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Revision 1.123 by root, Thu Mar 1 19:37:59 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 $localport, $cb->(@msg) # callback is invoked on death
41 mon $localport, $otherport # kill otherport on abnormal death
42 mon $localport, $otherport, @msg # send message on death
43
44 # temporarily execute code in port context
45 peval $port, sub { die "kill the port!" };
46
47 # execute callbacks in $SELF port context
48 my $timer = AE::timer 1, 0, psub {
49 die "kill the port, delayed";
50 };
51
52=head1 CURRENT STATUS
53
54 bin/aemp - stable.
55 AnyEvent::MP - stable API, should work.
56 AnyEvent::MP::Intro - explains most concepts.
57 AnyEvent::MP::Kernel - mostly stable API.
58 AnyEvent::MP::Global - stable API.
24 59
25=head1 DESCRIPTION 60=head1 DESCRIPTION
26 61
27This module (-family) implements a simple message passing framework. 62This module (-family) implements a simple message passing framework.
28 63
29Despite its simplicity, you can securely message other processes running 64Despite its simplicity, you can securely message other processes running
30on the same or other hosts. 65on the same or other hosts, and you can supervise entities remotely.
31 66
32At the moment, this module family is severly brokena nd underdocumented, 67For an introduction to this module family, see the L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro>
33so do not use. This was uploaded mainly to resreve the CPAN namespace - 68manual page and the examples under F<eg/>.
34stay tuned!
35 69
36=head1 CONCEPTS 70=head1 CONCEPTS
37 71
38=over 4 72=over 4
39 73
40=item port 74=item port
41 75
42A port is something you can send messages to with the C<snd> function, and 76Not to be confused with a TCP port, a "port" is something you can send
43you can register C<rcv> handlers with. All C<rcv> handlers will receive 77messages to (with the C<snd> function).
44messages they match, messages will not be queued.
45 78
79Ports allow you to register C<rcv> handlers that can match all or just
80some messages. Messages send to ports will not be queued, regardless of
81anything was listening for them or not.
82
83Ports are represented by (printable) strings called "port IDs".
84
46=item port id - C<noderef#portname> 85=item port ID - C<nodeid#portname>
47 86
48A port id is always the noderef, a hash-mark (C<#>) as separator, followed 87A port ID is the concatenation of a node ID, a hash-mark (C<#>)
49by a port name (a printable string of unspecified format). 88as separator, and a port name (a printable string of unspecified
89format created by AnyEvent::MP).
50 90
51=item node 91=item node
52 92
53A node is a single process containing at least one port - the node 93A node is a single process containing at least one port - the node port,
54port. You can send messages to node ports to let them create new ports, 94which enables nodes to manage each other remotely, and to create new
55among other things. 95ports.
56 96
57Initially, nodes are either private (single-process only) or hidden 97Nodes are either public (have one or more listening ports) or private
58(connected to a master node only). Only when they epxlicitly "become 98(no listening ports). Private nodes cannot talk to other private nodes
59public" can you send them messages from unrelated other nodes. 99currently, but all nodes can talk to public nodes.
60 100
61=item noderef - C<host:port,host:port...>, C<id@noderef>, C<id> 101Nodes is represented by (printable) strings called "node IDs".
62 102
103=item node ID - C<[A-Za-z0-9_\-.:]*>
104
63A noderef is a string that either uniquely identifies a given node (for 105A node ID is a string that uniquely identifies the node within a
64private and hidden nodes), or contains a recipe on how to reach a given 106network. Depending on the configuration used, node IDs can look like a
65node (for public nodes). 107hostname, a hostname and a port, or a random string. AnyEvent::MP itself
108doesn't interpret node IDs in any way except to uniquely identify a node.
109
110=item binds - C<ip:port>
111
112Nodes can only talk to each other by creating some kind of connection to
113each other. To do this, nodes should listen on one or more local transport
114endpoints - binds.
115
116Currently, only standard C<ip:port> specifications can be used, which
117specify TCP ports to listen on. So a bind is basically just a tcp socket
118in listening mode thta accepts conenctions form other nodes.
119
120=item seed nodes
121
122When a node starts, it knows nothing about the network it is in - it
123needs to connect to at least one other node that is already in the
124network. These other nodes are called "seed nodes".
125
126Seed nodes themselves are not special - they are seed nodes only because
127some other node I<uses> them as such, but any node can be used as seed
128node for other nodes, and eahc node cna use a different set of seed nodes.
129
130In addition to discovering the network, seed nodes are also used to
131maintain the network - all nodes using the same seed node form are part of
132the same network. If a network is split into multiple subnets because e.g.
133the network link between the parts goes down, then using the same seed
134nodes for all nodes ensures that eventually the subnets get merged again.
135
136Seed nodes are expected to be long-running, and at least one seed node
137should always be available. They should also be relatively responsive - a
138seed node that blocks for long periods will slow down everybody else.
139
140For small networks, it's best if every node uses the same set of seed
141nodes. For large networks, it can be useful to specify "regional" seed
142nodes for most nodes in an area, and use all seed nodes as seed nodes for
143each other. What's important is that all seed nodes connections form a
144complete graph, so that the network cannot split into separate subnets
145forever.
146
147Seed nodes are represented by seed IDs.
