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Revision 1.87 by root, Fri Sep 11 02:32:23 2009 UTC

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 # monitoring
36 mon $port, $cb->(@msg) # callback is invoked on death
37 mon $port, $otherport # kill otherport on abnormal death
38 mon $port, $otherport, @msg # send message on death
39
40=head1 CURRENT STATUS
41
42 bin/aemp - stable.
43 AnyEvent::MP - stable API, should work.
44 AnyEvent::MP::Intro - explains most concepts.
45 AnyEvent::MP::Kernel - mostly stable.
46 AnyEvent::MP::Global - stable but incomplete, protocol not yet final.
47
48stay tuned.
27 49
28=head1 DESCRIPTION 50=head1 DESCRIPTION
29 51
30This module (-family) implements a simple message passing framework. 52This module (-family) implements a simple message passing framework.
31 53
32Despite its simplicity, you can securely message other processes running 54Despite its simplicity, you can securely message other processes running
33on the same or other hosts. 55on the same or other hosts, and you can supervise entities remotely.
34 56
35At the moment, this module family is severly brokena nd underdocumented, 57For an introduction to this module family, see the L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro>
36so do not use. This was uploaded mainly to reserve the CPAN namespace - 58manual page and the examples under F<eg/>.
37stay tuned!
38 59
39=head1 CONCEPTS 60=head1 CONCEPTS
40 61
41=over 4 62=over 4
42 63
43=item port 64=item port
44 65
45A port is something you can send messages to with the C<snd> function, and 66Not to be confused with a TCP port, a "port" is something you can send
46you can register C<rcv> handlers with. All C<rcv> handlers will receive 67messages to (with the C<snd> function).
47messages they match, messages will not be queued.
48 68
69Ports allow you to register C<rcv> handlers that can match all or just
70some messages. Messages send to ports will not be queued, regardless of
71anything was listening for them or not.
72
49=item port id - C<noderef#portname> 73=item port ID - C<nodeid#portname>
50 74
51A port id is always the noderef, a hash-mark (C<#>) as separator, followed 75A port ID is the concatenation of a node ID, a hash-mark (C<#>) as
52by a port name (a printable string of unspecified format). 76separator, and a port name (a printable string of unspecified format).
53 77
54=item node 78=item node
55 79
56A node is a single process containing at least one port - the node 80A node is a single process containing at least one port - the node port,
57port. You can send messages to node ports to let them create new ports, 81which enables nodes to manage each other remotely, and to create new
58among other things. 82ports.
59 83
60Initially, nodes are either private (single-process only) or hidden 84Nodes are either public (have one or more listening ports) or private
61(connected to a master node only). Only when they epxlicitly "become 85(no listening ports). Private nodes cannot talk to other private nodes
62public" can you send them messages from unrelated other nodes. 86currently.
63 87
64=item noderef - C<host:port,host:port...>, C<id@noderef>, C<id> 88=item node ID - C<[A-Z_][a-zA-Z0-9_\-.:]*>
65 89
66A noderef is a string that either uniquely identifies a given node (for 90A node ID is a string that uniquely identifies the node within a
67private and hidden nodes), or contains a recipe on how to reach a given 91network. Depending on the configuration used, node IDs can look like a
68node (for public nodes). 92hostname, a hostname and a port, or a random string. AnyEvent::MP itself
93doesn't interpret node IDs in any way.
94
95=item binds - C<ip:port>
96
97Nodes can only talk to each other by creating some kind of connection to
98each other. To do this, nodes should listen on one or more local transport
99endpoints - binds. Currently, only standard C<ip:port> specifications can
100be used, which specify TCP ports to listen on.
101
102=item seed nodes
103
104When a node starts, it knows nothing about the network. To teach the node
105about the network it first has to contact some other node within the
106network. This node is called a seed.
107
108Apart from the fact that other nodes know them as seed nodes and they have
109to have fixed listening addresses, seed nodes are perfectly normal nodes -
110any node can function as a seed node for others.
111
112In addition to discovering the network, seed nodes are also used to
113maintain the network and to connect nodes that otherwise would have
114trouble connecting. They form the backbone of an AnyEvent::MP network.
115
116Seed nodes are expected to be long-running, and at least one seed node
117should always be available. They should also be relatively responsive - a
118seed node that blocks for long periods will slow down everybody else.
119
120=item seeds - C<host:port>
121
122Seeds are transport endpoint(s) (usually a hostname/IP address and a
123TCP port) of nodes thta should be used as seed nodes.
124
125The nodes listening on those endpoints are expected to be long-running,
126and at least one of those should always be available. When nodes run out
127of connections (e.g. due to a network error), they try to re-establish
128connections to some seednodes again to join the network.
