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Revision 1.71 by root, Sun Aug 30 19:52:56 2009 UTC

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 noderef
10 NODE # returns this node's noderef
11 NODE $port # returns the noderef of the port
11 12
13 $SELF # receiving/own port id in rcv callbacks
14
15 # initialise the node so it can send/receive messages
16 initialise_node;
17
18 # ports are message endpoints
19
20 # sending messages
12 snd $port, type => data...; 21 snd $port, type => data...;
22 snd $port, @msg;
23 snd @msg_with_first_element_being_a_port;
13 24
14 rcv $port, smartmatch => $cb->($port, @msg); 25 # creating/using ports, the simple way
26 my $simple_port = port { my @msg = @_; 0 };
15 27
16 # examples: 28 # creating/using ports, tagged message matching
29 my $port = port;
17 rcv $port2, ping => sub { snd $_[0], "pong"; 0 }; 30 rcv $port, ping => sub { snd $_[0], "pong"; 0 };
18 rcv $port1, pong => sub { warn "pong received\n" }; 31 rcv $port, pong => sub { warn "pong received\n"; 0 };
19 snd $port2, ping => $port1;
20 32
21 # more, smarter, matches (_any_ is exported by this module) 33 # create a port on another node
22 rcv $port, [child_died => $pid] => sub { ... 34 my $port = spawn $node, $initfunc, @initdata;
23 rcv $port, [_any_, _any_, 3] => sub { .. $_[2] is 3 35
36 # monitoring
37 mon $port, $cb->(@msg) # callback is invoked on death
38 mon $port, $otherport # kill otherport on abnormal death
39 mon $port, $otherport, @msg # send message on death
40
41=head1 CURRENT STATUS
42
43 bin/aemp - stable.
44 AnyEvent::MP - stable API, should work.
45 AnyEvent::MP::Intro - uptodate, but incomplete.
46 AnyEvent::MP::Kernel - mostly stable.
47 AnyEvent::MP::Global - stable API, protocol not yet final.
48
49 stay tuned.
24 50
25=head1 DESCRIPTION 51=head1 DESCRIPTION
26 52
27This module (-family) implements a simple message passing framework. 53This module (-family) implements a simple message passing framework.
28 54
29Despite its simplicity, you can securely message other processes running 55Despite its simplicity, you can securely message other processes running
30on the same or other hosts. 56on the same or other hosts, and you can supervise entities remotely.
31 57
58For an introduction to this module family, see the L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro>
59manual page and the examples under F<eg/>.
60
32At the moment, this module family is severly brokena nd underdocumented, 61At the moment, this module family is a bit underdocumented.
33so do not use. This was uploaded mainly to reserve the CPAN namespace -
34stay tuned!
35 62
36=head1 CONCEPTS 63=head1 CONCEPTS
37 64
38=over 4 65=over 4
39 66
40=item port 67=item port
41 68
42A port is something you can send messages to with the C<snd> function, and 69A port is something you can send messages to (with the C<snd> function).
43you can register C<rcv> handlers with. All C<rcv> handlers will receive
44messages they match, messages will not be queued.
45 70
71Ports allow you to register C<rcv> handlers that can match all or just
72some messages. Messages send to ports will not be queued, regardless of
73anything was listening for them or not.
74
46=item port id - C<noderef#portname> 75=item port ID - C<nodeid#portname>
47 76
48A port id is always the noderef, a hash-mark (C<#>) as separator, followed 77A port ID is the concatenation of a node ID, a hash-mark (C<#>) as
49by a port name (a printable string of unspecified format). 78separator, and a port name (a printable string of unspecified format).
50 79
51=item node 80=item node
52 81
53A node is a single process containing at least one port - the node 82A 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, 83which enables nodes to manage each other remotely, and to create new
55among other things. 84ports.
56 85
57Initially, nodes are either private (single-process only) or hidden 86Nodes are either public (have one or more listening ports) or private
58(connected to a master node only). Only when they epxlicitly "become 87(no listening ports). Private nodes cannot talk to other private nodes
59public" can you send them messages from unrelated other nodes. 88currently.
60 89
61=item noderef - C<host:port,host:port...>, C<id@noderef>, C<id> 90=item node ID - C<[a-za-Z0-9_\-.:]+>
62 91
63A noderef is a string that either uniquely identifies a given node (for 92A 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 93network. Depending on the configuration used, node IDs can look like a
65node (for public nodes). 94hostname, a hostname and a port, or a random string. AnyEvent::MP itself
95doesn't interpret node IDs in any way.