148
149=item seed IDs - C<host:port>
150
151Seed IDs are transport endpoint(s) (usually a hostname/IP address and a
152TCP port) of nodes that should be used as seed nodes.
153
154=item global nodes
155
156An AEMP network needs a discovery service - nodes need to know how to
157connect to other nodes they only know by name. In addition, AEMP offers a
158distributed "group database", which maps group names to a list of strings
159- for example, to register worker ports.
160
161A network needs at least one global node to work, and allows every node to
162be a global node.
163
164Any node that loads the L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> module becomes a global
165node and tries to keep connections to all other nodes. So while it can
166make sense to make every node "global" in small networks, it usually makes
167sense to only make seed nodes into global nodes in large networks (nodes
168keep connections to seed nodes and global nodes, so makign them the same
169reduces overhead).
66 170
67=back 171=back
68 172
69=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS 173=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS
70 174
72 176
73=cut 177=cut
74 178
75package AnyEvent::MP; 179package AnyEvent::MP;
76 180
181use AnyEvent::MP::Config ();
77use AnyEvent::MP::Base; 182use AnyEvent::MP::Kernel;
183use AnyEvent::MP::Kernel qw(%NODE %PORT %PORT_DATA $UNIQ $RUNIQ $ID);
78 184
79use common::sense; 185use common::sense;
80 186
81use Carp (); 187use Carp ();
82 188
83use AE (); 189use AE ();
84 190
85use base "Exporter"; 191use base "Exporter";
86 192
87our $VERSION = '0.02'; 193our $VERSION = $AnyEvent::MP::Config::VERSION;
194
88our @EXPORT = qw( 195our @EXPORT = qw(
89 NODE $NODE $PORT snd rcv mon del _any_ 196 NODE $NODE *SELF node_of after
90 create_port create_port_on 197 configure
91 create_miniport 198 snd rcv mon mon_guard kil psub peval spawn cal
92 become_slave become_public 199 port
93); 200);
94 201
202our $SELF;
203
204sub _self_die() {
205 my $msg = $@;
206 $msg =~ s/\n+$// unless ref $msg;
207 kil $SELF, die => $msg;
208}
209
95=item NODE / $NODE 210=item $thisnode = NODE / $NODE
96 211
97The C<NODE ()> function and the C<$NODE> variable contain the noderef of 212The C<NODE> function returns, and the C<$NODE> variable contains, the node
98the local node. The value is initialised by a call to C<become_public> or 213ID of the node running in the current process. This value is initialised by
99C<become_slave>, after which all local port identifiers become invalid. 214a call to C<configure>.
100 215
216=item $nodeid = node_of $port
217
218Extracts and returns the node ID from a port ID or a node ID.
219
220=item configure $profile, key => value...
221
222=item configure key => value...
223
224Before a node can talk to other nodes on the network (i.e. enter
225"distributed mode") it has to configure itself - the minimum a node needs
226to know is its own name, and optionally it should know the addresses of
227some other nodes in the network to discover other nodes.
228
229This function configures a node - it must be called exactly once (or
230never) before calling other AnyEvent::MP functions.
231
232The key/value pairs are basically the same ones as documented for the
233F<aemp> command line utility (sans the set/del prefix), with two additions:
234
235=over 4
236
237=item norc => $boolean (default false)
238
239If true, then the rc file (e.g. F<~/.perl-anyevent-mp>) will I<not>
240be consulted - all configuraiton options must be specified in the
241C<configure> call.
242
243=item force => $boolean (default false)
244
245IF true, then the values specified in the C<configure> will take
246precedence over any values configured via the rc file. The default is for
247the rc file to override any options specified in the program.
248
249=back
250
251=over 4
252
253=item step 1, gathering configuration from profiles
254
255The function first looks up a profile in the aemp configuration (see the
256L<aemp> commandline utility). The profile name can be specified via the
257named C<profile> parameter or can simply be the first parameter). If it is
258missing, then the nodename (F<uname -n>) will be used as profile name.
259
260The profile data is then gathered as follows:
261
262First, all remaining key => value pairs (all of which are conveniently
263undocumented at the moment) will be interpreted as configuration
264data. Then they will be overwritten by any values specified in the global
265default configuration (see the F<aemp> utility), then the chain of
266profiles chosen by the profile name (and any C<parent> attributes).
267
268That means that the values specified in the profile have highest priority
269and the values specified directly via C<configure> have lowest priority,
270and can only be used to specify defaults.
271
272If the profile specifies a node ID, then this will become the node ID of
273this process. If not, then the profile name will be used as node ID, with
274a slash (C</>) attached.
275
276If the node ID (or profile name) ends with a slash (C</>), then a random
277string is appended to make it unique.
278
279=item step 2, bind listener sockets
280
281The next step is to look up the binds in the profile, followed by binding
282aemp protocol listeners on all binds specified (it is possible and valid
283to have no binds, meaning that the node cannot be contacted form the
284outside. This means the node cannot talk to other nodes that also have no
285binds, but it can still talk to all "normal" nodes).
286
287If the profile does not specify a binds list, then a default of C<*> is
288used, meaning the node will bind on a dynamically-assigned port on every
289local IP address it finds.
290
291=item step 3, connect to seed nodes
292
293As the last step, the seed ID list from the profile is passed to the
294L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> module, which will then use it to keep
295connectivity with at least one node at any point in time.
