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Revision 1.27 by root, Tue Aug 4 22:13:45 2009 UTC vs.
Revision 1.141 by root, Fri Mar 23 03:24:41 2012 UTC

1	=head1 NAME	1	=head1 NAME
2		2
3	AnyEvent::MP - multi-processing/message-passing framework	3	AnyEvent::MP - erlang-style multi-processing/message-passing framework
4		4
5	=head1 SYNOPSIS	5	=head1 SYNOPSIS
6		6
7	use AnyEvent::MP;	7	use AnyEvent::MP;
8		8
9	$NODE # contains this node's noderef	9	$NODE # contains this node's node ID
10	NODE # returns this node's noderef	10	NODE # returns this node's node ID
11	NODE $port # returns the noderef of the port
12		11
		12	$SELF # receiving/own port id in rcv callbacks
		13
		14	# initialise the node so it can send/receive messages
		15	configure;
		16
		17	# ports are message destinations
		18
		19	# sending messages
13	snd $port, type => data...;	20	snd $port, type => data...;
		21	snd $port, @msg;
		22	snd @msg_with_first_element_being_a_port;
14		23
15	$SELF # receiving/own port id in rcv callbacks	24	# creating/using ports, the simple way
		25	my $simple_port = port { my @msg = @_ };
16		26
17	rcv $port, smartmatch => $cb->($port, @msg);	27	# creating/using ports, tagged message matching
18		28	my $port = port;
19	# examples:
20	rcv $port2, ping => sub { snd $_[0], "pong"; 0 };	29	rcv $port, ping => sub { snd $_[0], "pong" };
21	rcv $port1, pong => sub { warn "pong received\n" };	30	rcv $port, pong => sub { warn "pong received\n" };
22	snd $port2, ping => $port1;
23		31
24	# more, smarter, matches (_any_ is exported by this module)	32	# create a port on another node
25	rcv $port, [child_died => $pid] => sub { ...	33	my $port = spawn $node, $initfunc, @initdata;
26	rcv $port, [_any_, _any_, 3] => sub { .. $_[2] is 3	34
		35	# destroy a port again
		36	kil $port; # "normal" kill
		37	kil $port, my_error => "everything is broken"; # error kill
		38
		39	# monitoring
		40	mon $port, $cb->(@msg) # callback is invoked on death
		41	mon $port, $localport # kill localport on abnormal death
		42	mon $port, $localport, @msg # send message on death
		43
		44	# temporarily execute code in port context
		45	peval $port, sub { die "kill the port!" };
		46
		47	# execute callbacks in $SELF port context
		48	my $timer = AE::timer 1, 0, psub {
		49	die "kill the port, delayed";
		50	};
27		51
28	=head1 DESCRIPTION	52	=head1 DESCRIPTION
29		53
30	This module (-family) implements a simple message passing framework.	54	This module (-family) implements a simple message passing framework.
31		55
32	Despite its simplicity, you can securely message other processes running	56	Despite its simplicity, you can securely message other processes running
33	on the same or other hosts.	57	on the same or other hosts, and you can supervise entities remotely.
34		58
35	For an introduction to this module family, see the L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro>	59	For an introduction to this module family, see the L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro>
36	manual page.	60	manual page and the examples under F<eg/>.
37
38	At the moment, this module family is severly broken and underdocumented,
39	so do not use. This was uploaded mainly to reserve the CPAN namespace -
40	stay tuned! The basic API should be finished, however.
41		61
42	=head1 CONCEPTS	62	=head1 CONCEPTS
43		63
44	=over 4	64	=over 4
45		65
46	=item port	66	=item port
47		67
48	A port is something you can send messages to with the C<snd> function, and	68	Not to be confused with a TCP port, a "port" is something you can send
49	you can register C<rcv> handlers with. All C<rcv> handlers will receive	69	messages to (with the C<snd> function).
50	messages they match, messages will not be queued.
51		70
		71	Ports allow you to register C<rcv> handlers that can match all or just
		72	some messages. Messages send to ports will not be queued, regardless of
		73	anything was listening for them or not.
		74
		75	Ports are represented by (printable) strings called "port IDs".
		76
52	=item port id - C<noderef#portname>	77	=item port ID - C<nodeid#portname>
53		78
54	A port id is always the noderef, a hash-mark (C<#>) as separator, followed	79	A port ID is the concatenation of a node ID, a hash-mark (C<#>)
55	by a port name (a printable string of unspecified format).	80	as separator, and a port name (a printable string of unspecified
		81	format created by AnyEvent::MP).
56		82
57	=item node	83	=item node
58		84
59	A node is a single process containing at least one port - the node	85	A node is a single process containing at least one port - the node port,
60	port. You can send messages to node ports to let them create new ports,	86	which enables nodes to manage each other remotely, and to create new
61	among other things.	87	ports.
62		88
63	Initially, nodes are either private (single-process only) or hidden	89	Nodes are either public (have one or more listening ports) or private
64	(connected to a master node only). Only when they epxlicitly "become	90	(no listening ports). Private nodes cannot talk to other private nodes
65	public" can you send them messages from unrelated other nodes.	91	currently, but all nodes can talk to public nodes.
66		92
67	=item noderef - C<host:port,host:port...>, C<id@noderef>, C<id>	93	Nodes is represented by (printable) strings called "node IDs".
68		94
		95	=item node ID - C<[A-Za-z0-9_\-.:]*>
		96
69	A noderef is a string that either uniquely identifies a given node (for	97	A node ID is a string that uniquely identifies the node within a
70	private and hidden nodes), or contains a recipe on how to reach a given	98	network. Depending on the configuration used, node IDs can look like a
71	node (for public nodes).	99	hostname, a hostname and a port, or a random string. AnyEvent::MP itself
		100	doesn't interpret node IDs in any way except to uniquely identify a node.
		101
		102	=item binds - C<ip:port>
		103
		104	Nodes can only talk to each other by creating some kind of connection to
		105	each other. To do this, nodes should listen on one or more local transport
		106	endpoints - binds.
		107
		108	Currently, only standard C<ip:port> specifications can be used, which
		109	specify TCP ports to listen on. So a bind is basically just a tcp socket
		110	in listening mode thta accepts conenctions form other nodes.
		111
		112	=item seed nodes
		113
		114	When a node starts, it knows nothing about the network it is in - it
		115	needs to connect to at least one other node that is already in the
		116	network. These other nodes are called "seed nodes".
		117
		118	Seed nodes themselves are not special - they are seed nodes only because
		119	some other node I<uses> them as such, but any node can be used as seed
		120	node for other nodes, and eahc node cna use a different set of seed nodes.
		121
		122	In addition to discovering the network, seed nodes are also used to
		123	maintain the network - all nodes using the same seed node form are part of
		124	the same network. If a network is split into multiple subnets because e.g.