96
97=item binds - C<ip:port>
98
99Nodes can only talk to each other by creating some kind of connection to
100each other. To do this, nodes should listen on one or more local transport
101endpoints - binds. Currently, only standard C<ip:port> specifications can
102be used, which specify TCP ports to listen on.
103
104=item seeds - C<host:port>
105
106When a node starts, it knows nothing about the network. To teach the node
107about the network it first has to contact some other node within the
108network. This node is called a seed.
109
110Seeds are transport endpoint(s) of as many nodes as one wants. Those nodes
111are expected to be long-running, and at least one of those should always
112be available. When nodes run out of connections (e.g. due to a network
113error), they try to re-establish connections to some seednodes again to
114join the network.
115
116Apart from being sued for seeding, seednodes are not special in any way -
117every public node can be a seednode.
66 118
67=back 119=back
68 120
69=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS 121=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS
70 122
72 124
73=cut 125=cut
74 126
75package AnyEvent::MP; 127package AnyEvent::MP;
76 128
77use AnyEvent::MP::Base; 129use AnyEvent::MP::Kernel;
78 130
79use common::sense; 131use common::sense;
80 132
81use Carp (); 133use Carp ();
82 134
83use AE (); 135use AE ();
84 136
85use base "Exporter"; 137use base "Exporter";
86 138
87our $VERSION = '0.02'; 139our $VERSION = $AnyEvent::MP::Kernel::VERSION;
140
88our @EXPORT = qw( 141our @EXPORT = qw(
89 NODE $NODE $PORT snd rcv mon kil _any_ 142 NODE $NODE *SELF node_of after
90 create_port create_port_on 143 initialise_node
144 snd rcv mon mon_guard kil reg psub spawn
91 miniport 145 port
92 become_slave become_public
93); 146);
94 147
148our $SELF;
149
150sub _self_die() {
151 my $msg = $@;
152 $msg =~ s/\n+$// unless ref $msg;
153 kil $SELF, die => $msg;
154}
155
95=item NODE / $NODE 156=item $thisnode = NODE / $NODE
96 157
97The C<NODE ()> function and the C<$NODE> variable contain the noderef of 158The 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 159ID of the node running in the current process. This value is initialised by
99C<become_slave>, after which all local port identifiers become invalid. 160a call to C<initialise_node>.
100 161
162=item $nodeid = node_of $port
163
164Extracts and returns the node ID from a port ID or a node ID.
165
166=item initialise_node $profile_name, key => value...
167
168Before a node can talk to other nodes on the network (i.e. enter
169"distributed mode") it has to initialise itself - the minimum a node needs
170to know is its own name, and optionally it should know the addresses of
171some other nodes in the network to discover other nodes.
172
173This function initialises a node - it must be called exactly once (or
174never) before calling other AnyEvent::MP functions.
175
176The first argument is a profile name. If it is C<undef> or missing, then
177the current nodename will be used instead (i.e. F<uname -n>).
178
179The function first looks up the profile in the aemp configuration (see the
180L<aemp> commandline utility). the profile is calculated as follows:
181
182First, all remaining key => value pairs (all of which are conviniently
183undocumented at the moment) will be used. Then they will be overwritten by
184any values specified in the global default configuration (see the F<aemp>
185utility), then the chain of profiles selected, if any. That means that
186the values specified in the profile have highest priority and the values
187specified via C<initialise_node> have lowest priority.
188
189If the profile specifies a node ID, then this will become the node ID of
190this process. If not, then the profile name will be used as node ID. The
191special node ID of C<anon/> will be replaced by a random node ID.
192
193The next step is to look up the binds in the profile, followed by binding
194aemp protocol listeners on all binds specified (it is possible and valid
195to have no binds, meaning that the node cannot be contacted form the
196outside. This means the node cannot talk to other nodes that also have no
197binds, but it can still talk to all "normal" nodes).
198
199If the profile does not specify a binds list, then a default of C<*> is
200used.
201
202Lastly, the seeds list from the profile is passed to the
203L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> module, which will then use it to keep
204connectivity with at least on of those seed nodes at any point in time.
205
206Example: become a distributed node listening on the guessed noderef, or
207the one specified via C<aemp> for the current node. This should be the
208most common form of invocation for "daemon"-type nodes.
209
210 initialise_node;
211
212Example: become an anonymous node. This form is often used for commandline
213clients.
214
215 initialise_node "anon/";
216
217Example: become a distributed node. If there is no profile of the given
218name, or no binds list was specified, resolve C<localhost:4044> and bind
219on the resulting addresses.