69 129
70=back 130=back
71 131
72=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS 132=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS
73 133
75 135
76=cut 136=cut
77 137
78package AnyEvent::MP; 138package AnyEvent::MP;
79 139
80use AnyEvent::MP::Base; 140use AnyEvent::MP::Kernel;
81 141
82use common::sense; 142use common::sense;
83 143
84use Carp (); 144use Carp ();
85 145
86use AE (); 146use AE ();
87 147
88use base "Exporter"; 148use base "Exporter";
89 149
90our $VERSION = '0.02'; 150our $VERSION = $AnyEvent::MP::Kernel::VERSION;
151
91our @EXPORT = qw( 152our @EXPORT = qw(
92 NODE $NODE *SELF node_of _any_ 153 NODE $NODE *SELF node_of after
93 become_slave become_public 154 configure
94 snd rcv mon kil reg psub 155 snd rcv mon mon_guard kil reg psub spawn cal
95 port 156 port
96); 157);
97 158
98our $SELF; 159our $SELF;
99 160
103 kil $SELF, die => $msg; 164 kil $SELF, die => $msg;
104} 165}
105 166
106=item $thisnode = NODE / $NODE 167=item $thisnode = NODE / $NODE
107 168
108The C<NODE> function returns, and the C<$NODE> variable contains 169The C<NODE> function returns, and the C<$NODE> variable contains, the node
109the noderef of the local node. The value is initialised by a call 170ID of the node running in the current process. This value is initialised by
110to C<become_public> or C<become_slave>, after which all local port 171a call to C<configure>.
111identifiers become invalid.
112 172
113=item $noderef = node_of $portid 173=item $nodeid = node_of $port
114 174
115Extracts and returns the noderef from a portid or a noderef. 175Extracts and returns the node ID from a port ID or a node ID.
176
177=item configure $profile, key => value...
178
179=item configure key => value...
180
181Before a node can talk to other nodes on the network (i.e. enter
182"distributed mode") it has to configure itself - the minimum a node needs
183to know is its own name, and optionally it should know the addresses of
184some other nodes in the network to discover other nodes.
185
186This function configures a node - it must be called exactly once (or
187never) before calling other AnyEvent::MP functions.
188
189=over 4
190
191=item step 1, gathering configuration from profiles
192
193The function first looks up a profile in the aemp configuration (see the
194L<aemp> commandline utility). The profile name can be specified via the
195named C<profile> parameter or can simply be the first parameter). If it is
196missing, then the nodename (F<uname -n>) will be used as profile name.
197
198The profile data is then gathered as follows:
199
200First, all remaining key => value pairs (all of which are conveniently
201undocumented at the moment) will be interpreted as configuration
202data. Then they will be overwritten by any values specified in the global
203default configuration (see the F<aemp> utility), then the chain of
204profiles chosen by the profile name (and any C<parent> attributes).
205
206That means that the values specified in the profile have highest priority
207and the values specified directly via C<configure> have lowest priority,
208and can only be used to specify defaults.
209
210If the profile specifies a node ID, then this will become the node ID of
211this process. If not, then the profile name will be used as node ID. The
212special node ID of C<anon/> will be replaced by a random node ID.
213
214=item step 2, bind listener sockets
215
216The next step is to look up the binds in the profile, followed by binding
217aemp protocol listeners on all binds specified (it is possible and valid
218to have no binds, meaning that the node cannot be contacted form the
219outside. This means the node cannot talk to other nodes that also have no
220binds, but it can still talk to all "normal" nodes).
221
222If the profile does not specify a binds list, then a default of C<*> is
223used, meaning the node will bind on a dynamically-assigned port on every
224local IP address it finds.
225
226=item step 3, connect to seed nodes
227
228As the last step, the seeds list from the profile is passed to the
229L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> module, which will then use it to keep
230connectivity with at least one node at any point in time.
231
232=back
233
234Example: become a distributed node using the local node name as profile.
235This should be the most common form of invocation for "daemon"-type nodes.
236
237 configure
238
239Example: become an anonymous node. This form is often used for commandline
240clients.
241
242 configure nodeid => "anon/";
243
244Example: configure a node using a profile called seed, which si suitable
245for a seed node as it binds on all local addresses on a fixed port (4040,
246customary for aemp).
247
248 # use the aemp commandline utility
249 # aemp profile seed nodeid anon/ binds '*:4040'
250
251 # then use it
252 configure profile => "seed";
253
254 # or simply use aemp from the shell again:
255 # aemp run profile seed
256
257 # or provide a nicer-to-remember nodeid
258 # aemp run profile seed nodeid "$(hostname)"
116 259
117=item $SELF 260=item $SELF
118 261
119Contains the current port id while executing C<rcv> callbacks or C<psub> 262Contains the current port id while executing C<rcv> callbacks or C<psub>
120blocks. 263blocks.
121 264
122=item SELF, %SELF, @SELF... 265=item *SELF, SELF, %SELF, @SELF...
123 266
124Due to some quirks in how perl exports variables, it is impossible to 267Due to some quirks in how perl exports variables, it is impossible to
125just export C<$SELF>, all the symbols called C<SELF> are exported by this 268just export C<$SELF>, all the symbols named C<SELF> are exported by this
126module, but only C<$SELF> is currently used. 269module, but only C<$SELF> is currently used.
127 270
128=item snd $portid, type => @data 271=item snd $port, type => @data
129 272
130=item snd $portid, @msg 273=item snd $port, @msg
131 274
132Send the given message to the given port ID, which can identify either 275Send the given message to the given port, which can identify either a
133a local or a remote port, and can be either a string or soemthignt hat 276local or a remote port, and must be a port ID.