296
297=back
298
299Example: become a distributed node using the local node name as profile.
300This should be the most common form of invocation for "daemon"-type nodes.
301
302 configure
303
304Example: become an anonymous node. This form is often used for commandline
305clients.
306
307 configure nodeid => "anon/";
308
309Example: configure a node using a profile called seed, which is suitable
310for a seed node as it binds on all local addresses on a fixed port (4040,
311customary for aemp).
312
313 # use the aemp commandline utility
314 # aemp profile seed binds '*:4040'
315
316 # then use it
317 configure profile => "seed";
318
319 # or simply use aemp from the shell again:
320 # aemp run profile seed
321
322 # or provide a nicer-to-remember nodeid
323 # aemp run profile seed nodeid "$(hostname)"
324
325=item $SELF
326
327Contains the current port id while executing C<rcv> callbacks or C<psub>
328blocks.
329
330=item *SELF, SELF, %SELF, @SELF...
331
332Due to some quirks in how perl exports variables, it is impossible to
333just export C<$SELF>, all the symbols named C<SELF> are exported by this
334module, but only C<$SELF> is currently used.
335
101=item snd $portid, type => @data 336=item snd $port, type => @data
102 337
103=item snd $portid, @msg 338=item snd $port, @msg
104 339
105Send the given message to the given port ID, which can identify either 340Send the given message to the given port, which can identify either a
106a local or a remote port, and can be either a string or soemthignt hat 341local or a remote port, and must be a port ID.
107stringifies a sa port ID (such as a port object :).
108 342
109While the message can be about anything, it is highly recommended to use a 343While the message can be almost anything, it is highly recommended to
110string as first element (a portid, or some word that indicates a request 344use a string as first element (a port ID, or some word that indicates a
111type etc.). 345request type etc.) and to consist if only simple perl values (scalars,
346arrays, hashes) - if you think you need to pass an object, think again.
112 347
113The message data effectively becomes read-only after a call to this 348The message data logically becomes read-only after a call to this
114function: modifying any argument is not allowed and can cause many 349function: modifying any argument (or values referenced by them) is
115problems. 350forbidden, as there can be considerable time between the call to C<snd>
351and the time the message is actually being serialised - in fact, it might
352never be copied as within the same process it is simply handed to the
353receiving port.
116 354
117The type of data you can transfer depends on the transport protocol: when 355The type of data you can transfer depends on the transport protocol: when
118JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting 356JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting
119of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything 357of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything
120that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local 358that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local
121node, anything can be passed. 359node, anything can be passed. Best rely only on the common denominator of
360these.
122 361
123=item $guard = mon $portid, $cb->() 362=item $local_port = port
124 363
125Monitor the given port and call the given callback when the port is 364Create a new local port object and returns its port ID. Initially it has
126destroyed or connection to it's node is lost. 365no callbacks set and will throw an error when it receives messages.
127 366
128#TODO 367=item $local_port = port { my @msg = @_ }
368
369Creates a new local port, and returns its ID. Semantically the same as
370creating a port and calling C<rcv $port, $callback> on it.
371
372The block will be called for every message received on the port, with the
373global variable C<$SELF> set to the port ID. Runtime errors will cause the
374port to be C<kil>ed. The message will be passed as-is, no extra argument
375(i.e. no port ID) will be passed to the callback.
376
377If you want to stop/destroy the port, simply C<kil> it:
378
379 my $port = port {
380 my @msg = @_;
381 ...
382 kil $SELF;
383 };
384
385=cut
386
387sub rcv($@);
388
389sub _kilme {
390 die "received message on port without callback";
391}
392
393sub port(;&) {
394 my $id = $UNIQ . ++$ID;
395 my $port = "$NODE#$id";
396
397 rcv $port, shift || \&_kilme;
398
399 $port
400}
401
402=item rcv $local_port, $callback->(@msg)
403
404Replaces the default callback on the specified port. There is no way to
405remove the default callback: use C<sub { }> to disable it, or better
406C<kil> the port when it is no longer needed.
407
408The global C<$SELF> (exported by this module) contains C<$port> while
409executing the callback. Runtime errors during callback execution will
410result in the port being C<kil>ed.
411
412The default callback received all messages not matched by a more specific
413C<tag> match.
414
415=item rcv $local_port, tag => $callback->(@msg_without_tag), ...
416
417Register (or replace) callbacks to be called on messages starting with the
418given tag on the given port (and return the port), or unregister it (when
419C<$callback> is C<$undef> or missing). There can only be one callback
420registered for each tag.
421
422The original message will be passed to the callback, after the first
423element (the tag) has been removed. The callback will use the same
424environment as the default callback (see above).
425
426Example: create a port and bind receivers on it in one go.
427
428 my $port = rcv port,
429 msg1 => sub { ... },
430 msg2 => sub { ... },
431 ;
432
433Example: create a port, bind receivers and send it in a message elsewhere
434in one go:
435
436 snd $otherport, reply =>
437 rcv port,
438 msg1 => sub { ... },
439 ...
440 ;
441
442Example: temporarily register a rcv callback for a tag matching some port
443(e.g. for an rpc reply) and unregister it after a message was received.