220
221 initialise_node "localhost:4044";
222
223=item $SELF
224
225Contains the current port id while executing C<rcv> callbacks or C<psub>
226blocks.
227
228=item *SELF, SELF, %SELF, @SELF...
229
230Due to some quirks in how perl exports variables, it is impossible to
231just export C<$SELF>, all the symbols named C<SELF> are exported by this
232module, but only C<$SELF> is currently used.
233
101=item snd $portid, type => @data 234=item snd $port, type => @data
102 235
103=item snd $portid, @msg 236=item snd $port, @msg
104 237
105Send the given message to the given port ID, which can identify either 238Send 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 239local or a remote port, and must be a port ID.
107stringifies a sa port ID (such as a port object :).
108 240
109While the message can be about anything, it is highly recommended to use a 241While the message can be almost anything, it is highly recommended to
110string as first element (a portid, or some word that indicates a request 242use a string as first element (a port ID, or some word that indicates a
111type etc.). 243request type etc.) and to consist if only simple perl values (scalars,
244arrays, hashes) - if you think you need to pass an object, think again.
112 245
113The message data effectively becomes read-only after a call to this 246The message data logically becomes read-only after a call to this
114function: modifying any argument is not allowed and can cause many 247function: modifying any argument (or values referenced by them) is
115problems. 248forbidden, as there can be considerable time between the call to C<snd>
249and the time the message is actually being serialised - in fact, it might
250never be copied as within the same process it is simply handed to the
251receiving port.
116 252
117The type of data you can transfer depends on the transport protocol: when 253The type of data you can transfer depends on the transport protocol: when
118JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting 254JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting
119of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything 255of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything
120that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local 256that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local
121node, anything can be passed. 257node, anything can be passed. Best rely only on the common denominator of
258these.
122 259
123=item $guard = mon $portid, $cb->() 260=item $local_port = port
124 261
125=item $guard = mon $portid, $otherport 262Create a new local port object and returns its port ID. Initially it has
263no callbacks set and will throw an error when it receives messages.
126 264
127=item $guard = mon $portid, $otherport, @msg 265=item $local_port = port { my @msg = @_ }
128 266
129Monitor the given port and call the given callback when the port is 267Creates a new local port, and returns its ID. Semantically the same as
130destroyed or connection to it's node is lost. 268creating a port and calling C<rcv $port, $callback> on it.
131 269
132#TODO 270The block will be called for every message received on the port, with the
271global variable C<$SELF> set to the port ID. Runtime errors will cause the
272port to be C<kil>ed. The message will be passed as-is, no extra argument
273(i.e. no port ID) will be passed to the callback.
274
275If you want to stop/destroy the port, simply C<kil> it:
276
277 my $port = port {
278 my @msg = @_;
279 ...
280 kil $SELF;
281 };
282
283=cut
284
285sub rcv($@);
286
287sub _kilme {
288 die "received message on port without callback";
289}
290
291sub port(;&) {
292 my $id = "$UNIQ." . $ID++;
293 my $port = "$NODE#$id";
294
295 rcv $port, shift || \&_kilme;
296
297 $port
298}
299
300=item rcv $local_port, $callback->(@msg)
301
302Replaces the default callback on the specified port. There is no way to
303remove the default callback: use C<sub { }> to disable it, or better
304C<kil> the port when it is no longer needed.
305
306The global C<$SELF> (exported by this module) contains C<$port> while
307executing the callback. Runtime errors during callback execution will
308result in the port being C<kil>ed.
309
310The default callback received all messages not matched by a more specific
311C<tag> match.
312
313=item rcv $local_port, tag => $callback->(@msg_without_tag), ...
314
315Register (or replace) callbacks to be called on messages starting with the
316given tag on the given port (and return the port), or unregister it (when
317C<$callback> is C<$undef> or missing). There can only be one callback
318registered for each tag.
319
320The original message will be passed to the callback, after the first
321element (the tag) has been removed. The callback will use the same
322environment as the default callback (see above).
323
324Example: create a port and bind receivers on it in one go.
325
326 my $port = rcv port,
327 msg1 => sub { ... },
328 msg2 => sub { ... },
329 ;
330
331Example: create a port, bind receivers and send it in a message elsewhere
332in one go:
333
334 snd $otherport, reply =>
335 rcv port,
336 msg1 => sub { ... },
337 ...
338 ;
339
340Example: temporarily register a rcv callback for a tag matching some port
341(e.g. for a rpc reply) and unregister it after a message was received.