		125	the network link between the parts goes down, then using the same seed
		126	nodes for all nodes ensures that eventually the subnets get merged again.
		127
		128	Seed nodes are expected to be long-running, and at least one seed node
		129	should always be available. They should also be relatively responsive - a
		130	seed node that blocks for long periods will slow down everybody else.
		131
		132	For small networks, it's best if every node uses the same set of seed
		133	nodes. For large networks, it can be useful to specify "regional" seed
		134	nodes for most nodes in an area, and use all seed nodes as seed nodes for
		135	each other. What's important is that all seed nodes connections form a
		136	complete graph, so that the network cannot split into separate subnets
		137	forever.
		138
		139	Seed nodes are represented by seed IDs.
		140
		141	=item seed IDs - C<host:port>
		142
		143	Seed IDs are transport endpoint(s) (usually a hostname/IP address and a
		144	TCP port) of nodes that should be used as seed nodes.
		145
		146	=item global nodes
		147
		148	An AEMP network needs a discovery service - nodes need to know how to
		149	connect to other nodes they only know by name. In addition, AEMP offers a
		150	distributed "group database", which maps group names to a list of strings
		151	- for example, to register worker ports.
		152
		153	A network needs at least one global node to work, and allows every node to
		154	be a global node.
		155
		156	Any node that loads the L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> module becomes a global
		157	node and tries to keep connections to all other nodes. So while it can
		158	make sense to make every node "global" in small networks, it usually makes
		159	sense to only make seed nodes into global nodes in large networks (nodes
		160	keep connections to seed nodes and global nodes, so makign them the same
		161	reduces overhead).
72		162
73	=back	163	=back
74		164
75	=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS	165	=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS
76		166
…		…
78		168
79	=cut	169	=cut
80		170
81	package AnyEvent::MP;	171	package AnyEvent::MP;
82		172
		173	use AnyEvent::MP::Config ();
83	use AnyEvent::MP::Base;	174	use AnyEvent::MP::Kernel;
		175	use AnyEvent::MP::Kernel qw(%NODE %PORT %PORT_DATA $UNIQ $RUNIQ $ID);
84		176
85	use common::sense;	177	use common::sense;
86		178
87	use Carp ();	179	use Carp ();
88		180
89	use AE ();	181	use AnyEvent ();
		182	use Guard ();
90		183
91	use base "Exporter";	184	use base "Exporter";
92		185
93	our $VERSION = '0.1';	186	our $VERSION = $AnyEvent::MP::Config::VERSION;
		187
94	our @EXPORT = qw(	188	our @EXPORT = qw(
95	NODE $NODE *SELF node_of _any_	189	NODE $NODE *SELF node_of after
96	become_slave become_public	190	configure
97	snd rcv mon kil reg psub	191	snd rcv mon mon_guard kil psub peval spawn cal
98	port	192	port
		193	db_set db_del db_reg
		194	db_mon db_family db_keys db_values
99	);	195	);
100		196
101	our $SELF;	197	our $SELF;
102		198
103	sub _self_die() {	199	sub _self_die() {
…		…
106	kil $SELF, die => $msg;	202	kil $SELF, die => $msg;
107	}	203	}
108		204
109	=item $thisnode = NODE / $NODE	205	=item $thisnode = NODE / $NODE
110		206
111	The C<NODE> function returns, and the C<$NODE> variable contains	207	The C<NODE> function returns, and the C<$NODE> variable contains, the node
112	the noderef of the local node. The value is initialised by a call	208	ID of the node running in the current process. This value is initialised by
113	to C<become_public> or C<become_slave>, after which all local port	209	a call to C<configure>.
114	identifiers become invalid.
115		210
116	=item $noderef = node_of $portid	211	=item $nodeid = node_of $port
117		212
118	Extracts and returns the noderef from a portid or a noderef.	213	Extracts and returns the node ID from a port ID or a node ID.
		214
		215	=item configure $profile, key => value...
		216
		217	=item configure key => value...
		218
		219	Before a node can talk to other nodes on the network (i.e. enter
		220	"distributed mode") it has to configure itself - the minimum a node needs
		221	to know is its own name, and optionally it should know the addresses of
		222	some other nodes in the network to discover other nodes.
		223
		224	This function configures a node - it must be called exactly once (or
		225	never) before calling other AnyEvent::MP functions.
		226
		227	The key/value pairs are basically the same ones as documented for the
		228	F<aemp> command line utility (sans the set/del prefix), with these additions:
		229
		230	=over 4
		231
		232	=item norc => $boolean (default false)
		233
		234	If true, then the rc file (e.g. F<~/.perl-anyevent-mp>) will I<not>
		235	be consulted - all configuraiton options must be specified in the
		236	C<configure> call.
		237
		238	=item force => $boolean (default false)
		239
		240	IF true, then the values specified in the C<configure> will take
		241	precedence over any values configured via the rc file. The default is for
		242	the rc file to override any options specified in the program.
		243
		244	=item secure => $pass->(@msg)
		245
		246	In addition to specifying a boolean, you can specify a code reference that
		247	is called for every code execution attempt - the execution request is
		248	granted iff the callback returns a true value.
		249
		250	Most of the time the callback should look only at
		251	C<$AnyEvent::MP::Kernel::SRCNODE> to make a decision, and not at the
		252	actual message (which can be about anything, and is mostly provided for
		253	diagnostic purposes).
		254
		255	See F<semp setsecure> for more info.
		256
		257	=back
		258
		259	=over 4
		260
		261	=item step 1, gathering configuration from profiles
		262
		263	The function first looks up a profile in the aemp configuration (see the
		264	L<aemp> commandline utility). The profile name can be specified via the
		265	named C<profile> parameter or can simply be the first parameter). If it is
		266	missing, then the nodename (F<uname -n>) will be used as profile name.
		267
		268	The profile data is then gathered as follows:
		269
		270	First, all remaining key => value pairs (all of which are conveniently
		271	undocumented at the moment) will be interpreted as configuration
		272	data. Then they will be overwritten by any values specified in the global
		273	default configuration (see the F<aemp> utility), then the chain of
		274	profiles chosen by the profile name (and any C<parent> attributes).
		275
		276	That means that the values specified in the profile have highest priority
		277	and the values specified directly via C<configure> have lowest priority,
		278	and can only be used to specify defaults.
		279
		280	If the profile specifies a node ID, then this will become the node ID of
		281	this process. If not, then the profile name will be used as node ID, with
		282	a unique randoms tring (C</%u>) appended.