444
445 rcv $port, $otherport => sub {
446 my @reply = @_;
447
448 rcv $SELF, $otherport;
449 };
450
451=cut
452
453sub rcv($@) {
454 my $port = shift;
455 my ($nodeid, $portid) = split /#/, $port, 2;
456
457 $NODE{$nodeid} == $NODE{""}
458 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on local ports, caught";
459
460 while (@_) {
461 if (ref $_[0]) {
462 if (my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid}) {
463 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
464 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
465
466 $self->[0] = shift;
467 } else {
468 my $cb = shift;
469 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
470 local $SELF = $port;
471 eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
472 };
473 }
474 } elsif (defined $_[0]) {
475 my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid} ||= do {
476 my $self = bless [$PORT{$portid} || sub { }, { }, $port], "AnyEvent::MP::Port";
477
478 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
479 local $SELF = $port;
480
481 if (my $cb = $self->[1]{$_[0]}) {
482 shift;
483 eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
484 } else {
485 &{ $self->[0] };
486 }
487 };
488
489 $self
490 };
491
492 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
493 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
494
495 my ($tag, $cb) = splice @_, 0, 2;
496
497 if (defined $cb) {
498 $self->[1]{$tag} = $cb;
499 } else {
500 delete $self->[1]{$tag};
501 }
502 }
503 }
504
505 $port
506}
507
508=item peval $port, $coderef[, @args]
509
510Evaluates the given C<$codref> within the contetx of C<$port>, that is,
511when the code throews an exception the C<$port> will be killed.
512
513Any remaining args will be passed to the callback. Any return values will
514be returned to the caller.
515
516This is useful when you temporarily want to execute code in the context of
517a port.
518
519Example: create a port and run some initialisation code in it's context.
520
521 my $port = port { ... };
522
523 peval $port, sub {
524 init
525 or die "unable to init";
526 };
527
528=cut
529
530sub peval($$) {
531 local $SELF = shift;
532 my $cb = shift;
533
534 if (wantarray) {
535 my @res = eval { &$cb };
536 _self_die if $@;
537 @res
538 } else {
539 my $res = eval { &$cb };
540 _self_die if $@;
541 $res
542 }
543}
544
545=item $closure = psub { BLOCK }
546
547Remembers C<$SELF> and creates a closure out of the BLOCK. When the
548closure is executed, sets up the environment in the same way as in C<rcv>
549callbacks, i.e. runtime errors will cause the port to get C<kil>ed.
550
551The effect is basically as if it returned C<< sub { peval $SELF, sub {
552BLOCK }, @_ } >>.
553
554This is useful when you register callbacks from C<rcv> callbacks:
555
556 rcv delayed_reply => sub {
557 my ($delay, @reply) = @_;
558 my $timer = AE::timer $delay, 0, psub {
559 snd @reply, $SELF;
560 };
561 };
562
563=cut
564
565sub psub(&) {
566 my $cb = shift;
567
568 my $port = $SELF
569 or Carp::croak "psub can only be called from within rcv or psub callbacks, not";
570
571 sub {
572 local $SELF = $port;
573
574 if (wantarray) {
575 my @res = eval { &$cb };
576 _self_die if $@;
577 @res
578 } else {
579 my $res = eval { &$cb };
580 _self_die if $@;
581 $res
582 }
583 }
584}
585
586=item $guard = mon $port, $cb->(@reason) # call $cb when $port dies
587
588=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport # kill $rcvport when $port dies
589
590=item $guard = mon $port # kill $SELF when $port dies
591
592=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport, @msg # send a message when $port dies
593
594Monitor the given port and do something when the port is killed or
595messages to it were lost, and optionally return a guard that can be used
596to stop monitoring again.
597
598In the first form (callback), the callback is simply called with any
599number of C<@reason> elements (no @reason means that the port was deleted
600"normally"). Note also that I<< the callback B<must> never die >>, so use
601C<eval> if unsure.
602
603In the second form (another port given), the other port (C<$rcvport>)
604will be C<kil>'ed with C<@reason>, if a @reason was specified, i.e. on
605"normal" kils nothing happens, while under all other conditions, the other
606port is killed with the same reason.
607
608The third form (kill self) is the same as the second form, except that
609C<$rvport> defaults to C<$SELF>.
610
611In the last form (message), a message of the form C<@msg, @reason> will be
612C<snd>.
613
614Monitoring-actions are one-shot: once messages are lost (and a monitoring
615alert was raised), they are removed and will not trigger again.
616
617As a rule of thumb, monitoring requests should always monitor a port from
618a local port (or callback). The reason is that kill messages might get
619lost, just like any other message. Another less obvious reason is that
620even monitoring requests can get lost (for example, when the connection
621to the other node goes down permanently). When monitoring a port locally
622these problems do not exist.
623
624C<mon> effectively guarantees that, in the absence of hardware failures,
625after starting the monitor, either all messages sent to the port will
626arrive, or the monitoring action will be invoked after possible message
627loss has been detected. No messages will be lost "in between" (after
628the first lost message no further messages will be received by the
629port). After the monitoring action was invoked, further messages might get
630delivered again.
631
632Inter-host-connection timeouts and monitoring depend on the transport
633used. The only transport currently implemented is TCP, and AnyEvent::MP
634relies on TCP to detect node-downs (this can take 10-15 minutes on a
635non-idle connection, and usually around two hours for idle connections).
