLS.
721 1180
722AEMP can use a proven protocol - SSL/TLS - to protect connections and 1181AEMP can use a proven protocol - TLS - to protect connections and
723securely authenticate nodes. 1182securely authenticate nodes.
724 1183
725=item * The AEMP protocol is optimised for both text-based and binary 1184=item * The AEMP protocol is optimised for both text-based and binary
726communications. 1185communications.
727 1186
728The AEMP protocol, unlike the Erlang protocol, supports both 1187The AEMP protocol, unlike the Erlang protocol, supports both programming
729language-independent text-only protocols (good for debugging) and binary, 1188language independent text-only protocols (good for debugging), and binary,
730language-specific serialisers (e.g. Storable). 1189language-specific serialisers (e.g. Storable). By default, unless TLS is
1190used, the protocol is actually completely text-based.
731 1191
732It has also been carefully designed to be implementable in other languages 1192It has also been carefully designed to be implementable in other languages
733with a minimum of work while gracefully degrading fucntionality to make the 1193with a minimum of work while gracefully degrading functionality to make the
734protocol simple. 1194protocol simple.
735 1195
736=item * AEMP has more flexible monitoring options than Erlang. 1196=item * AEMP has more flexible monitoring options than Erlang.
737 1197
738In Erlang, you can chose to receive I<all> exit signals as messages 1198In Erlang, you can chose to receive I<all> exit signals as messages or
739or I<none>, there is no in-between, so monitoring single processes is 1199I<none>, there is no in-between, so monitoring single Erlang processes is
740difficult to implement. Monitoring in AEMP is more flexible than in 1200difficult to implement.
741Erlang, as one can choose between automatic kill, exit message or callback 1201
742on a per-process basis. 1202Monitoring in AEMP is more flexible than in Erlang, as one can choose
1203between automatic kill, exit message or callback on a per-port basis.
743 1204
744=item * Erlang tries to hide remote/local connections, AEMP does not. 1205=item * Erlang tries to hide remote/local connections, AEMP does not.
745 1206
746Monitoring in Erlang is not an indicator of process death/crashes, 1207Monitoring in Erlang is not an indicator of process death/crashes, in the
747as linking is (except linking is unreliable in Erlang). 1208same way as linking is (except linking is unreliable in Erlang).
748 1209
749In AEMP, you don't "look up" registered port names or send to named ports 1210In AEMP, you don't "look up" registered port names or send to named ports
750that might or might not be persistent. Instead, you normally spawn a port 1211that might or might not be persistent. Instead, you normally spawn a port
751on the remote node. The init function monitors the you, and you monitor 1212on the remote node. The init function monitors you, and you monitor the
752the remote port. Since both monitors are local to the node, they are much 1213remote port. Since both monitors are local to the node, they are much more
753more reliable. 1214reliable (no need for C<spawn_link>).
754 1215
755This also saves round-trips and avoids sending messages to the wrong port 1216This also saves round-trips and avoids sending messages to the wrong port
756(hard to do in Erlang). 1217(hard to do in Erlang).
757 1218
758=back 1219=back
759 1220
1221=head1 RATIONALE
1222
1223=over 4
1224
1225=item Why strings for port and node IDs, why not objects?
1226
1227We considered "objects", but found that the actual number of methods
1228that can be called are quite low. Since port and node IDs travel over
1229the network frequently, the serialising/deserialising would add lots of
1230overhead, as well as having to keep a proxy object everywhere.
1231
1232Strings can easily be printed, easily serialised etc. and need no special
1233procedures to be "valid".
1234
1235And as a result, a port with just a default receiver consists of a single
1236code reference stored in a global hash - it can't become much cheaper.
1237
1238=item Why favour JSON, why not a real serialising format such as Storable?
1239
1240In fact, any AnyEvent::MP node will happily accept Storable as framing
1241format, but currently there is no way to make a node use Storable by
1242default (although all nodes will accept it).
1243
1244The default framing protocol is JSON because a) JSON::XS is many times
1245faster for small messages and b) most importantly, after years of
1246experience we found that object serialisation is causing more problems
1247than it solves: Just like function calls, objects simply do not travel
1248easily over the network, mostly because they will always be a copy, so you
1249always have to re-think your design.
1250
1251Keeping your messages simple, concentrating on data structures rather than
1252objects, will keep your messages clean, tidy and efficient.
1253
1254=back
1255
1256=head1 PORTING FROM AnyEvent::MP VERSION 1.X
1257
1258AEMP version 2 has a few major incompatible changes compared to version 1:
1259
1260=over 4
1261
1262=item AnyEvent::MP::Global no longer has group management functions.
1263
1264At least not officially - the grp_* functions are still exported and might
1265work, but they will be removed in some later release.