342
343 rcv $port, $otherport => sub {
344 my @reply = @_;
345
346 rcv $SELF, $otherport;
347 };
348
349=cut
350
351sub rcv($@) {
352 my $port = shift;
353 my ($noderef, $portid) = split /#/, $port, 2;
354
355 $NODE{$noderef} == $NODE{""}
356 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on local ports, caught";
357
358 while (@_) {
359 if (ref $_[0]) {
360 if (my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid}) {
361 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
362 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
363
364 $self->[2] = shift;
365 } else {
366 my $cb = shift;
367 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
368 local $SELF = $port;
369 eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
370 };
371 }
372 } elsif (defined $_[0]) {
373 my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid} ||= do {
374 my $self = bless [$PORT{$port} || sub { }, { }, $port], "AnyEvent::MP::Port";
375
376 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
377 local $SELF = $port;
378
379 if (my $cb = $self->[1]{$_[0]}) {
380 shift;
381 eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
382 } else {
383 &{ $self->[0] };
384 }
385 };
386
387 $self
388 };
389
390 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
391 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
392
393 my ($tag, $cb) = splice @_, 0, 2;
394
395 if (defined $cb) {
396 $self->[1]{$tag} = $cb;
397 } else {
398 delete $self->[1]{$tag};
399 }
400 }
401 }
402
403 $port
404}
405
406=item $closure = psub { BLOCK }
407
408Remembers C<$SELF> and creates a closure out of the BLOCK. When the
409closure is executed, sets up the environment in the same way as in C<rcv>
410callbacks, i.e. runtime errors will cause the port to get C<kil>ed.
411
412This is useful when you register callbacks from C<rcv> callbacks:
413
414 rcv delayed_reply => sub {
415 my ($delay, @reply) = @_;
416 my $timer = AE::timer $delay, 0, psub {
417 snd @reply, $SELF;
418 };
419 };
420
421=cut
422
423sub psub(&) {
424 my $cb = shift;
425
426 my $port = $SELF
427 or Carp::croak "psub can only be called from within rcv or psub callbacks, not";
428
429 sub {
430 local $SELF = $port;
431
432 if (wantarray) {
433 my @res = eval { &$cb };
434 _self_die if $@;
435 @res
436 } else {
437 my $res = eval { &$cb };
438 _self_die if $@;
439 $res
440 }
441 }
442}
443
444=item $guard = mon $port, $cb->(@reason) # call $cb when $port dies
445
446=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport # kill $rcvport when $port dies
447
448=item $guard = mon $port # kill $SELF when $port dies
449
450=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport, @msg # send a message when $port dies
451
452Monitor the given port and do something when the port is killed or
453messages to it were lost, and optionally return a guard that can be used
454to stop monitoring again.
455
456C<mon> effectively guarantees that, in the absence of hardware failures,
457after starting the monitor, either all messages sent to the port will
458arrive, or the monitoring action will be invoked after possible message
459loss has been detected. No messages will be lost "in between" (after
460the first lost message no further messages will be received by the
461port). After the monitoring action was invoked, further messages might get
462delivered again.
463
464Note that monitoring-actions are one-shot: once messages are lost (and a
465monitoring alert was raised), they are removed and will not trigger again.
466
467In the first form (callback), the callback is simply called with any
468number of C<@reason> elements (no @reason means that the port was deleted
469"normally"). Note also that I<< the callback B<must> never die >>, so use
470C<eval> if unsure.
471
472In the second form (another port given), the other port (C<$rcvport>)
473will be C<kil>'ed with C<@reason>, iff a @reason was specified, i.e. on
474"normal" kils nothing happens, while under all other conditions, the other
475port is killed with the same reason.
476
477The third form (kill self) is the same as the second form, except that
478C<$rvport> defaults to C<$SELF>.
479
480In the last form (message), a message of the form C<@msg, @reason> will be
481C<snd>.
482
483As a rule of thumb, monitoring requests should always monitor a port from
484a local port (or callback). The reason is that kill messages might get
485lost, just like any other message. Another less obvious reason is that
486even monitoring requests can get lost (for exmaple, when the connection
487to the other node goes down permanently). When monitoring a port locally
488these problems do not exist.
489
490Example: call a given callback when C<$port> is killed.
491
492 mon $port, sub { warn "port died because of <@_>\n" };
493
494Example: kill ourselves when C<$port> is killed abnormally.
495
496 mon $port;
497
498Example: send us a restart message when another C<$port> is killed.