636
637This means that monitoring is good for program errors and cleaning up
638stuff eventually, but they are no replacement for a timeout when you need
639to ensure some maximum latency.
640
641Example: call a given callback when C<$port> is killed.
642
643 mon $port, sub { warn "port died because of <@_>\n" };
644
645Example: kill ourselves when C<$port> is killed abnormally.
646
647 mon $port;
648
649Example: send us a restart message when another C<$port> is killed.
650
651 mon $port, $self => "restart";
129 652
130=cut 653=cut
131 654
132sub mon { 655sub mon {
133 my ($noderef, $port) = split /#/, shift, 2; 656 my ($nodeid, $port) = split /#/, shift, 2;
134 657
135 my $node = AnyEvent::MP::Base::add_node $noderef; 658 my $node = $NODE{$nodeid} || add_node $nodeid;
136 659
137 my $cb = shift; 660 my $cb = @_ ? shift : $SELF || Carp::croak 'mon: called with one argument only, but $SELF not set,';
661
662 unless (ref $cb) {
663 if (@_) {
664 # send a kill info message
665 my (@msg) = ($cb, @_);
666 $cb = sub { snd @msg, @_ };
667 } else {
668 # simply kill other port
669 my $port = $cb;
670 $cb = sub { kil $port, @_ if @_ };
671 }
672 }
138 673
139 $node->monitor ($port, $cb); 674 $node->monitor ($port, $cb);
140 675
141 defined wantarray 676 defined wantarray
142 and AnyEvent::Util::guard { $node->unmonitor ($port, $cb) } 677 and ($cb += 0, AnyEvent::Util::guard { $node->unmonitor ($port, $cb) })
143} 678}
144 679
145=item $local_port = create_port 680=item $guard = mon_guard $port, $ref, $ref...
146 681
147Create a new local port object. See the next section for allowed methods. 682Monitors the given C<$port> and keeps the passed references. When the port
683is killed, the references will be freed.
148 684
149=cut 685Optionally returns a guard that will stop the monitoring.
150 686
151sub create_port { 687This function is useful when you create e.g. timers or other watchers and
152 my $id = "$AnyEvent::MP::Base::UNIQ." . $AnyEvent::MP::Base::ID++; 688want to free them when the port gets killed (note the use of C<psub>):
153 689
154 my $self = bless { 690 $port->rcv (start => sub {
155 id => "$NODE#$id", 691 my $timer; $timer = mon_guard $port, AE::timer 1, 1, psub {
156 names => [$id], 692 undef $timer if 0.9 < rand;
157 }, "AnyEvent::MP::Port"; 693 });
694 });
158 695
159 $AnyEvent::MP::Base::PORT{$id} = sub { 696=cut
160 unshift @_, $self;
161 697
162 for (@{ $self->{rc0}{$_[1]} }) { 698sub mon_guard {
163 $_ && &{$_->[0]} 699 my ($port, @refs) = @_;
164 && undef $_; 700
701 #TODO: mon-less form?
702
703 mon $port, sub { 0 && @refs }
704}
705
706=item kil $port[, @reason]
707
708Kill the specified port with the given C<@reason>.
709
710If no C<@reason> is specified, then the port is killed "normally" -
711monitor callback will be invoked, but the kil will not cause linked ports
712(C<mon $mport, $lport> form) to get killed.
713
714If a C<@reason> is specified, then linked ports (C<mon $mport, $lport>
715form) get killed with the same reason.
716
717Runtime errors while evaluating C<rcv> callbacks or inside C<psub> blocks
718will be reported as reason C<< die => $@ >>.
719
720Transport/communication errors are reported as C<< transport_error =>
721$message >>.
722
723=cut
724
725=item $port = spawn $node, $initfunc[, @initdata]
726
727Creates a port on the node C<$node> (which can also be a port ID, in which
728case it's the node where that port resides).
729
730The port ID of the newly created port is returned immediately, and it is
731possible to immediately start sending messages or to monitor the port.
732
733After the port has been created, the init function is called on the remote
734node, in the same context as a C<rcv> callback. This function must be a
735fully-qualified function name (e.g. C<MyApp::Chat::Server::init>). To
736specify a function in the main program, use C<::name>.
737
738If the function doesn't exist, then the node tries to C<require>
739the package, then the package above the package and so on (e.g.
740C<MyApp::Chat::Server>, C<MyApp::Chat>, C<MyApp>) until the function
741exists or it runs out of package names.
742
743The init function is then called with the newly-created port as context
744object (C<$SELF>) and the C<@initdata> values as arguments. It I<must>
745call one of the C<rcv> functions to set callbacks on C<$SELF>, otherwise
746the port might not get created.
747
748A common idiom is to pass a local port, immediately monitor the spawned
749port, and in the remote init function, immediately monitor the passed
750local port. This two-way monitoring ensures that both ports get cleaned up
751when there is a problem.
752
753C<spawn> guarantees that the C<$initfunc> has no visible effects on the
754caller before C<spawn> returns (by delaying invocation when spawn is
755called for the local node).
756
757Example: spawn a chat server port on C<$othernode>.