		283
		284	The node ID can contain some C<%> sequences that are expanded: C<%n>
		285	is expanded to the local nodename, C<%u> is replaced by a random
		286	strign to make the node unique. For example, the F<aemp> commandline
		287	utility uses C<aemp/%n/%u> as nodename, which might expand to
		288	C<aemp/cerebro/ZQDGSIkRhEZQDGSIkRhE>.
		289
		290	=item step 2, bind listener sockets
		291
		292	The next step is to look up the binds in the profile, followed by binding
		293	aemp protocol listeners on all binds specified (it is possible and valid
		294	to have no binds, meaning that the node cannot be contacted form the
		295	outside. This means the node cannot talk to other nodes that also have no
		296	binds, but it can still talk to all "normal" nodes).
		297
		298	If the profile does not specify a binds list, then a default of C<*> is
		299	used, meaning the node will bind on a dynamically-assigned port on every
		300	local IP address it finds.
		301
		302	=item step 3, connect to seed nodes
		303
		304	As the last step, the seed ID list from the profile is passed to the
		305	L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> module, which will then use it to keep
		306	connectivity with at least one node at any point in time.
		307
		308	=back
		309
		310	Example: become a distributed node using the local node name as profile.
		311	This should be the most common form of invocation for "daemon"-type nodes.
		312
		313	configure
		314
		315	Example: become a semi-anonymous node. This form is often used for
		316	commandline clients.
		317
		318	configure nodeid => "myscript/%n/%u";
		319
		320	Example: configure a node using a profile called seed, which is suitable
		321	for a seed node as it binds on all local addresses on a fixed port (4040,
		322	customary for aemp).
		323
		324	# use the aemp commandline utility
		325	# aemp profile seed binds '*:4040'
		326
		327	# then use it
		328	configure profile => "seed";
		329
		330	# or simply use aemp from the shell again:
		331	# aemp run profile seed
		332
		333	# or provide a nicer-to-remember nodeid
		334	# aemp run profile seed nodeid "$(hostname)"
119		335
120	=item $SELF	336	=item $SELF
121		337
122	Contains the current port id while executing C<rcv> callbacks or C<psub>	338	Contains the current port id while executing C<rcv> callbacks or C<psub>
123	blocks.	339	blocks.
124		340
125	=item SELF, %SELF, @SELF...	341	=item *SELF, SELF, %SELF, @SELF...
126		342
127	Due to some quirks in how perl exports variables, it is impossible to	343	Due to some quirks in how perl exports variables, it is impossible to
128	just export C<$SELF>, all the symbols called C<SELF> are exported by this	344	just export C<$SELF>, all the symbols named C<SELF> are exported by this
129	module, but only C<$SELF> is currently used.	345	module, but only C<$SELF> is currently used.
130		346
131	=item snd $portid, type => @data	347	=item snd $port, type => @data
132		348
133	=item snd $portid, @msg	349	=item snd $port, @msg
134		350
135	Send the given message to the given port ID, which can identify either	351	Send the given message to the given port, which can identify either a
136	a local or a remote port, and can be either a string or soemthignt hat	352	local or a remote port, and must be a port ID.
137	stringifies a sa port ID (such as a port object :).
138		353
139	While the message can be about anything, it is highly recommended to use a	354	While the message can be almost anything, it is highly recommended to
140	string as first element (a portid, or some word that indicates a request	355	use a string as first element (a port ID, or some word that indicates a
141	type etc.).	356	request type etc.) and to consist if only simple perl values (scalars,
		357	arrays, hashes) - if you think you need to pass an object, think again.
142		358
143	The message data effectively becomes read-only after a call to this	359	The message data logically becomes read-only after a call to this
144	function: modifying any argument is not allowed and can cause many	360	function: modifying any argument (or values referenced by them) is
145	problems.	361	forbidden, as there can be considerable time between the call to C<snd>
		362	and the time the message is actually being serialised - in fact, it might
		363	never be copied as within the same process it is simply handed to the
		364	receiving port.
146		365
147	The type of data you can transfer depends on the transport protocol: when	366	The type of data you can transfer depends on the transport protocol: when
148	JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting	367	JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting
149	of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything	368	of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything
150	that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local	369	that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local
151	node, anything can be passed.	370	node, anything can be passed. Best rely only on the common denominator of
		371	these.
152		372
153	=item kil $portid[, @reason]	373	=item $local_port = port
154		374
155	Kill the specified port with the given C<@reason>.	375	Create a new local port object and returns its port ID. Initially it has
		376	no callbacks set and will throw an error when it receives messages.
156		377
157	If no C<@reason> is specified, then the port is killed "normally" (linked	378	=item $local_port = port { my @msg = @_ }
158	ports will not be kileld, or even notified).
159		379
160	Otherwise, linked ports get killed with the same reason (second form of	380	Creates a new local port, and returns its ID. Semantically the same as
161	C<mon>, see below).	381	creating a port and calling C<rcv $port, $callback> on it.
162		382
163	Runtime errors while evaluating C<rcv> callbacks or inside C<psub> blocks	383	The block will be called for every message received on the port, with the
164	will be reported as reason C<< die => $@ >>.	384	global variable C<$SELF> set to the port ID. Runtime errors will cause the
		385	port to be C<kil>ed. The message will be passed as-is, no extra argument
		386	(i.e. no port ID) will be passed to the callback.
165		387
166	Transport/communication errors are reported as C<< transport_error =>	388	If you want to stop/destroy the port, simply C<kil> it:
167	$message >>.
168		389
169	=item $guard = mon $portid, $cb->(@reason)	390	my $port = port {
170		391	my @msg = @_;
171	=item $guard = mon $portid, $otherport	392	...
172		393	kil $SELF;
173	=item $guard = mon $portid, $otherport, @msg	394	};
174
175	Monitor the given port and do something when the port is killed.
176
177	In the first form, the callback is simply called with any number
178	of C<@reason> elements (no @reason means that the port was deleted
179	"normally"). Note also that I<< the callback B<must> never die >>, so use
180	C<eval> if unsure.
181
182	In the second form, the other port will be C<kil>'ed with C<@reason>, iff
183	a @reason was specified, i.e. on "normal" kils nothing happens, while
184	under all other conditions, the other port is killed with the same reason.
185
186	In the last form, a message of the form C<@msg, @reason> will be C<snd>.
187
188	Example: call a given callback when C<$port> is killed.
189
190	mon $port, sub { warn "port died because of <@_>\n" };
191
192	Example: kill ourselves when C<$port> is killed abnormally.
193
194	mon $port, $self;
195
196	Example: send us a restart message another C<$port> is killed.
197
198	mon $port, $self => "restart";
199		395
200	=cut	396	=cut
201		397
202	sub mon {	398	sub rcv($@);
203	my ($noderef, $port, $cb) = ((split /#/, shift, 2), shift);
204		399
205	my $node = $NODE{$noderef} || add_node $noderef;	400	my $KILME = sub {
		401	(my $tag = substr $_[0], 0, 30) =~ s/([\x20-\x7e])/./g;
		402	kil $SELF, unhandled_message => "no callback found for message '$tag'";
		403	};
206		404
207	#TODO: ports must not be references	405	sub port(;&) {
208	if (!ref $cb or "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $cb) {	406	my $id = $UNIQ . ++$ID;
		407	my $port = "$NODE#$id";
		408
		409	rcv $port, shift || $KILME;
		410
		411	$port
		412	}
		413
		414	=item rcv $local_port, $callback->(@msg)
		415
		416	Replaces the default callback on the specified port. There is no way to
		417	remove the default callback: use C<sub { }> to disable it, or better
		418	C<kil> the port when it is no longer needed.
		419
		420	The global C<$SELF> (exported by this module) contains C<$port> while
		421	executing the callback. Runtime errors during callback execution will
		422	result in the port being C<kil>ed.