134stringifies a sa port ID (such as a port object :).
135 277
136While the message can be about anything, it is highly recommended to use a 278While the message can be almost anything, it is highly recommended to
137string as first element (a portid, or some word that indicates a request 279use a string as first element (a port ID, or some word that indicates a
138type etc.). 280request type etc.) and to consist if only simple perl values (scalars,
281arrays, hashes) - if you think you need to pass an object, think again.
139 282
140The message data effectively becomes read-only after a call to this 283The message data logically becomes read-only after a call to this
141function: modifying any argument is not allowed and can cause many 284function: modifying any argument (or values referenced by them) is
142problems. 285forbidden, as there can be considerable time between the call to C<snd>
286and the time the message is actually being serialised - in fact, it might
287never be copied as within the same process it is simply handed to the
288receiving port.
143 289
144The type of data you can transfer depends on the transport protocol: when 290The type of data you can transfer depends on the transport protocol: when
145JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting 291JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting
146of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything 292of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything
147that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local 293that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local
148node, anything can be passed. 294node, anything can be passed. Best rely only on the common denominator of
295these.
149 296
150=item kil $portid[, @reason] 297=item $local_port = port
151 298
152Kill the specified port with the given C<@reason>. 299Create a new local port object and returns its port ID. Initially it has
300no callbacks set and will throw an error when it receives messages.
153 301
154If no C<@reason> is specified, then the port is killed "normally" (linked 302=item $local_port = port { my @msg = @_ }
155ports will not be kileld, or even notified).
156 303
157Otherwise, linked ports get killed with the same reason (second form of 304Creates a new local port, and returns its ID. Semantically the same as
158C<mon>, see below). 305creating a port and calling C<rcv $port, $callback> on it.
159 306
160Runtime errors while evaluating C<rcv> callbacks or inside C<psub> blocks 307The block will be called for every message received on the port, with the
161will be reported as reason C<< die => $@ >>. 308global variable C<$SELF> set to the port ID. Runtime errors will cause the
309port to be C<kil>ed. The message will be passed as-is, no extra argument
310(i.e. no port ID) will be passed to the callback.
162 311
163Transport/communication errors are reported as C<< transport_error => 312If you want to stop/destroy the port, simply C<kil> it:
164$message >>.
165 313
166=item $guard = mon $portid, $cb->(@reason) 314 my $port = port {
315 my @msg = @_;
316 ...
317 kil $SELF;
318 };
167 319
168=item $guard = mon $portid, $otherport 320=cut
169 321
170=item $guard = mon $portid, $otherport, @msg 322sub rcv($@);
171 323
324sub _kilme {
325 die "received message on port without callback";
326}
327
328sub port(;&) {
329 my $id = "$UNIQ." . $ID++;
330 my $port = "$NODE#$id";
331
332 rcv $port, shift || \&_kilme;
333
334 $port
335}
336
337=item rcv $local_port, $callback->(@msg)
338
339Replaces the default callback on the specified port. There is no way to
340remove the default callback: use C<sub { }> to disable it, or better
341C<kil> the port when it is no longer needed.
342
343The global C<$SELF> (exported by this module) contains C<$port> while
344executing the callback. Runtime errors during callback execution will
345result in the port being C<kil>ed.
346
347The default callback received all messages not matched by a more specific
348C<tag> match.
349
350=item rcv $local_port, tag => $callback->(@msg_without_tag), ...
351
352Register (or replace) callbacks to be called on messages starting with the
353given tag on the given port (and return the port), or unregister it (when
354C<$callback> is C<$undef> or missing). There can only be one callback
355registered for each tag.
356
357The original message will be passed to the callback, after the first
358element (the tag) has been removed. The callback will use the same
359environment as the default callback (see above).
360
361Example: create a port and bind receivers on it in one go.
362
363 my $port = rcv port,
364 msg1 => sub { ... },
365 msg2 => sub { ... },
366 ;
367
368Example: create a port, bind receivers and send it in a message elsewhere
369in one go:
370
371 snd $otherport, reply =>
372 rcv port,
373 msg1 => sub { ... },
374 ...
375 ;
376
377Example: temporarily register a rcv callback for a tag matching some port
378(e.g. for a rpc reply) and unregister it after a message was received.