758
759 # this node, executed from within a port context:
760 my $server = spawn $othernode, "MyApp::Chat::Server::connect", $SELF;
761 mon $server;
762
763 # init function on C<$othernode>
764 sub connect {
765 my ($srcport) = @_;
766
767 mon $srcport;
768
769 rcv $SELF, sub {
770 ...
165 } 771 };
772 }
166 773
167 for (@{ $self->{rcv}{$_[1]} }) { 774=cut
168 $_ && [@_[1 .. @{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1]
169 && &{$_->[0]}
170 && undef $_;
171 }
172 775
173 for (@{ $self->{any} }) { 776sub _spawn {
174 $_ && [@_[0 .. $#{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1] 777 my $port = shift;
175 && &{$_->[0]} 778 my $init = shift;
176 && undef $_; 779
177 } 780 # rcv will create the actual port
781 local $SELF = "$NODE#$port";
782 eval {
783 &{ load_func $init }
178 }; 784 };
179 785 _self_die if $@;
180 $self
181} 786}
182 787
183=item $portid = miniport { my @msg = @_; $finished } 788sub spawn(@) {
789 my ($nodeid, undef) = split /#/, shift, 2;
184 790
185Creates a "mini port", that is, a very lightweight port without any 791 my $id = $RUNIQ . ++$ID;
186pattern matching behind it, and returns its ID.
187 792
188The block will be called for every message received on the port. When the 793 $_[0] =~ /::/
189callback returns a true value its job is considered "done" and the port 794 or Carp::croak "spawn init function must be a fully-qualified name, caught";
190will be destroyed. Otherwise it will stay alive.
191 795
192The message will be passed as-is, no extra argument (i.e. no port id) will 796 snd_to_func $nodeid, "AnyEvent::MP::_spawn" => $id, @_;
193be passed to the callback.
194 797
195If you need the local port id in the callback, this works nicely: 798 "$nodeid#$id"
799}
196 800
197 my $port; $port = miniport { 801
198 snd $otherport, reply => $port; 802=item after $timeout, @msg
803
804=item after $timeout, $callback
805
806Either sends the given message, or call the given callback, after the
807specified number of seconds.
808
809This is simply a utility function that comes in handy at times - the
810AnyEvent::MP author is not convinced of the wisdom of having it, though,
811so it may go away in the future.
812
813=cut
814
815sub after($@) {
816 my ($timeout, @action) = @_;
817
818 my $t; $t = AE::timer $timeout, 0, sub {
819 undef $t;
820 ref $action[0]
821 ? $action[0]()
822 : snd @action;
199 }; 823 };
824}
200 825
201=cut 826=item cal $port, @msg, $callback[, $timeout]
202 827
203sub miniport(&) { 828A simple form of RPC - sends a message to the given C<$port> with the
829given contents (C<@msg>), but adds a reply port to the message.
830
831The reply port is created temporarily just for the purpose of receiving
832the reply, and will be C<kil>ed when no longer needed.
833
834A reply message sent to the port is passed to the C<$callback> as-is.
835
836If an optional time-out (in seconds) is given and it is not C<undef>,
837then the callback will be called without any arguments after the time-out
838elapsed and the port is C<kil>ed.
839
840If no time-out is given (or it is C<undef>), then the local port will
841monitor the remote port instead, so it eventually gets cleaned-up.
842
843Currently this function returns the temporary port, but this "feature"
844might go in future versions unless you can make a convincing case that
845this is indeed useful for something.
846
847=cut
848
849sub cal(@) {
850 my $timeout = ref $_[-1] ? undef : pop;
204 my $cb = shift; 851 my $cb = pop;
205 my $id = "$AnyEvent::MP::Base::UNIQ." . $AnyEvent::MP::Base::ID++;
206 852
207 $AnyEvent::MP::Base::PORT{$id} = sub { 853 my $port = port {
854 undef $timeout;
855 kil $SELF;
208 &$cb 856 &$cb;
209 and del $id;
210 }; 857 };
211 858
212 "$NODE#$id" 859 if (defined $timeout) {
213} 860 $timeout = AE::timer $timeout, 0, sub {
861 undef $timeout;
862 kil $port;
863 $cb->();
864 };
865 } else {
866 mon $_[0], sub {
867 kil $port;
868 $cb->();
869 };
870 }
214 871
215package AnyEvent::MP::Port; 872 push @_, $port;
873 &snd;
874
875 $port
876}
216 877
217=back 878=back
218 879
219=head1 METHODS FOR PORT OBJECTS 880=head1 AnyEvent::MP vs. Distributed Erlang
881
882AnyEvent::MP got lots of its ideas from distributed Erlang (Erlang node
883== aemp node, Erlang process == aemp port), so many of the documents and
884programming techniques employed by Erlang apply to AnyEvent::MP. Here is a
885sample:
886
887 http://www.erlang.se/doc/programming_rules.shtml
888 http://erlang.org/doc/getting_started/part_frame.html # chapters 3 and 4
889 http://erlang.org/download/erlang-book-part1.pdf # chapters 5 and 6
890 http://erlang.org/download/armstrong_thesis_2003.pdf # chapters 4 and 5
891
892Despite the similarities, there are also some important differences:
220 893
221=over 4 894=over 4
222 895
223=item "$port" 896=item * Node IDs are arbitrary strings in AEMP.