		423
		424	The default callback receives all messages not matched by a more specific
		425	C<tag> match.
		426
		427	=item rcv $local_port, tag => $callback->(@msg_without_tag), ...
		428
		429	Register (or replace) callbacks to be called on messages starting with the
		430	given tag on the given port (and return the port), or unregister it (when
		431	C<$callback> is C<$undef> or missing). There can only be one callback
		432	registered for each tag.
		433
		434	The original message will be passed to the callback, after the first
		435	element (the tag) has been removed. The callback will use the same
		436	environment as the default callback (see above).
		437
		438	Example: create a port and bind receivers on it in one go.
		439
		440	my $port = rcv port,
		441	msg1 => sub { ... },
		442	msg2 => sub { ... },
		443	;
		444
		445	Example: create a port, bind receivers and send it in a message elsewhere
		446	in one go:
		447
		448	snd $otherport, reply =>
		449	rcv port,
		450	msg1 => sub { ... },
		451	...
		452	;
		453
		454	Example: temporarily register a rcv callback for a tag matching some port
		455	(e.g. for an rpc reply) and unregister it after a message was received.
		456
		457	rcv $port, $otherport => sub {
		458	my @reply = @_;
		459
		460	rcv $SELF, $otherport;
		461	};
		462
		463	=cut
		464
		465	sub rcv($@) {
		466	my $port = shift;
		467	my ($nodeid, $portid) = split /#/, $port, 2;
		468
		469	$NODE{$nodeid} == $NODE{""}
		470	or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on local ports, caught";
		471
		472	while (@_) {
209	if (@_) {	473	if (ref $_[0]) {
210	# send a kill info message	474	if (my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid}) {
211	my (@msg) = ($cb, @_);	475	"AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
212	$cb = sub { snd @msg, @_ };	476	or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
		477
		478	$self->[0] = shift;
213	} else {	479	} else {
214	# simply kill other port	480	my $cb = shift;
215	my $port = $cb;	481	$PORT{$portid} = sub {
216	$cb = sub { kil $port, @_ if @_ };	482	local $SELF = $port;
		483	eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
		484	};
		485	}
		486	} elsif (defined $_[0]) {
		487	my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid} ||= do {
		488	my $self = bless [$PORT{$portid} || sub { }, { }, $port], "AnyEvent::MP::Port";
		489
		490	$PORT{$portid} = sub {
		491	local $SELF = $port;
		492
		493	if (my $cb = $self->[1]{$_[0]}) {
		494	shift;
		495	eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
		496	} else {
		497	&{ $self->[0] };
		498	}
		499	};
		500
		501	$self
		502	};
		503
		504	"AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
		505	or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
		506
		507	my ($tag, $cb) = splice @_, 0, 2;
		508
		509	if (defined $cb) {
		510	$self->[1]{$tag} = $cb;
		511	} else {
		512	delete $self->[1]{$tag};
		513	}
217	}	514	}
218	}	515	}
219		516
220	$node->monitor ($port, $cb);
221
222	defined wantarray
223	and AnyEvent::Util::guard { $node->unmonitor ($port, $cb) }
224	}
225
226	=item $guard = mon_guard $port, $ref, $ref...
227
228	Monitors the given C<$port> and keeps the passed references. When the port
229	is killed, the references will be freed.
230
231	Optionally returns a guard that will stop the monitoring.
232
233	This function is useful when you create e.g. timers or other watchers and
234	want to free them when the port gets killed:
235
236	$port->rcv (start => sub {
237	my $timer; $timer = mon_guard $port, AE::timer 1, 1, sub {
238	undef $timer if 0.9 < rand;
239	});
240	});
241
242	=cut
243
244	sub mon_guard {
245	my ($port, @refs) = @_;
246
247	mon $port, sub { 0 && @refs }
248	}
249
250	=item lnk $port1, $port2
251
252	Link two ports. This is simply a shorthand for:
253
254	mon $port1, $port2;
255	mon $port2, $port1;
256
257	It means that if either one is killed abnormally, the other one gets
258	killed as well.
259
260	=item $local_port = port
261
262	Create a new local port object that supports message matching.
263
264	=item $portid = port { my @msg = @_; $finished }
265
266	Creates a "mini port", that is, a very lightweight port without any
267	pattern matching behind it, and returns its ID.
268
269	The block will be called for every message received on the port. When the
270	callback returns a true value its job is considered "done" and the port
271	will be destroyed. Otherwise it will stay alive.
272
273	The message will be passed as-is, no extra argument (i.e. no port id) will
274	be passed to the callback.
275
276	If you need the local port id in the callback, this works nicely:
277
278	my $port; $port = miniport {
279	snd $otherport, reply => $port;
280	};
281
282	=cut
283
284	sub port(;&) {
285	my $id = "$UNIQ." . $ID++;
286	my $port = "$NODE#$id";
287
288	if (@_) {
289	my $cb = shift;
290	$PORT{$id} = sub {
291	local $SELF = $port;
292	eval {
293	&$cb
294	and kil $id;
295	};
296	_self_die if $@;
297	};
298	} else {
299	my $self = bless {
300	id => "$NODE#$id",
301	}, "AnyEvent::MP::Port";
302
303	$PORT_DATA{$id} = $self;
304	$PORT{$id} = sub {
305	local $SELF = $port;
306
307	eval {
308	for (@{ $self->{rc0}{$_[0]} }) {
309	$_ && &{$_->[0]}
310	&& undef $_;
311	}
312
313	for (@{ $self->{rcv}{$_[0]} }) {
314	$_ && [@_[1 .. @{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1]
315	&& &{$_->[0]}
316	&& undef $_;
317	}
318
319	for (@{ $self->{any} }) {
320	$_ && [@_[0 .. $#{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1]
321	&& &{$_->[0]}
322	&& undef $_;
323	}
324	};
325	_self_die if $@;
326	};
327	}
328
329	$port	517	$port
330	}	518	}
331		519
332	=item reg $portid, $name	520	=item peval $port, $coderef[, @args]
333		521
334	Registers the given port under the name C<$name>. If the name already	522	Evaluates the given C<$codref> within the contetx of C<$port>, that is,
335	exists it is replaced.	523	when the code throews an exception the C<$port> will be killed.