499
500 mon $port, $self => "restart";
133 501
134=cut 502=cut
135 503
136sub mon { 504sub mon {
137 my ($noderef, $port, $cb) = ((split /#/, shift, 2), shift); 505 my ($noderef, $port) = split /#/, shift, 2;
138 506
139 my $node = AnyEvent::MP::Base::add_node $noderef; 507 my $node = $NODE{$noderef} || add_node $noderef;
140 508
141 #TODO: ports must not be references 509 my $cb = @_ ? shift : $SELF || Carp::croak 'mon: called with one argument only, but $SELF not set,';
142 if (!ref $cb or "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $cb) { 510
511 unless (ref $cb) {
143 if (@_) { 512 if (@_) {
144 # send a kill info message 513 # send a kill info message
145 my (@msg) = ($cb, @_); 514 my (@msg) = ($cb, @_);
146 $cb = sub { snd @msg, @_ }; 515 $cb = sub { snd @msg, @_ };
147 } else { 516 } else {
148 # simply kill other port 517 # simply kill other port
149 my $port = $cb; 518 my $port = $cb;
150 $cb = sub { kil $port, @_ }; 519 $cb = sub { kil $port, @_ if @_ };
151 } 520 }
152 } 521 }
153 522
154 $node->monitor ($port, $cb); 523 $node->monitor ($port, $cb);
155 524
163is killed, the references will be freed. 532is killed, the references will be freed.
164 533
165Optionally returns a guard that will stop the monitoring. 534Optionally returns a guard that will stop the monitoring.
166 535
167This function is useful when you create e.g. timers or other watchers and 536This function is useful when you create e.g. timers or other watchers and
168want to free them when the port gets killed: 537want to free them when the port gets killed (note the use of C<psub>):
169 538
170 $port->rcv (start => sub { 539 $port->rcv (start => sub {
171 my $timer; $timer = mon_guard $port, AE::timer 1, 1, sub { 540 my $timer; $timer = mon_guard $port, AE::timer 1, 1, psub {
172 undef $timer if 0.9 < rand; 541 undef $timer if 0.9 < rand;
173 }); 542 });
174 }); 543 });
175 544
176=cut 545=cut
177 546
178sub mon_guard { 547sub mon_guard {
179 my ($port, @refs) = @_; 548 my ($port, @refs) = @_;
180 549
550 #TODO: mon-less form?
551
181 mon $port, sub { 0 && @refs } 552 mon $port, sub { 0 && @refs }
182} 553}
183 554
184=item $local_port = create_port 555=item kil $port[, @reason]
185 556
186Create a new local port object. See the next section for allowed methods. 557Kill the specified port with the given C<@reason>.
187 558
188=cut 559If no C<@reason> is specified, then the port is killed "normally" (ports
560monitoring other ports will not necessarily die because a port dies
561"normally").
189 562
190sub create_port { 563Otherwise, linked ports get killed with the same reason (second form of
191 my $id = "$AnyEvent::MP::Base::UNIQ." . $AnyEvent::MP::Base::ID++; 564C<mon>, see above).
192 565
193 my $self = bless { 566Runtime errors while evaluating C<rcv> callbacks or inside C<psub> blocks
194 id => "$NODE#$id", 567will be reported as reason C<< die => $@ >>.
195 }, "AnyEvent::MP::Port";
196 568
197 $AnyEvent::MP::Base::PORT{$id} = sub { 569Transport/communication errors are reported as C<< transport_error =>
198 unshift @_, $self; 570$message >>.
199 571
200 for (@{ $self->{rc0}{$_[1]} }) { 572=cut
201 $_ && &{$_->[0]} 573
202 && undef $_; 574=item $port = spawn $node, $initfunc[, @initdata]
575
576Creates a port on the node C<$node> (which can also be a port ID, in which
577case it's the node where that port resides).
578
579The port ID of the newly created port is returned immediately, and it is
580possible to immediately start sending messages or to monitor the port.
581
582After the port has been created, the init function is called on the remote
583node, in the same context as a C<rcv> callback. This function must be a
584fully-qualified function name (e.g. C<MyApp::Chat::Server::init>). To
585specify a function in the main program, use C<::name>.
586
587If the function doesn't exist, then the node tries to C<require>
588the package, then the package above the package and so on (e.g.
589C<MyApp::Chat::Server>, C<MyApp::Chat>, C<MyApp>) until the function
590exists or it runs out of package names.
591
592The init function is then called with the newly-created port as context
593object (C<$SELF>) and the C<@initdata> values as arguments.
594
595A common idiom is to pass a local port, immediately monitor the spawned
596port, and in the remote init function, immediately monitor the passed
597local port. This two-way monitoring ensures that both ports get cleaned up
598when there is a problem.