379
380 rcv $port, $otherport => sub {
381 my @reply = @_;
382
383 rcv $SELF, $otherport;
384 };
385
386=cut
387
388sub rcv($@) {
389 my $port = shift;
390 my ($nodeid, $portid) = split /#/, $port, 2;
391
392 $NODE{$nodeid} == $NODE{""}
393 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on local ports, caught";
394
395 while (@_) {
396 if (ref $_[0]) {
397 if (my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid}) {
398 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
399 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
400
401 $self->[2] = shift;
402 } else {
403 my $cb = shift;
404 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
405 local $SELF = $port;
406 eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
407 };
408 }
409 } elsif (defined $_[0]) {
410 my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid} ||= do {
411 my $self = bless [$PORT{$port} || sub { }, { }, $port], "AnyEvent::MP::Port";
412
413 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
414 local $SELF = $port;
415
416 if (my $cb = $self->[1]{$_[0]}) {
417 shift;
418 eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
419 } else {
420 &{ $self->[0] };
421 }
422 };
423
424 $self
425 };
426
427 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
428 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
429
430 my ($tag, $cb) = splice @_, 0, 2;
431
432 if (defined $cb) {
433 $self->[1]{$tag} = $cb;
434 } else {
435 delete $self->[1]{$tag};
436 }
437 }
438 }
439
440 $port
441}
442
443=item $closure = psub { BLOCK }
444
445Remembers C<$SELF> and creates a closure out of the BLOCK. When the
446closure is executed, sets up the environment in the same way as in C<rcv>
447callbacks, i.e. runtime errors will cause the port to get C<kil>ed.
448
449This is useful when you register callbacks from C<rcv> callbacks:
450
451 rcv delayed_reply => sub {
452 my ($delay, @reply) = @_;
453 my $timer = AE::timer $delay, 0, psub {
454 snd @reply, $SELF;
455 };
456 };
457
458=cut
459
460sub psub(&) {
461 my $cb = shift;
462
463 my $port = $SELF
464 or Carp::croak "psub can only be called from within rcv or psub callbacks, not";
465
466 sub {
467 local $SELF = $port;
468
469 if (wantarray) {
470 my @res = eval { &$cb };
471 _self_die if $@;
472 @res
473 } else {
474 my $res = eval { &$cb };
475 _self_die if $@;
476 $res
477 }
478 }
479}
480
481=item $guard = mon $port, $cb->(@reason) # call $cb when $port dies
482
483=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport # kill $rcvport when $port dies
484
485=item $guard = mon $port # kill $SELF when $port dies
486
487=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport, @msg # send a message when $port dies
488
172Monitor the given port and do something when the port is killed. 489Monitor the given port and do something when the port is killed or
490messages to it were lost, and optionally return a guard that can be used
491to stop monitoring again.
173 492
174In the first form, the callback is simply called with any number 493In the first form (callback), the callback is simply called with any
175of C<@reason> elements (no @reason means that the port was deleted 494number of C<@reason> elements (no @reason means that the port was deleted
176"normally"). Note also that I<< the callback B<must> never die >>, so use 495"normally"). Note also that I<< the callback B<must> never die >>, so use
177C<eval> if unsure. 496C<eval> if unsure.
178 497
179In the second form, the other port will be C<kil>'ed with C<@reason>, iff 498In the second form (another port given), the other port (C<$rcvport>)
180a @reason was specified, i.e. on "normal" kils nothing happens, while 499will be C<kil>'ed with C<@reason>, if a @reason was specified, i.e. on
181under all other conditions, the other port is killed with the same reason. 500"normal" kils nothing happens, while under all other conditions, the other
501port is killed with the same reason.
182 502
503The third form (kill self) is the same as the second form, except that
504C<$rvport> defaults to C<$SELF>.
505
183In the last form, a message of the form C<@msg, @reason> will be C<snd>. 506In the last form (message), a message of the form C<@msg, @reason> will be
507C<snd>.
508
509Monitoring-actions are one-shot: once messages are lost (and a monitoring
510alert was raised), they are removed and will not trigger again.
511
512As a rule of thumb, monitoring requests should always monitor a port from
513a local port (or callback). The reason is that kill messages might get
514lost, just like any other message. Another less obvious reason is that
515even monitoring requests can get lost (for example, when the connection
516to the other node goes down permanently). When monitoring a port locally
517these problems do not exist.
518
519C<mon> effectively guarantees that, in the absence of hardware failures,
520after starting the monitor, either all messages sent to the port will
521arrive, or the monitoring action will be invoked after possible message
522loss has been detected. No messages will be lost "in between" (after
523the first lost message no further messages will be received by the
524port). After the monitoring action was invoked, further messages might get
525delivered again.
526
527Inter-host-connection timeouts and monitoring depend on the transport
528used. The only transport currently implemented is TCP, and AnyEvent::MP
529relies on TCP to detect node-downs (this can take 10-15 minutes on a
530non-idle connection, and usually around two hours for idle conenctions).
531
532This means that monitoring is good for program errors and cleaning up
533stuff eventually, but they are no replacement for a timeout when you need
534to ensure some maximum latency.
184 535
185Example: call a given callback when C<$port> is killed. 536Example: call a given callback when C<$port> is killed.
186 537
187 mon $port, sub { warn "port died because of <@_>\n" }; 538 mon $port, sub { warn "port died because of <@_>\n" };
188 539
189Example: kill ourselves when C<$port> is killed abnormally. 540Example: kill ourselves when C<$port> is killed abnormally.
190 541
191 mon $port, $self; 542 mon $port;
192 543
193Example: send us a restart message another C<$port> is killed. 544Example: send us a restart message when another C<$port> is killed.