224 897
225A port object stringifies to its port ID, so can be used directly for 898Erlang relies on special naming and DNS to work everywhere in the same
226C<snd> operations. 899way. AEMP relies on each node somehow knowing its own address(es) (e.g. by
900configuration or DNS), and possibly the addresses of some seed nodes, but
901will otherwise discover other nodes (and their IDs) itself.
227 902
228=cut 903=item * Erlang has a "remote ports are like local ports" philosophy, AEMP
904uses "local ports are like remote ports".
229 905
230use overload 906The failure modes for local ports are quite different (runtime errors
231 '""' => sub { $_[0]{id} }, 907only) then for remote ports - when a local port dies, you I<know> it dies,
232 fallback => 1; 908when a connection to another node dies, you know nothing about the other
909port.
233 910
234sub TO_JSON { $_[0]{id} } 911Erlang pretends remote ports are as reliable as local ports, even when
912they are not.
235 913
236=item $port->rcv (type => $callback->($port, @msg)) 914AEMP encourages a "treat remote ports differently" philosophy, with local
915ports being the special case/exception, where transport errors cannot
916occur.
237 917
238=item $port->rcv ($smartmatch => $callback->($port, @msg)) 918=item * Erlang uses processes and a mailbox, AEMP does not queue.
239 919
240=item $port->rcv ([$smartmatch...] => $callback->($port, @msg)) 920Erlang uses processes that selectively receive messages out of order, and
921therefore needs a queue. AEMP is event based, queuing messages would serve
922no useful purpose. For the same reason the pattern-matching abilities
923of AnyEvent::MP are more limited, as there is little need to be able to
924filter messages without dequeuing them.
241 925
242Register a callback on the given port. 926This is not a philosophical difference, but simply stems from AnyEvent::MP
927being event-based, while Erlang is process-based.
243 928
244The callback has to return a true value when its work is done, after 929You cna have a look at L<Coro::MP> for a more Erlang-like process model on
245which is will be removed, or a false value in which case it will stay 930top of AEMP and Coro threads.
246registered.
247 931
248If the match is an array reference, then it will be matched against the 932=item * Erlang sends are synchronous, AEMP sends are asynchronous.
249first elements of the message, otherwise only the first element is being
250matched.
251 933
252Any element in the match that is specified as C<_any_> (a function 934Sending messages in Erlang is synchronous and blocks the process until
253exported by this module) matches any single element of the message. 935a conenction has been established and the message sent (and so does not
936need a queue that can overflow). AEMP sends return immediately, connection
937establishment is handled in the background.
254 938
255While not required, it is highly recommended that the first matching 939=item * Erlang suffers from silent message loss, AEMP does not.
256element is a string identifying the message. The one-string-only match is
257also the most efficient match (by far).
258 940
259=cut 941Erlang implements few guarantees on messages delivery - messages can get
942lost without any of the processes realising it (i.e. you send messages a,
943b, and c, and the other side only receives messages a and c).
260 944
261sub rcv($@) { 945AEMP guarantees (modulo hardware errors) correct ordering, and the
262 my ($self, $match, $cb) = @_; 946guarantee that after one message is lost, all following ones sent to the
947same port are lost as well, until monitoring raises an error, so there are
948no silent "holes" in the message sequence.
263 949
264 if (!ref $match) { 950If you want your software to be very reliable, you have to cope with
265 push @{ $self->{rc0}{$match} }, [$cb]; 951corrupted and even out-of-order messages in both Erlang and AEMP. AEMP
266 } elsif (("ARRAY" eq ref $match && !ref $match->[0])) { 952simply tries to work better in common error cases, such as when a network
267 my ($type, @match) = @$match; 953link goes down.
268 @match
269 ? push @{ $self->{rcv}{$match->[0]} }, [$cb, \@match]
270 : push @{ $self->{rc0}{$match->[0]} }, [$cb];
271 } else {
272 push @{ $self->{any} }, [$cb, $match];
273 }
274}
275 954
276=item $port->register ($name) 955=item * Erlang can send messages to the wrong port, AEMP does not.
277 956
278Registers the given port under the well known name C<$name>. If the name 957In Erlang it is quite likely that a node that restarts reuses an Erlang
279already exists it is replaced. 958process ID known to other nodes for a completely different process,
959causing messages destined for that process to end up in an unrelated
960process.
280 961
281A port can only be registered under one well known name. 962AEMP does not reuse port IDs, so old messages or old port IDs floating
963around in the network will not be sent to an unrelated port.
282 964
283=cut 965=item * Erlang uses unprotected connections, AEMP uses secure
966authentication and can use TLS.
284 967
285sub register { 968AEMP can use a proven protocol - TLS - to protect connections and
286 my ($self, $name) = @_; 969securely authenticate nodes.
287 970
288 $self->{wkname} = $name; 971=item * The AEMP protocol is optimised for both text-based and binary
289 $AnyEvent::MP::Base::WKP{$name} = "$self"; 972communications.
290}
291 973
292=item $port->destroy 974The AEMP protocol, unlike the Erlang protocol, supports both programming
975language independent text-only protocols (good for debugging), and binary,
976language-specific serialisers (e.g. Storable). By default, unless TLS is
977used, the protocol is actually completely text-based.
293 978
294Explicitly destroy/remove/nuke/vaporise the port. 979It has also been carefully designed to be implementable in other languages
980with a minimum of work while gracefully degrading functionality to make the
981protocol simple.