599
600Example: spawn a chat server port on C<$othernode>.
601
602 # this node, executed from within a port context:
603 my $server = spawn $othernode, "MyApp::Chat::Server::connect", $SELF;
604 mon $server;
605
606 # init function on C<$othernode>
607 sub connect {
608 my ($srcport) = @_;
609
610 mon $srcport;
611
612 rcv $SELF, sub {
613 ...
203 } 614 };
615 }
204 616
205 for (@{ $self->{rcv}{$_[1]} }) { 617=cut
206 $_ && [@_[1 .. @{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1]
207 && &{$_->[0]}
208 && undef $_;
209 }
210 618
211 for (@{ $self->{any} }) { 619sub _spawn {
212 $_ && [@_[0 .. $#{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1] 620 my $port = shift;
213 && &{$_->[0]} 621 my $init = shift;
214 && undef $_; 622
215 } 623 local $SELF = "$NODE#$port";
624 eval {
625 &{ load_func $init }
216 }; 626 };
217 627 _self_die if $@;
218 $self
219} 628}
220 629
221=item $portid = miniport { my @msg = @_; $finished } 630sub spawn(@) {
631 my ($noderef, undef) = split /#/, shift, 2;
222 632
223Creates a "mini port", that is, a very lightweight port without any 633 my $id = "$RUNIQ." . $ID++;
224pattern matching behind it, and returns its ID.
225 634
226The block will be called for every message received on the port. When the 635 $_[0] =~ /::/
227callback returns a true value its job is considered "done" and the port 636 or Carp::croak "spawn init function must be a fully-qualified name, caught";
228will be destroyed. Otherwise it will stay alive.
229 637
230The message will be passed as-is, no extra argument (i.e. no port id) will 638 snd_to_func $noderef, "AnyEvent::MP::_spawn" => $id, @_;
231be passed to the callback.
232 639
233If you need the local port id in the callback, this works nicely: 640 "$noderef#$id"
641}
234 642
235 my $port; $port = miniport { 643=item after $timeout, @msg
236 snd $otherport, reply => $port; 644
645=item after $timeout, $callback
646
647Either sends the given message, or call the given callback, after the
648specified number of seconds.
649
650This is simply a utility function that comes in handy at times - the
651AnyEvent::MP author is not convinced of the wisdom of having it, though,
652so it may go away in the future.
653
654=cut
655
656sub after($@) {
657 my ($timeout, @action) = @_;
658
659 my $t; $t = AE::timer $timeout, 0, sub {
660 undef $t;
661 ref $action[0]
662 ? $action[0]()
663 : snd @action;
237 }; 664 };
238
239=cut
240
241sub miniport(&) {
242 my $cb = shift;
243 my $id = "$AnyEvent::MP::Base::UNIQ." . $AnyEvent::MP::Base::ID++;
244
245 $AnyEvent::MP::Base::PORT{$id} = sub {
246 &$cb
247 and kil $id;
248 };
249
250 "$NODE#$id"
251} 665}
252
253package AnyEvent::MP::Port;
254 666
255=back 667=back
256 668
257=head1 METHODS FOR PORT OBJECTS 669=head1 AnyEvent::MP vs. Distributed Erlang
670
671AnyEvent::MP got lots of its ideas from distributed Erlang (Erlang node
672== aemp node, Erlang process == aemp port), so many of the documents and
673programming techniques employed by Erlang apply to AnyEvent::MP. Here is a
674sample:
675
676 http://www.Erlang.se/doc/programming_rules.shtml
677 http://Erlang.org/doc/getting_started/part_frame.html # chapters 3 and 4
678 http://Erlang.org/download/Erlang-book-part1.pdf # chapters 5 and 6
679 http://Erlang.org/download/armstrong_thesis_2003.pdf # chapters 4 and 5
680
681Despite the similarities, there are also some important differences:
258 682
259=over 4 683=over 4
260 684
261=item "$port" 685=item * Node IDs are arbitrary strings in AEMP.
262 686
263A port object stringifies to its port ID, so can be used directly for 687Erlang relies on special naming and DNS to work everywhere in the same
264C<snd> operations. 688way. AEMP relies on each node somehow knowing its own address(es) (e.g. by
689configuraiton or DNS), but will otherwise discover other odes itself.
265 690
266=cut 691=item * Erlang has a "remote ports are like local ports" philosophy, AEMP
692uses "local ports are like remote ports".
267 693
268use overload 694The failure modes for local ports are quite different (runtime errors
269 '""' => sub { $_[0]{id} }, 695only) then for remote ports - when a local port dies, you I<know> it dies,
270 fallback => 1; 696when a connection to another node dies, you know nothing about the other
697port.