336		524
337	A port can only be registered under one well known name.	525	Any remaining args will be passed to the callback. Any return values will
		526	be returned to the caller.
338		527
339	A port automatically becomes unregistered when it is killed.	528	This is useful when you temporarily want to execute code in the context of
		529	a port.
		530
		531	Example: create a port and run some initialisation code in it's context.
		532
		533	my $port = port { ... };
		534
		535	peval $port, sub {
		536	init
		537	or die "unable to init";
		538	};
340		539
341	=cut	540	=cut
342		541
343	sub reg(@) {	542	sub peval($$) {
344	my ($portid, $name) = @_;	543	local $SELF = shift;
		544	my $cb = shift;
345		545
346	$REG{$name} = $portid;	546	if (wantarray) {
347	}	547	my @res = eval { &$cb };
348		548	_self_die if $@;
349	=item rcv $portid, tagstring => $callback->(@msg), ...	549	@res
350
351	=item rcv $portid, $smartmatch => $callback->(@msg), ...
352
353	=item rcv $portid, [$smartmatch...] => $callback->(@msg), ...
354
355	Register callbacks to be called on matching messages on the given port.
356
357	The callback has to return a true value when its work is done, after
358	which is will be removed, or a false value in which case it will stay
359	registered.
360
361	The global C<$SELF> (exported by this module) contains C<$portid> while
362	executing the callback.
363
364	Runtime errors wdurign callback execution will result in the port being
365	C<kil>ed.
366
367	If the match is an array reference, then it will be matched against the
368	first elements of the message, otherwise only the first element is being
369	matched.
370
371	Any element in the match that is specified as C<_any_> (a function
372	exported by this module) matches any single element of the message.
373
374	While not required, it is highly recommended that the first matching
375	element is a string identifying the message. The one-string-only match is
376	also the most efficient match (by far).
377
378	=cut
379
380	sub rcv($@) {
381	my ($noderef, $port) = split /#/, shift, 2;
382
383	($NODE{$noderef} || add_node $noderef) == $NODE{""}
384	or Carp::croak "$noderef#$port: rcv can only be called on local ports, caught";
385
386	my $self = $PORT_DATA{$port}
387	or Carp::croak "$noderef#$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
388
389	"AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
390	or Carp::croak "$noderef#$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
391
392	while (@_) {
393	my ($match, $cb) = splice @_, 0, 2;
394
395	if (!ref $match) {
396	push @{ $self->{rc0}{$match} }, [$cb];
397	} elsif (("ARRAY" eq ref $match && !ref $match->[0])) {
398	my ($type, @match) = @$match;
399	@match
400	? push @{ $self->{rcv}{$match->[0]} }, [$cb, \@match]
401	: push @{ $self->{rc0}{$match->[0]} }, [$cb];
402	} else {	550	} else {
403	push @{ $self->{any} }, [$cb, $match];	551	my $res = eval { &$cb };
404	}	552	_self_die if $@;
		553	$res
405	}	554	}
406	}	555	}
407		556
408	=item $closure = psub { BLOCK }	557	=item $closure = psub { BLOCK }
409		558
410	Remembers C<$SELF> and creates a closure out of the BLOCK. When the	559	Remembers C<$SELF> and creates a closure out of the BLOCK. When the
411	closure is executed, sets up the environment in the same way as in C<rcv>	560	closure is executed, sets up the environment in the same way as in C<rcv>
412	callbacks, i.e. runtime errors will cause the port to get C<kil>ed.	561	callbacks, i.e. runtime errors will cause the port to get C<kil>ed.
		562
		563	The effect is basically as if it returned C<< sub { peval $SELF, sub {
		564	BLOCK }, @_ } >>.
413		565
414	This is useful when you register callbacks from C<rcv> callbacks:	566	This is useful when you register callbacks from C<rcv> callbacks:
415		567
416	rcv delayed_reply => sub {	568	rcv delayed_reply => sub {
417	my ($delay, @reply) = @_;	569	my ($delay, @reply) = @_;
…		…
441	$res	593	$res
442	}	594	}
443	}	595	}
444	}	596	}
445		597
		598	=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport # kill $rcvport when $port dies
		599
		600	=item $guard = mon $port # kill $SELF when $port dies
		601
		602	=item $guard = mon $port, $cb->(@reason) # call $cb when $port dies
		603
		604	=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport, @msg # send a message when $port dies
		605
		606	Monitor the given port and do something when the port is killed or
		607	messages to it were lost, and optionally return a guard that can be used
		608	to stop monitoring again.
		609
		610	The first two forms distinguish between "normal" and "abnormal" kil's:
		611
		612	In the first form (another port given), if the C<$port> is C<kil>'ed with
		613	a non-empty reason, the other port (C<$rcvport>) will be kil'ed with the
		614	same reason. That is, on "normal" kil's nothing happens, while under all
		615	other conditions, the other port is killed with the same reason.
		616
		617	The second form (kill self) is the same as the first form, except that
		618	C<$rvport> defaults to C<$SELF>.
		619
		620	The remaining forms don't distinguish between "normal" and "abnormal" kil's
		621	- it's up to the callback or receiver to check whether the C<@reason> is
		622	empty and act accordingly.
		623
		624	In the third form (callback), the callback is simply called with any
		625	number of C<@reason> elements (empty @reason means that the port was deleted
		626	"normally"). Note also that I<< the callback B<must> never die >>, so use
		627	C<eval> if unsure.
		628
		629	In the last form (message), a message of the form C<$rcvport, @msg,
		630	@reason> will be C<snd>.
		631
		632	Monitoring-actions are one-shot: once messages are lost (and a monitoring
		633	alert was raised), they are removed and will not trigger again, even if it
		634	turns out that the port is still alive.
		635
		636	As a rule of thumb, monitoring requests should always monitor a remote
		637	port locally (using a local C<$rcvport> or a callback). The reason is that
		638	kill messages might get lost, just like any other message. Another less
		639	obvious reason is that even monitoring requests can get lost (for example,
		640	when the connection to the other node goes down permanently). When
		641	monitoring a port locally these problems do not exist.
		642
		643	C<mon> effectively guarantees that, in the absence of hardware failures,
		644	after starting the monitor, either all messages sent to the port will
		645	arrive, or the monitoring action will be invoked after possible message
		646	loss has been detected. No messages will be lost "in between" (after
		647	the first lost message no further messages will be received by the
		648	port). After the monitoring action was invoked, further messages might get
		649	delivered again.
		650
		651	Inter-host-connection timeouts and monitoring depend on the transport
		652	used. The only transport currently implemented is TCP, and AnyEvent::MP
		653	relies on TCP to detect node-downs (this can take 10-15 minutes on a
		654	non-idle connection, and usually around two hours for idle connections).