295 982
296Ports are normally kept alive by there mere existance alone, and need to 983=item * AEMP has more flexible monitoring options than Erlang.
297be destroyed explicitly.
298 984
299=cut 985In Erlang, you can chose to receive I<all> exit signals as messages or
986I<none>, there is no in-between, so monitoring single Erlang processes is
987difficult to implement.
300 988
301sub destroy { 989Monitoring in AEMP is more flexible than in Erlang, as one can choose
302 my ($self) = @_; 990between automatic kill, exit message or callback on a per-port basis.
303 991
304 AnyEvent::MP::Base::del $self->{id}; 992=item * Erlang tries to hide remote/local connections, AEMP does not.
305 993
306 delete $AnyEvent::MP::Base::WKP{ $self->{wkname} }; 994Monitoring in Erlang is not an indicator of process death/crashes, in the
995same way as linking is (except linking is unreliable in Erlang).
307 996
308 delete $AnyEvent::MP::Base::PORT{$_} 997In AEMP, you don't "look up" registered port names or send to named ports
309 for @{ $self->{names} }; 998that might or might not be persistent. Instead, you normally spawn a port
310} 999on the remote node. The init function monitors you, and you monitor the
1000remote port. Since both monitors are local to the node, they are much more
1001reliable (no need for C<spawn_link>).
1002
1003This also saves round-trips and avoids sending messages to the wrong port
1004(hard to do in Erlang).
311 1005
312=back 1006=back
313 1007
314=head1 FUNCTIONS FOR NODES 1008=head1 RATIONALE
315 1009
316=over 4 1010=over 4
317 1011
318=item mon $noderef, $callback->($noderef, $status, $) 1012=item Why strings for port and node IDs, why not objects?
319 1013
320Monitors the given noderef. 1014We considered "objects", but found that the actual number of methods
1015that can be called are quite low. Since port and node IDs travel over
1016the network frequently, the serialising/deserialising would add lots of
1017overhead, as well as having to keep a proxy object everywhere.
321 1018
322=item become_public endpoint... 1019Strings can easily be printed, easily serialised etc. and need no special
1020procedures to be "valid".
323 1021
324Tells the node to become a public node, i.e. reachable from other nodes. 1022And as a result, a port with just a default receiver consists of a single
1023code reference stored in a global hash - it can't become much cheaper.
325 1024
326If no arguments are given, or the first argument is C<undef>, then 1025=item Why favour JSON, why not a real serialising format such as Storable?
327AnyEvent::MP tries to bind on port C<4040> on all IP addresses that the
328local nodename resolves to.
329 1026
330Otherwise the first argument must be an array-reference with transport 1027In fact, any AnyEvent::MP node will happily accept Storable as framing
331endpoints ("ip:port", "hostname:port") or port numbers (in which case the 1028format, but currently there is no way to make a node use Storable by
332local nodename is used as hostname). The endpoints are all resolved and 1029default (although all nodes will accept it).
333will become the node reference.
334 1030
335=cut 1031The default framing protocol is JSON because a) JSON::XS is many times
1032faster for small messages and b) most importantly, after years of
1033experience we found that object serialisation is causing more problems
1034than it solves: Just like function calls, objects simply do not travel
1035easily over the network, mostly because they will always be a copy, so you
1036always have to re-think your design.
1037
1038Keeping your messages simple, concentrating on data structures rather than
1039objects, will keep your messages clean, tidy and efficient.
336 1040
337=back 1041=back
338 1042
339=head1 NODE MESSAGES
340
341Nodes understand the following messages sent to them. Many of them take
342arguments called C<@reply>, which will simply be used to compose a reply
343message - C<$reply[0]> is the port to reply to, C<$reply[1]> the type and
344the remaining arguments are simply the message data.
345
346=over 4
347
348=cut
349
350=item wkp => $name, @reply
351
352Replies with the port ID of the specified well-known port, or C<undef>.
353
354=item devnull => ...
355
356Generic data sink/CPU heat conversion.
357
358=item relay => $port, @msg
359
360Simply forwards the message to the given port.
361
362=item eval => $string[ @reply]
363
364Evaluates the given string. If C<@reply> is given, then a message of the
365form C<@reply, $@, @evalres> is sent.
366
367Example: crash another node.
368
369 snd $othernode, eval => "exit";
370
371=item time => @reply
372
373Replies the the current node time to C<@reply>.
374
375Example: tell the current node to send the current time to C<$myport> in a
376C<timereply> message.
377
378 snd $NODE, time => $myport, timereply => 1, 2;
379 # => snd $myport, timereply => 1, 2, <time>
380
381=back
382
383=head1 SEE ALSO 1043=head1 SEE ALSO
1044
1045L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro> - a gentle introduction.
1046
1047L<AnyEvent::MP::Kernel> - more, lower-level, stuff.
1048
1049L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> - network maintenance and port groups, to find
1050your applications.
1051
1052L<AnyEvent::MP::DataConn> - establish data connections between nodes.
1053
1054L<AnyEvent::MP::LogCatcher> - simple service to display log messages from
1055all nodes.
384 1056
385L<AnyEvent>. 1057L<AnyEvent>.
386 1058
387=head1 AUTHOR 1059=head1 AUTHOR
388 1060

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