194 545
195 mon $port, $self => "restart"; 546 mon $port, $self => "restart";
196 547
197=cut 548=cut
198 549
199sub mon { 550sub mon {
200 my ($noderef, $port, $cb) = ((split /#/, shift, 2), shift); 551 my ($nodeid, $port) = split /#/, shift, 2;
201 552
202 my $node = $NODE{$noderef} || add_node $noderef; 553 my $node = $NODE{$nodeid} || add_node $nodeid;
203 554
204 #TODO: ports must not be references 555 my $cb = @_ ? shift : $SELF || Carp::croak 'mon: called with one argument only, but $SELF not set,';
205 if (!ref $cb or "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $cb) { 556
557 unless (ref $cb) {
206 if (@_) { 558 if (@_) {
207 # send a kill info message 559 # send a kill info message
208 my (@msg) = ($cb, @_); 560 my (@msg) = ($cb, @_);
209 $cb = sub { snd @msg, @_ }; 561 $cb = sub { snd @msg, @_ };
210 } else { 562 } else {
226is killed, the references will be freed. 578is killed, the references will be freed.
227 579
228Optionally returns a guard that will stop the monitoring. 580Optionally returns a guard that will stop the monitoring.
229 581
230This function is useful when you create e.g. timers or other watchers and 582This function is useful when you create e.g. timers or other watchers and
231want to free them when the port gets killed: 583want to free them when the port gets killed (note the use of C<psub>):
232 584
233 $port->rcv (start => sub { 585 $port->rcv (start => sub {
234 my $timer; $timer = mon_guard $port, AE::timer 1, 1, sub { 586 my $timer; $timer = mon_guard $port, AE::timer 1, 1, psub {
235 undef $timer if 0.9 < rand; 587 undef $timer if 0.9 < rand;
236 }); 588 });
237 }); 589 });
238 590
239=cut 591=cut
240 592
241sub mon_guard { 593sub mon_guard {
242 my ($port, @refs) = @_; 594 my ($port, @refs) = @_;
243 595
596 #TODO: mon-less form?
597
244 mon $port, sub { 0 && @refs } 598 mon $port, sub { 0 && @refs }
245} 599}
246 600
247=item $local_port = port 601=item kil $port[, @reason]
248 602
249Create a new local port object that supports message matching. 603Kill the specified port with the given C<@reason>.
250 604
251=item $portid = port { my @msg = @_; $finished } 605If no C<@reason> is specified, then the port is killed "normally" (ports
606monitoring other ports will not necessarily die because a port dies
607"normally").
252 608
253Creates a "mini port", that is, a very lightweight port without any 609Otherwise, linked ports get killed with the same reason (second form of
254pattern matching behind it, and returns its ID. 610C<mon>, see above).
255 611
256The block will be called for every message received on the port. When the 612Runtime errors while evaluating C<rcv> callbacks or inside C<psub> blocks
257callback returns a true value its job is considered "done" and the port 613will be reported as reason C<< die => $@ >>.
258will be destroyed. Otherwise it will stay alive.
259 614
260The message will be passed as-is, no extra argument (i.e. no port id) will 615Transport/communication errors are reported as C<< transport_error =>
261be passed to the callback. 616$message >>.
262 617
263If you need the local port id in the callback, this works nicely: 618=cut
264 619
265 my $port; $port = miniport { 620=item $port = spawn $node, $initfunc[, @initdata]
266 snd $otherport, reply => $port; 621
622Creates a port on the node C<$node> (which can also be a port ID, in which
623case it's the node where that port resides).
624
625The port ID of the newly created port is returned immediately, and it is
626possible to immediately start sending messages or to monitor the port.
627
628After the port has been created, the init function is called on the remote
629node, in the same context as a C<rcv> callback. This function must be a
630fully-qualified function name (e.g. C<MyApp::Chat::Server::init>). To
631specify a function in the main program, use C<::name>.
632
633If the function doesn't exist, then the node tries to C<require>
634the package, then the package above the package and so on (e.g.
635C<MyApp::Chat::Server>, C<MyApp::Chat>, C<MyApp>) until the function
636exists or it runs out of package names.
637
638The init function is then called with the newly-created port as context
639object (C<$SELF>) and the C<@initdata> values as arguments. It I<must>
640call one of the C<rcv> functions to set callbacks on C<$SELF>, otherwise
641the port might not get created.
642
643A common idiom is to pass a local port, immediately monitor the spawned
644port, and in the remote init function, immediately monitor the passed
645local port. This two-way monitoring ensures that both ports get cleaned up
646when there is a problem.
647
648C<spawn> guarantees that the C<$initfunc> has no visible effects on the
649caller before C<spawn> returns (by delaying invocation when spawn is
650called for the local node).
651
652Example: spawn a chat server port on C<$othernode>.
653
654 # this node, executed from within a port context:
655 my $server = spawn $othernode, "MyApp::Chat::Server::connect", $SELF;
656 mon $server;
657
658 # init function on C<$othernode>
659 sub connect {
660 my ($srcport) = @_;
661
662 mon $srcport;
663
664 rcv $SELF, sub {
665 ...