		655
		656	This means that monitoring is good for program errors and cleaning up
		657	stuff eventually, but they are no replacement for a timeout when you need
		658	to ensure some maximum latency.
		659
		660	Example: call a given callback when C<$port> is killed.
		661
		662	mon $port, sub { warn "port died because of <@_>\n" };
		663
		664	Example: kill ourselves when C<$port> is killed abnormally.
		665
		666	mon $port;
		667
		668	Example: send us a restart message when another C<$port> is killed.
		669
		670	mon $port, $self => "restart";
		671
		672	=cut
		673
		674	sub mon {
		675	my ($nodeid, $port) = split /#/, shift, 2;
		676
		677	my $node = $NODE{$nodeid} || add_node $nodeid;
		678
		679	my $cb = @_ ? shift : $SELF || Carp::croak 'mon: called with one argument only, but $SELF not set,';
		680
		681	unless (ref $cb) {
		682	if (@_) {
		683	# send a kill info message
		684	my (@msg) = ($cb, @_);
		685	$cb = sub { snd @msg, @_ };
		686	} else {
		687	# simply kill other port
		688	my $port = $cb;
		689	$cb = sub { kil $port, @_ if @_ };
		690	}
		691	}
		692
		693	$node->monitor ($port, $cb);
		694
		695	defined wantarray
		696	and ($cb += 0, Guard::guard { $node->unmonitor ($port, $cb) })
		697	}
		698
		699	=item $guard = mon_guard $port, $ref, $ref...
		700
		701	Monitors the given C<$port> and keeps the passed references. When the port
		702	is killed, the references will be freed.
		703
		704	Optionally returns a guard that will stop the monitoring.
		705
		706	This function is useful when you create e.g. timers or other watchers and
		707	want to free them when the port gets killed (note the use of C<psub>):
		708
		709	$port->rcv (start => sub {
		710	my $timer; $timer = mon_guard $port, AE::timer 1, 1, psub {
		711	undef $timer if 0.9 < rand;
		712	});
		713	});
		714
		715	=cut
		716
		717	sub mon_guard {
		718	my ($port, @refs) = @_;
		719
		720	#TODO: mon-less form?
		721
		722	mon $port, sub { 0 && @refs }
		723	}
		724
		725	=item kil $port[, @reason]
		726
		727	Kill the specified port with the given C<@reason>.
		728
		729	If no C<@reason> is specified, then the port is killed "normally" -
		730	monitor callback will be invoked, but the kil will not cause linked ports
		731	(C<mon $mport, $lport> form) to get killed.
		732
		733	If a C<@reason> is specified, then linked ports (C<mon $mport, $lport>
		734	form) get killed with the same reason.
		735
		736	Runtime errors while evaluating C<rcv> callbacks or inside C<psub> blocks
		737	will be reported as reason C<< die => $@ >>.
		738
		739	Transport/communication errors are reported as C<< transport_error =>
		740	$message >>.
		741
		742	Common idioms:
		743
		744	# silently remove yourself, do not kill linked ports
		745	kil $SELF;
		746
		747	# report a failure in some detail
		748	kil $SELF, failure_mode_1 => "it failed with too high temperature";
		749
		750	# do not waste much time with killing, just die when something goes wrong
		751	open my $fh, "<file"
		752	or die "file: $!";
		753
		754	=item $port = spawn $node, $initfunc[, @initdata]
		755
		756	Creates a port on the node C<$node> (which can also be a port ID, in which
		757	case it's the node where that port resides).
		758
		759	The port ID of the newly created port is returned immediately, and it is
		760	possible to immediately start sending messages or to monitor the port.
		761
		762	After the port has been created, the init function is called on the remote
		763	node, in the same context as a C<rcv> callback. This function must be a
		764	fully-qualified function name (e.g. C<MyApp::Chat::Server::init>). To
		765	specify a function in the main program, use C<::name>.
		766
		767	If the function doesn't exist, then the node tries to C<require>
		768	the package, then the package above the package and so on (e.g.
		769	C<MyApp::Chat::Server>, C<MyApp::Chat>, C<MyApp>) until the function
		770	exists or it runs out of package names.
		771
		772	The init function is then called with the newly-created port as context
		773	object (C<$SELF>) and the C<@initdata> values as arguments. It I<must>
		774	call one of the C<rcv> functions to set callbacks on C<$SELF>, otherwise
		775	the port might not get created.
		776
		777	A common idiom is to pass a local port, immediately monitor the spawned
		778	port, and in the remote init function, immediately monitor the passed
		779	local port. This two-way monitoring ensures that both ports get cleaned up
		780	when there is a problem.
		781
		782	C<spawn> guarantees that the C<$initfunc> has no visible effects on the
		783	caller before C<spawn> returns (by delaying invocation when spawn is
		784	called for the local node).
		785
		786	Example: spawn a chat server port on C<$othernode>.
		787
		788	# this node, executed from within a port context:
		789	my $server = spawn $othernode, "MyApp::Chat::Server::connect", $SELF;
		790	mon $server;
		791
		792	# init function on C<$othernode>
		793	sub connect {
		794	my ($srcport) = @_;
		795
		796	mon $srcport;
		797
		798	rcv $SELF, sub {
		799	...
		800	};
		801	}
		802
		803	=cut
		804
		805	sub _spawn {
		806	my $port = shift;
		807	my $init = shift;
		808
		809	# rcv will create the actual port
		810	local $SELF = "$NODE#$port";
		811	eval {
		812	&{ load_func $init }
		813	};
		814	_self_die if $@;
		815	}
		816
		817	sub spawn(@) {
		818	my ($nodeid, undef) = split /#/, shift, 2;
		819
		820	my $id = $RUNIQ . ++$ID;
		821
		822	$_[0] =~ /::/
		823	or Carp::croak "spawn init function must be a fully-qualified name, caught";
		824
		825	snd_to_func $nodeid, "AnyEvent::MP::_spawn" => $id, @_;
		826
		827	"$nodeid#$id"
		828	}
		829
		830
		831	=item after $timeout, @msg
		832
		833	=item after $timeout, $callback
		834
		835	Either sends the given message, or call the given callback, after the
		836	specified number of seconds.
		837
		838	This is simply a utility function that comes in handy at times - the
		839	AnyEvent::MP author is not convinced of the wisdom of having it, though,
		840	so it may go away in the future.
		841
		842	=cut
		843
		844	sub after($@) {
		845	my ($timeout, @action) = @_;
		846
		847	my $t; $t = AE::timer $timeout, 0, sub {
		848	undef $t;
		849	ref $action[0]
		850	? $action[0]()
		851	: snd @action;
		852	};
		853	}
		854
		855	#=item $cb2 = timeout $seconds, $cb[, @args]
		856
		857	=item cal $port, @msg, $callback[, $timeout]
		858
		859	A simple form of RPC - sends a message to the given C<$port> with the
		860	given contents (C<@msg>), but adds a reply port to the message.