1266
1267AnyEvent::MP now comes with a distributed database that is more
1268powerful. Its database families map closely to port groups, but the API
1269has changed (the functions are also now exported by AnyEvent::MP). Here is
1270a rough porting guide:
1271
1272 grp_reg $group, $port # old
1273 db_reg $group, $port # new
1274
1275 $list = grp_get $group # old
1276 db_keys $group, sub { my $list = shift } # new
1277
1278 grp_mon $group, $cb->(\@ports, $add, $del) # old
1279 db_mon $group, $cb->(\%ports, $add, $change, $del) # new
1280
1281C<grp_reg> is a no-brainer (just replace by C<db_reg>), but C<grp_get> is
1282no longer instant, because the local node might not have a copy of the
1283group. You can either modify your code to allow for a callback, or use
1284C<db_mon> to keep an updated copy of the group:
1285
1286 my $local_group_copy;
1287 db_mon $group => sub { $local_group_copy = $_[0] };
1288
1289 # now "keys %$local_group_copy" always returns the most up-to-date
1290 # list of ports in the group.
1291
1292C<grp_mon> can be replaced by C<db_mon> with minor changes - C<db_mon>
1293passes a hash as first argument, and an extra C<$chg> argument that can be
1294ignored:
1295
1296 db_mon $group => sub {
1297 my ($ports, $add, $chg, $lde) = @_;
1298 $ports = [keys %$ports];
1299
1300 # now $ports, $add and $del are the same as
1301 # were originally passed by grp_mon.
1302 ...
1303 };
1304
1305=item Nodes not longer connect to all other nodes.
1306
1307In AEMP 1.x, every node automatically loads the L<AnyEvent::MP::Global>
1308module, which in turn would create connections to all other nodes in the
1309network (helped by the seed nodes).
1310
1311In version 2.x, global nodes still connect to all other global nodes, but
1312other nodes don't - now every node either is a global node itself, or
1313attaches itself to another global node.
1314
1315If a node isn't a global node itself, then it attaches itself to one
1316of its seed nodes. If that seed node isn't a global node yet, it will
1317automatically be upgraded to a global node.
1318
1319So in many cases, nothing needs to be changed - one just has to make sure
1320that all seed nodes are meshed together with the other seed nodes (as with
1321AEMP 1.x), and other nodes specify them as seed nodes. This is most easily
1322achieved by specifying the same set of seed nodes for all nodes in the
1323network.
1324
1325Not opening a connection to every other node is usually an advantage,
1326except when you need the lower latency of an already established
1327connection. To ensure a node establishes a connection to another node,
1328you can monitor the node port (C<mon $node, ...>), which will attempt to
1329create the connection (and notify you when the connection fails).
1330
1331=item Listener-less nodes (nodes without binds) are gone.
1332
1333And are not coming back, at least not in their old form. If no C<binds>
1334are specified for a node, AnyEvent::MP assumes a default of C<*:*>.
1335
1336There are vague plans to implement some form of routing domains, which
1337might or might not bring back listener-less nodes, but don't count on it.
1338
1339The fact that most connections are now optional somewhat mitigates this,
1340as a node can be effectively unreachable from the outside without any
1341problems, as long as it isn't a global node and only reaches out to other
1342nodes (as opposed to being contacted from other nodes).
1343
1344=item $AnyEvent::MP::Kernel::WARN has gone.
1345
1346AnyEvent has acquired a logging framework (L<AnyEvent::Log>), and AEMP now
1347uses this, and so should your programs.
1348
1349Every module now documents what kinds of messages it generates, with
1350AnyEvent::MP acting as a catch all.
1351
1352On the positive side, this means that instead of setting
1353C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MP_WARNLEVEL>, you can get away by setting C<AE_VERBOSE> -
1354much less to type.
1355
1356=back
1357
1358=head1 LOGGING
1359
1360AnyEvent::MP does not normally log anything by itself, but sinc eit is the
1361root of the contetx hierarchy for AnyEvent::MP modules, it will receive
1362all log messages by submodules.
1363
760=head1 SEE ALSO 1364=head1 SEE ALSO
1365
1366L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro> - a gentle introduction.
1367
1368L<AnyEvent::MP::Kernel> - more, lower-level, stuff.
1369
1370L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> - network maintenance and port groups, to find
1371your applications.
1372
1373L<AnyEvent::MP::DataConn> - establish data connections between nodes.
1374
1375L<AnyEvent::MP::LogCatcher> - simple service to display log messages from
1376all nodes.
761 1377
762L<AnyEvent>. 1378L<AnyEvent>.
763 1379
764=head1 AUTHOR 1380=head1 AUTHOR
765 1381

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