666 };
667 }
668
669=cut
670
671sub _spawn {
672 my $port = shift;
673 my $init = shift;
674
675 # rcv will create the actual port
676 local $SELF = "$NODE#$port";
677 eval {
678 &{ load_func $init }
267 }; 679 };
680 _self_die if $@;
681}
268 682
269=cut 683sub spawn(@) {
684 my ($nodeid, undef) = split /#/, shift, 2;
270 685
271sub port(;&) {
272 my $id = "$UNIQ." . $ID++; 686 my $id = "$RUNIQ." . $ID++;
273 my $port = "$NODE#$id";
274 687
275 if (@_) { 688 $_[0] =~ /::/
276 my $cb = shift; 689 or Carp::croak "spawn init function must be a fully-qualified name, caught";
277 $PORT{$id} = sub { 690
278 local $SELF = $port; 691 snd_to_func $nodeid, "AnyEvent::MP::_spawn" => $id, @_;
279 eval { 692
280 &$cb 693 "$nodeid#$id"
281 and kil $id; 694}
282 }; 695
283 _self_die if $@; 696=item after $timeout, @msg
697
698=item after $timeout, $callback
699
700Either sends the given message, or call the given callback, after the
701specified number of seconds.
702
703This is simply a utility function that comes in handy at times - the
704AnyEvent::MP author is not convinced of the wisdom of having it, though,
705so it may go away in the future.
706
707=cut
708
709sub after($@) {
710 my ($timeout, @action) = @_;
711
712 my $t; $t = AE::timer $timeout, 0, sub {
713 undef $t;
714 ref $action[0]
715 ? $action[0]()
716 : snd @action;
717 };
718}
719
720=item cal $port, @msg, $callback[, $timeout]
721
722A simple form of RPC - sends a message to the given C<$port> with the
723given contents (C<@msg>), but adds a reply port to the message.
724
725The reply port is created temporarily just for the purpose of receiving
726the reply, and will be C<kil>ed when no longer needed.
727
728A reply message sent to the port is passed to the C<$callback> as-is.
729
730If an optional time-out (in seconds) is given and it is not C<undef>,
731then the callback will be called without any arguments after the time-out
732elapsed and the port is C<kil>ed.
733
734If no time-out is given, then the local port will monitor the remote port
735instead, so it eventually gets cleaned-up.
736
737Currently this function returns the temporary port, but this "feature"
738might go in future versions unless you can make a convincing case that
739this is indeed useful for something.
740
741=cut
742
743sub cal(@) {
744 my $timeout = ref $_[-1] ? undef : pop;
745 my $cb = pop;
746
747 my $port = port {
748 undef $timeout;
749 kil $SELF;
750 &$cb;
751 };
752
753 if (defined $timeout) {
754 $timeout = AE::timer $timeout, 0, sub {
755 undef $timeout;
756 kil $port;
757 $cb->();
284 }; 758 };
285 } else { 759 } else {
286 my $self = bless { 760 mon $_[0], sub {
287 id => "$NODE#$id", 761 kil $port;
288 }, "AnyEvent::MP::Port"; 762 $cb->();
289
290 $PORT_DATA{$id} = $self;
291 $PORT{$id} = sub {
292 local $SELF = $port;
293
294 eval {
295 for (@{ $self->{rc0}{$_[0]} }) {
296 $_ && &{$_->[0]}
297 && undef $_;
298 }
299
300 for (@{ $self->{rcv}{$_[0]} }) {
301 $_ && [@_[1 .. @{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1]
302 && &{$_->[0]}
303 && undef $_;
304 }
305
306 for (@{ $self->{any} }) {
307 $_ && [@_[0 .. $#{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1]
308 && &{$_->[0]}
309 && undef $_;
310 }
311 };
312 _self_die if $@;
313 }; 763 };
314 } 764 }
315 765
766 push @_, $port;
767 &snd;
768
316 $port 769 $port
317} 770}
318 771
319=item reg $portid, $name
320
321Registers the given port under the name C<$name>. If the name already
322exists it is replaced.
323
324A port can only be registered under one well known name.
325
326A port automatically becomes unregistered when it is killed.
327
328=cut
329
330sub reg(@) {
331 my ($portid, $name) = @_;
332
333 $REG{$name} = $portid;
334}
335
336=item rcv $portid, tagstring => $callback->(@msg), ...
337
338=item rcv $portid, $smartmatch => $callback->(@msg), ...
339
340=item rcv $portid, [$smartmatch...] => $callback->(@msg), ...
341
342Register callbacks to be called on matching messages on the given port.
343
344The callback has to return a true value when its work is done, after
345which is will be removed, or a false value in which case it will stay
346registered.
347
348The global C<$SELF> (exported by this module) contains C<$portid> while
349executing the callback.
350
351Runtime errors wdurign callback execution will result in the port being
352C<kil>ed.
353
354If the match is an array reference, then it will be matched against the
355first elements of the message, otherwise only the first element is being
356matched.
357
358Any element in the match that is specified as C<_any_> (a function
359exported by this module) matches any single element of the message.
360
361While not required, it is highly recommended that the first matching
362element is a string identifying the message. The one-string-only match is
363also the most efficient match (by far).