271 698
272sub TO_JSON { $_[0]{id} } 699Erlang pretends remote ports are as reliable as local ports, even when
700they are not.
273 701
274=item $port->rcv (type => $callback->($port, @msg)) 702AEMP encourages a "treat remote ports differently" philosophy, with local
703ports being the special case/exception, where transport errors cannot
704occur.
275 705
276=item $port->rcv ($smartmatch => $callback->($port, @msg)) 706=item * Erlang uses processes and a mailbox, AEMP does not queue.
277 707
278=item $port->rcv ([$smartmatch...] => $callback->($port, @msg)) 708Erlang uses processes that selectively receive messages, and therefore
709needs a queue. AEMP is event based, queuing messages would serve no
710useful purpose. For the same reason the pattern-matching abilities of
711AnyEvent::MP are more limited, as there is little need to be able to
712filter messages without dequeing them.
279 713
280Register a callback on the given port. 714(But see L<Coro::MP> for a more Erlang-like process model on top of AEMP).
281 715
282The callback has to return a true value when its work is done, after 716=item * Erlang sends are synchronous, AEMP sends are asynchronous.
283which is will be removed, or a false value in which case it will stay
284registered.
285 717
286If the match is an array reference, then it will be matched against the 718Sending messages in Erlang is synchronous and blocks the process (and
287first elements of the message, otherwise only the first element is being 719so does not need a queue that can overflow). AEMP sends are immediate,
288matched. 720connection establishment is handled in the background.
289 721
290Any element in the match that is specified as C<_any_> (a function 722=item * Erlang suffers from silent message loss, AEMP does not.
291exported by this module) matches any single element of the message.
292 723
293While not required, it is highly recommended that the first matching 724Erlang makes few guarantees on messages delivery - messages can get lost
294element is a string identifying the message. The one-string-only match is 725without any of the processes realising it (i.e. you send messages a, b,
295also the most efficient match (by far). 726and c, and the other side only receives messages a and c).
296 727
297=cut 728AEMP guarantees correct ordering, and the guarantee that after one message
729is lost, all following ones sent to the same port are lost as well, until
730monitoring raises an error, so there are no silent "holes" in the message
731sequence.
298 732
299sub rcv($@) { 733=item * Erlang can send messages to the wrong port, AEMP does not.
300 my ($self, $match, $cb) = @_;
301 734
302 if (!ref $match) { 735In Erlang it is quite likely that a node that restarts reuses a process ID
303 push @{ $self->{rc0}{$match} }, [$cb]; 736known to other nodes for a completely different process, causing messages
304 } elsif (("ARRAY" eq ref $match && !ref $match->[0])) { 737destined for that process to end up in an unrelated process.
305 my ($type, @match) = @$match;
306 @match
307 ? push @{ $self->{rcv}{$match->[0]} }, [$cb, \@match]
308 : push @{ $self->{rc0}{$match->[0]} }, [$cb];
309 } else {
310 push @{ $self->{any} }, [$cb, $match];
311 }
312}
313 738
314=item $port->register ($name) 739AEMP never reuses port IDs, so old messages or old port IDs floating
740around in the network will not be sent to an unrelated port.
315 741
316Registers the given port under the well known name C<$name>. If the name 742=item * Erlang uses unprotected connections, AEMP uses secure
317already exists it is replaced. 743authentication and can use TLS.
318 744
319A port can only be registered under one well known name. 745AEMP can use a proven protocol - TLS - to protect connections and
746securely authenticate nodes.
320 747
321=cut 748=item * The AEMP protocol is optimised for both text-based and binary
749communications.
322 750
323sub register { 751The AEMP protocol, unlike the Erlang protocol, supports both programming
324 my ($self, $name) = @_; 752language independent text-only protocols (good for debugging) and binary,
753language-specific serialisers (e.g. Storable). By default, unless TLS is
754used, the protocol is actually completely text-based.
325 755
326 $self->{wkname} = $name; 756It has also been carefully designed to be implementable in other languages
327 $AnyEvent::MP::Base::WKP{$name} = "$self"; 757with a minimum of work while gracefully degrading functionality to make the
328} 758protocol simple.
329 759
330=item $port->destroy 760=item * AEMP has more flexible monitoring options than Erlang.
331 761
332Explicitly destroy/remove/nuke/vaporise the port. 762In Erlang, you can chose to receive I<all> exit signals as messages
763or I<none>, there is no in-between, so monitoring single processes is
764difficult to implement. Monitoring in AEMP is more flexible than in
765Erlang, as one can choose between automatic kill, exit message or callback
766on a per-process basis.