		861
		862	The reply port is created temporarily just for the purpose of receiving
		863	the reply, and will be C<kil>ed when no longer needed.
		864
		865	A reply message sent to the port is passed to the C<$callback> as-is.
		866
		867	If an optional time-out (in seconds) is given and it is not C<undef>,
		868	then the callback will be called without any arguments after the time-out
		869	elapsed and the port is C<kil>ed.
		870
		871	If no time-out is given (or it is C<undef>), then the local port will
		872	monitor the remote port instead, so it eventually gets cleaned-up.
		873
		874	Currently this function returns the temporary port, but this "feature"
		875	might go in future versions unless you can make a convincing case that
		876	this is indeed useful for something.
		877
		878	=cut
		879
		880	sub cal(@) {
		881	my $timeout = ref $_[-1] ? undef : pop;
		882	my $cb = pop;
		883
		884	my $port = port {
		885	undef $timeout;
		886	kil $SELF;
		887	&$cb;
		888	};
		889
		890	if (defined $timeout) {
		891	$timeout = AE::timer $timeout, 0, sub {
		892	undef $timeout;
		893	kil $port;
		894	$cb->();
		895	};
		896	} else {
		897	mon $_[0], sub {
		898	kil $port;
		899	$cb->();
		900	};
		901	}
		902
		903	push @_, $port;
		904	&snd;
		905
		906	$port
		907	}
		908
446	=back	909	=back
447		910
448	=head1 FUNCTIONS FOR NODES	911	=head1 DISTRIBUTED DATABASE
449		912
		913	AnyEvent::MP comes with a simple distributed database. The database will
		914	be mirrored asynchronously on all global nodes. Other nodes bind to one
		915	of the global nodes for their needs. Every node has a "local database"
		916	which contains all the values that are set locally. All local databases
		917	are merged together to form the global database, which can be queried.
		918
		919	The database structure is that of a two-level hash - the database hash
		920	contains hashes which contain values, similarly to a perl hash of hashes,
		921	i.e.:
		922
		923	$DATABASE{$family}{$subkey} = $value
		924
		925	The top level hash key is called "family", and the second-level hash key
		926	is called "subkey" or simply "key".
		927
		928	The family must be alphanumeric, i.e. start with a letter and consist
		929	of letters, digits, underscores and colons (C<[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_:]*>,
		930	pretty much like Perl module names.
		931
		932	As the family namespace is global, it is recommended to prefix family names
		933	with the name of the application or module using it.
		934
		935	The subkeys must be non-empty strings, with no further restrictions.
		936
		937	The values should preferably be strings, but other perl scalars should
		938	work as well (such as C<undef>, arrays and hashes).
		939
		940	Every database entry is owned by one node - adding the same family/subkey
		941	combination on multiple nodes will not cause discomfort for AnyEvent::MP,
		942	but the result might be nondeterministic, i.e. the key might have
		943	different values on different nodes.
		944
		945	Different subkeys in the same family can be owned by different nodes
		946	without problems, and in fact, this is the common method to create worker
		947	pools. For example, a worker port for image scaling might do this:
		948
		949	db_set my_image_scalers => $port;
		950
		951	And clients looking for an image scaler will want to get the
		952	C<my_image_scalers> keys from time to time:
		953
		954	db_keys my_image_scalers => sub {
		955	@ports = @{ $_[0] };
		956	};
		957
		958	Or better yet, they want to monitor the database family, so they always
		959	have a reasonable up-to-date copy:
		960
		961	db_mon my_image_scalers => sub {
		962	@ports = keys %{ $_[0] };
		963	};
		964
		965	In general, you can set or delete single subkeys, but query and monitor
		966	whole families only.
		967
		968	If you feel the need to monitor or query a single subkey, try giving it
		969	it's own family.
		970
450	=over 4	971	=over
451		972
452	=item become_public endpoint...	973	=item $guard = db_set $family => $subkey [=> $value]
453		974
454	Tells the node to become a public node, i.e. reachable from other nodes.	975	Sets (or replaces) a key to the database - if C<$value> is omitted,
		976	C<undef> is used instead.
455		977
456	If no arguments are given, or the first argument is C<undef>, then	978	When called in non-void context, C<db_set> returns a guard that
457	AnyEvent::MP tries to bind on port C<4040> on all IP addresses that the	979	automatically calls C<db_del> when it is destroyed.
458	local nodename resolves to.
459		980
460	Otherwise the first argument must be an array-reference with transport	981	=item db_del $family => $subkey...
461	endpoints ("ip:port", "hostname:port") or port numbers (in which case the	982
462	local nodename is used as hostname). The endpoints are all resolved and	983	Deletes one or more subkeys from the database family.
463	will become the node reference.	984
		985	=item $guard = db_reg $family => $port => $value
		986
		987	=item $guard = db_reg $family => $port
		988
		989	=item $guard = db_reg $family
		990
		991	Registers a port in the given family and optionally returns a guard to
		992	remove it.
		993
		994	This function basically does the same as:
		995
		996	db_set $family => $port => $value
		997
		998	Except that the port is monitored and automatically removed from the
		999	database family when it is kil'ed.
		1000
		1001	If C<$value> is missing, C<undef> is used. If C<$port> is missing, then
		1002	C<$SELF> is used.
		1003
		1004	This function is most useful to register a port in some port group (which
		1005	is just another name for a database family), and have it removed when the
		1006	port is gone. This works best when the port is a local port.
464		1007
465	=cut	1008	=cut
466		1009
		1010	sub db_reg($$;$) {
		1011	my $family = shift;
		1012	my $port = @_ ? shift : $SELF;
		1013
		1014	my $clr = sub { db_del $family => $port };
		1015	mon $port, $clr;
		1016
		1017	db_set $family => $port => $_[0];
		1018
		1019	defined wantarray
		1020	and &Guard::guard ($clr)
		1021	}
		1022
		1023	=item db_family $family => $cb->(\%familyhash)
		1024
		1025	Queries the named database C<$family> and call the callback with the
		1026	family represented as a hash. You can keep and freely modify the hash.
		1027
		1028	=item db_keys $family => $cb->(\@keys)
		1029
		1030	Same as C<db_family>, except it only queries the family I<subkeys> and passes
		1031	them as array reference to the callback.
		1032
		1033	=item db_values $family => $cb->(\@values)
		1034
		1035	Same as C<db_family>, except it only queries the family I<values> and passes them
		1036	as array reference to the callback.