364
365=cut
366
367sub rcv($@) {
368 my ($noderef, $port) = split /#/, shift, 2;
369
370 ($NODE{$noderef} || add_node $noderef) == $NODE{""}
371 or Carp::croak "$noderef#$port: rcv can only be called on local ports, caught";
372
373 my $self = $PORT_DATA{$port}
374 or Carp::croak "$noderef#$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
375
376 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
377 or Carp::croak "$noderef#$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
378
379 while (@_) {
380 my ($match, $cb) = splice @_, 0, 2;
381
382 if (!ref $match) {
383 push @{ $self->{rc0}{$match} }, [$cb];
384 } elsif (("ARRAY" eq ref $match && !ref $match->[0])) {
385 my ($type, @match) = @$match;
386 @match
387 ? push @{ $self->{rcv}{$match->[0]} }, [$cb, \@match]
388 : push @{ $self->{rc0}{$match->[0]} }, [$cb];
389 } else {
390 push @{ $self->{any} }, [$cb, $match];
391 }
392 }
393}
394
395=item $closure = psub { BLOCK }
396
397Remembers C<$SELF> and creates a closure out of the BLOCK. When the
398closure is executed, sets up the environment in the same way as in C<rcv>
399callbacks, i.e. runtime errors will cause the port to get C<kil>ed.
400
401This is useful when you register callbacks from C<rcv> callbacks:
402
403 rcv delayed_reply => sub {
404 my ($delay, @reply) = @_;
405 my $timer = AE::timer $delay, 0, psub {
406 snd @reply, $SELF;
407 };
408 };
409
410=cut
411
412sub psub(&) {
413 my $cb = shift;
414
415 my $port = $SELF
416 or Carp::croak "psub can only be called from within rcv or psub callbacks, not";
417
418 sub {
419 local $SELF = $port;
420
421 if (wantarray) {
422 my @res = eval { &$cb };
423 _self_die if $@;
424 @res
425 } else {
426 my $res = eval { &$cb };
427 _self_die if $@;
428 $res
429 }
430 }
431}
432
433=back 772=back
434 773
435=head1 FUNCTIONS FOR NODES 774=head1 AnyEvent::MP vs. Distributed Erlang
775
776AnyEvent::MP got lots of its ideas from distributed Erlang (Erlang node
777== aemp node, Erlang process == aemp port), so many of the documents and
778programming techniques employed by Erlang apply to AnyEvent::MP. Here is a
779sample:
780
781 http://www.Erlang.se/doc/programming_rules.shtml
782 http://Erlang.org/doc/getting_started/part_frame.html # chapters 3 and 4
783 http://Erlang.org/download/Erlang-book-part1.pdf # chapters 5 and 6
784 http://Erlang.org/download/armstrong_thesis_2003.pdf # chapters 4 and 5
785
786Despite the similarities, there are also some important differences:
436 787
437=over 4 788=over 4
438 789
439=item become_public endpoint... 790=item * Node IDs are arbitrary strings in AEMP.
440 791
441Tells the node to become a public node, i.e. reachable from other nodes. 792Erlang relies on special naming and DNS to work everywhere in the same
793way. AEMP relies on each node somehow knowing its own address(es) (e.g. by
794configuration or DNS), but will otherwise discover other odes itself.
442 795
443If no arguments are given, or the first argument is C<undef>, then 796=item * Erlang has a "remote ports are like local ports" philosophy, AEMP
444AnyEvent::MP tries to bind on port C<4040> on all IP addresses that the 797uses "local ports are like remote ports".
445local nodename resolves to.
446 798
447Otherwise the first argument must be an array-reference with transport 799The failure modes for local ports are quite different (runtime errors
448endpoints ("ip:port", "hostname:port") or port numbers (in which case the 800only) then for remote ports - when a local port dies, you I<know> it dies,
449local nodename is used as hostname). The endpoints are all resolved and 801when a connection to another node dies, you know nothing about the other
450will become the node reference. 802port.
451 803
452=cut 804Erlang pretends remote ports are as reliable as local ports, even when
805they are not.
806
807AEMP encourages a "treat remote ports differently" philosophy, with local
808ports being the special case/exception, where transport errors cannot
809occur.
810
811=item * Erlang uses processes and a mailbox, AEMP does not queue.
812
813Erlang uses processes that selectively receive messages, and therefore
814needs a queue. AEMP is event based, queuing messages would serve no
815useful purpose. For the same reason the pattern-matching abilities of
816AnyEvent::MP are more limited, as there is little need to be able to
817filter messages without dequeuing them.
818
819(But see L<Coro::MP> for a more Erlang-like process model on top of AEMP).
820
821=item * Erlang sends are synchronous, AEMP sends are asynchronous.
822
823Sending messages in Erlang is synchronous and blocks the process (and
824so does not need a queue that can overflow). AEMP sends are immediate,
825connection establishment is handled in the background.
826
827=item * Erlang suffers from silent message loss, AEMP does not.
828
829Erlang makes few guarantees on messages delivery - messages can get lost
830without any of the processes realising it (i.e. you send messages a, b,
831and c, and the other side only receives messages a and c).