333 767
334Ports are normally kept alive by their mere existance alone, and need to 768=item * Erlang tries to hide remote/local connections, AEMP does not.
335be destroyed explicitly.
336 769
337=cut 770Monitoring in Erlang is not an indicator of process death/crashes, in the
771same way as linking is (except linking is unreliable in Erlang).
338 772
339sub destroy { 773In AEMP, you don't "look up" registered port names or send to named ports
340 my ($self) = @_; 774that might or might not be persistent. Instead, you normally spawn a port
775on the remote node. The init function monitors you, and you monitor the
776remote port. Since both monitors are local to the node, they are much more
777reliable (no need for C<spawn_link>).
341 778
342 delete $AnyEvent::MP::Base::WKP{ $self->{wkname} }; 779This also saves round-trips and avoids sending messages to the wrong port
343 780(hard to do in Erlang).
344 AnyEvent::MP::Base::kil $self->{id};
345}
346 781
347=back 782=back
348 783
349=head1 FUNCTIONS FOR NODES 784=head1 RATIONALE
350 785
351=over 4 786=over 4
352 787
353=item mon $noderef, $callback->($noderef, $status, $) 788=item Why strings for port and node IDs, why not objects?
354 789
355Monitors the given noderef. 790We considered "objects", but found that the actual number of methods
791that can be called are quite low. Since port and node IDs travel over
792the network frequently, the serialising/deserialising would add lots of
793overhead, as well as having to keep a proxy object everywhere.
356 794
357=item become_public endpoint... 795Strings can easily be printed, easily serialised etc. and need no special
796procedures to be "valid".
358 797
359Tells the node to become a public node, i.e. reachable from other nodes. 798And as a result, a miniport consists of a single closure stored in a
799global hash - it can't become much cheaper.
360 800
361If no arguments are given, or the first argument is C<undef>, then 801=item Why favour JSON, why not a real serialising format such as Storable?
362AnyEvent::MP tries to bind on port C<4040> on all IP addresses that the
363local nodename resolves to.
364 802
365Otherwise the first argument must be an array-reference with transport 803In fact, any AnyEvent::MP node will happily accept Storable as framing
366endpoints ("ip:port", "hostname:port") or port numbers (in which case the 804format, but currently there is no way to make a node use Storable by
367local nodename is used as hostname). The endpoints are all resolved and 805default (although all nodes will accept it).
368will become the node reference.
369 806
370=cut 807The default framing protocol is JSON because a) JSON::XS is many times
808faster for small messages and b) most importantly, after years of
809experience we found that object serialisation is causing more problems
810than it solves: Just like function calls, objects simply do not travel
811easily over the network, mostly because they will always be a copy, so you
812always have to re-think your design.
813
814Keeping your messages simple, concentrating on data structures rather than
815objects, will keep your messages clean, tidy and efficient.
371 816
372=back 817=back
373 818
374=head1 NODE MESSAGES
375
376Nodes understand the following messages sent to them. Many of them take
377arguments called C<@reply>, which will simply be used to compose a reply
378message - C<$reply[0]> is the port to reply to, C<$reply[1]> the type and
379the remaining arguments are simply the message data.
380
381=over 4
382
383=cut
384
385=item wkp => $name, @reply
386
387Replies with the port ID of the specified well-known port, or C<undef>.
388
389=item devnull => ...
390
391Generic data sink/CPU heat conversion.
392
393=item relay => $port, @msg
394
395Simply forwards the message to the given port.
396
397=item eval => $string[ @reply]
398
399Evaluates the given string. If C<@reply> is given, then a message of the
400form C<@reply, $@, @evalres> is sent.
401
402Example: crash another node.
403
404 snd $othernode, eval => "exit";
405
406=item time => @reply
407
408Replies the the current node time to C<@reply>.
409
410Example: tell the current node to send the current time to C<$myport> in a
411C<timereply> message.
412
413 snd $NODE, time => $myport, timereply => 1, 2;
414 # => snd $myport, timereply => 1, 2, <time>
415
416=back
417
418=head1 SEE ALSO 819=head1 SEE ALSO
820
821L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro> - a gentle introduction.
822
823L<AnyEvent::MP::Kernel> - more, lower-level, stuff.
824
825L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> - network maintainance and port groups, to find
826your applications.
419 827
420L<AnyEvent>. 828L<AnyEvent>.
421 829
422=head1 AUTHOR 830=head1 AUTHOR
423 831

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