832
833AEMP guarantees correct ordering, and the guarantee that after one message
834is lost, all following ones sent to the same port are lost as well, until
835monitoring raises an error, so there are no silent "holes" in the message
836sequence.
837
838=item * Erlang can send messages to the wrong port, AEMP does not.
839
840In Erlang it is quite likely that a node that restarts reuses a process ID
841known to other nodes for a completely different process, causing messages
842destined for that process to end up in an unrelated process.
843
844AEMP never reuses port IDs, so old messages or old port IDs floating
845around in the network will not be sent to an unrelated port.
846
847=item * Erlang uses unprotected connections, AEMP uses secure
848authentication and can use TLS.
849
850AEMP can use a proven protocol - TLS - to protect connections and
851securely authenticate nodes.
852
853=item * The AEMP protocol is optimised for both text-based and binary
854communications.
855
856The AEMP protocol, unlike the Erlang protocol, supports both programming
857language independent text-only protocols (good for debugging) and binary,
858language-specific serialisers (e.g. Storable). By default, unless TLS is
859used, the protocol is actually completely text-based.
860
861It has also been carefully designed to be implementable in other languages
862with a minimum of work while gracefully degrading functionality to make the
863protocol simple.
864
865=item * AEMP has more flexible monitoring options than Erlang.
866
867In Erlang, you can chose to receive I<all> exit signals as messages
868or I<none>, there is no in-between, so monitoring single processes is
869difficult to implement. Monitoring in AEMP is more flexible than in
870Erlang, as one can choose between automatic kill, exit message or callback
871on a per-process basis.
872
873=item * Erlang tries to hide remote/local connections, AEMP does not.
874
875Monitoring in Erlang is not an indicator of process death/crashes, in the
876same way as linking is (except linking is unreliable in Erlang).
877
878In AEMP, you don't "look up" registered port names or send to named ports
879that might or might not be persistent. Instead, you normally spawn a port
880on the remote node. The init function monitors you, and you monitor the
881remote port. Since both monitors are local to the node, they are much more
882reliable (no need for C<spawn_link>).
883
884This also saves round-trips and avoids sending messages to the wrong port
885(hard to do in Erlang).
453 886
454=back 887=back
455 888
456=head1 NODE MESSAGES 889=head1 RATIONALE
457
458Nodes understand the following messages sent to them. Many of them take
459arguments called C<@reply>, which will simply be used to compose a reply
460message - C<$reply[0]> is the port to reply to, C<$reply[1]> the type and
461the remaining arguments are simply the message data.
462 890
463=over 4 891=over 4
464 892
465=cut 893=item Why strings for port and node IDs, why not objects?
466 894
467=item lookup => $name, @reply 895We considered "objects", but found that the actual number of methods
896that can be called are quite low. Since port and node IDs travel over
897the network frequently, the serialising/deserialising would add lots of
898overhead, as well as having to keep a proxy object everywhere.
468 899
469Replies with the port ID of the specified well-known port, or C<undef>. 900Strings can easily be printed, easily serialised etc. and need no special
901procedures to be "valid".
470 902
471=item devnull => ... 903And as a result, a miniport consists of a single closure stored in a
904global hash - it can't become much cheaper.
472 905
473Generic data sink/CPU heat conversion. 906=item Why favour JSON, why not a real serialising format such as Storable?
474 907
475=item relay => $port, @msg 908In fact, any AnyEvent::MP node will happily accept Storable as framing
909format, but currently there is no way to make a node use Storable by
910default (although all nodes will accept it).
476 911
477Simply forwards the message to the given port. 912The default framing protocol is JSON because a) JSON::XS is many times
913faster for small messages and b) most importantly, after years of
914experience we found that object serialisation is causing more problems
915than it solves: Just like function calls, objects simply do not travel
916easily over the network, mostly because they will always be a copy, so you
917always have to re-think your design.
478 918
479=item eval => $string[ @reply] 919Keeping your messages simple, concentrating on data structures rather than
480 920objects, will keep your messages clean, tidy and efficient.
481Evaluates the given string. If C<@reply> is given, then a message of the
482form C<@reply, $@, @evalres> is sent.
483
484Example: crash another node.
485
486 snd $othernode, eval => "exit";
487
488=item time => @reply
489
490Replies the the current node time to C<@reply>.
491
492Example: tell the current node to send the current time to C<$myport> in a
493C<timereply> message.
494
495 snd $NODE, time => $myport, timereply => 1, 2;
496 # => snd $myport, timereply => 1, 2, <time>
497 921
498=back 922=back
499 923
500=head1 SEE ALSO 924=head1 SEE ALSO
925
926L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro> - a gentle introduction.
927
928L<AnyEvent::MP::Kernel> - more, lower-level, stuff.
929
930L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> - network maintainance and port groups, to find
931your applications.
932
933L<AnyEvent::MP::LogCatcher> - simple service to display log messages from
934all nodes.
501 935
502L<AnyEvent>. 936L<AnyEvent>.
503 937
504=head1 AUTHOR 938=head1 AUTHOR
505 939

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