		1037
		1038	=item $guard = db_mon $family => $cb->($familyhash, \@added, \@changed, \@deleted)
		1039
		1040	Creates a monitor on the given database family. Each time a key is set
		1041	or or is deleted the callback is called with a hash containing the
		1042	database family and three lists of added, changed and deleted subkeys,
		1043	respectively. If no keys have changed then the array reference might be
		1044	C<undef> or even missing.
		1045
		1046	If not called in void context, a guard object is returned that, when
		1047	destroyed, stops the monitor.
		1048
		1049	The family hash reference and the key arrays belong to AnyEvent::MP and
		1050	B<must not be modified or stored> by the callback. When in doubt, make a
		1051	copy.
		1052
		1053	As soon as possible after the monitoring starts, the callback will be
		1054	called with the intiial contents of the family, even if it is empty,
		1055	i.e. there will always be a timely call to the callback with the current
		1056	contents.
		1057
		1058	It is possible that the callback is called with a change event even though
		1059	the subkey is already present and the value has not changed.
		1060
		1061	The monitoring stops when the guard object is destroyed.
		1062
		1063	Example: on every change to the family "mygroup", print out all keys.
		1064
		1065	my $guard = db_mon mygroup => sub {
		1066	my ($family, $a, $c, $d) = @_;
		1067	print "mygroup members: ", (join " ", keys %$family), "\n";
		1068	};
		1069
		1070	Exmaple: wait until the family "My::Module::workers" is non-empty.
		1071
		1072	my $guard; $guard = db_mon My::Module::workers => sub {
		1073	my ($family, $a, $c, $d) = @_;
		1074	return unless %$family;
		1075	undef $guard;
		1076	print "My::Module::workers now nonempty\n";
		1077	};
		1078
		1079	Example: print all changes to the family "AnyRvent::Fantasy::Module".
		1080
		1081	my $guard = db_mon AnyRvent::Fantasy::Module => sub {
		1082	my ($family, $a, $c, $d) = @_;
		1083
		1084	print "+$_=$family->{$_}\n" for @$a;
		1085	print "*$_=$family->{$_}\n" for @$c;
		1086	print "-$_=$family->{$_}\n" for @$d;
		1087	};
		1088
		1089	=cut
		1090
467	=back	1091	=back
468		1092
469	=head1 NODE MESSAGES
470
471	Nodes understand the following messages sent to them. Many of them take
472	arguments called C<@reply>, which will simply be used to compose a reply
473	message - C<$reply[0]> is the port to reply to, C<$reply[1]> the type and
474	the remaining arguments are simply the message data.
475
476	=over 4
477
478	=cut
479
480	=item lookup => $name, @reply
481
482	Replies with the port ID of the specified well-known port, or C<undef>.
483
484	=item devnull => ...
485
486	Generic data sink/CPU heat conversion.
487
488	=item relay => $port, @msg
489
490	Simply forwards the message to the given port.
491
492	=item eval => $string[ @reply]
493
494	Evaluates the given string. If C<@reply> is given, then a message of the
495	form C<@reply, $@, @evalres> is sent.
496
497	Example: crash another node.
498
499	snd $othernode, eval => "exit";
500
501	=item time => @reply
502
503	Replies the the current node time to C<@reply>.
504
505	Example: tell the current node to send the current time to C<$myport> in a
506	C<timereply> message.
507
508	snd $NODE, time => $myport, timereply => 1, 2;
509	# => snd $myport, timereply => 1, 2, <time>
510
511	=back
512
513	=head1 AnyEvent::MP vs. Distributed Erlang	1093	=head1 AnyEvent::MP vs. Distributed Erlang
514		1094
515	AnyEvent::MP got lots of its ideas from distributed erlang (erlang node	1095	AnyEvent::MP got lots of its ideas from distributed Erlang (Erlang node
516	== aemp node, erlang process == aemp port), so many of the documents and	1096	== aemp node, Erlang process == aemp port), so many of the documents and
517	programming techniques employed by erlang apply to AnyEvent::MP. Here is a	1097	programming techniques employed by Erlang apply to AnyEvent::MP. Here is a
518	sample:	1098	sample:
519		1099
520	http://www.erlang.se/doc/programming_rules.shtml	1100	http://www.erlang.se/doc/programming_rules.shtml
521	http://erlang.org/doc/getting_started/part_frame.html # chapters 3 and 4	1101	http://erlang.org/doc/getting_started/part_frame.html # chapters 3 and 4
522	http://erlang.org/download/erlang-book-part1.pdf # chapters 5 and 6	1102	http://erlang.org/download/erlang-book-part1.pdf # chapters 5 and 6
…		…
524		1104
525	Despite the similarities, there are also some important differences:	1105	Despite the similarities, there are also some important differences:
526		1106
527	=over 4	1107	=over 4
528		1108
529	=item * Node references contain the recipe on how to contact them.	1109	=item * Node IDs are arbitrary strings in AEMP.
530		1110
531	Erlang relies on special naming and DNS to work everywhere in the	1111	Erlang relies on special naming and DNS to work everywhere in the same
532	same way. AEMP relies on each node knowing it's own address(es), with	1112	way. AEMP relies on each node somehow knowing its own address(es) (e.g. by
533	convenience functionality.	1113	configuration or DNS), and possibly the addresses of some seed nodes, but
		1114	will otherwise discover other nodes (and their IDs) itself.
534		1115
535	This means that AEMP requires a less tightly controlled environment at the	1116	=item * Erlang has a "remote ports are like local ports" philosophy, AEMP
536	cost of longer node references and a slightly higher management overhead.	1117	uses "local ports are like remote ports".
		1118
		1119	The failure modes for local ports are quite different (runtime errors
		1120	only) then for remote ports - when a local port dies, you I<know> it dies,
		1121	when a connection to another node dies, you know nothing about the other
		1122	port.
		1123
		1124	Erlang pretends remote ports are as reliable as local ports, even when
		1125	they are not.
		1126
		1127	AEMP encourages a "treat remote ports differently" philosophy, with local
		1128	ports being the special case/exception, where transport errors cannot
		1129	occur.
537		1130
538	=item * Erlang uses processes and a mailbox, AEMP does not queue.	1131	=item * Erlang uses processes and a mailbox, AEMP does not queue.
539		1132
540	Erlang uses processes that selctively receive messages, and therefore	1133	Erlang uses processes that selectively receive messages out of order, and
541	needs a queue. AEMP is event based, queuing messages would serve no useful	1134	therefore needs a queue. AEMP is event based, queuing messages would serve
542	purpose.	1135	no useful purpose. For the same reason the pattern-matching abilities
		1136	of AnyEvent::MP are more limited, as there is little need to be able to
		1137	filter messages without dequeuing them.
543		1138
544	(But see L<Coro::MP> for a more erlang-like process model on top of AEMP).	1139	This is not a philosophical difference, but simply stems from AnyEvent::MP
		1140	being event-based, while Erlang is process-based.
		1141
		1142	You cna have a look at L<Coro::MP> for a more Erlang-like process model on
		1143	top of AEMP and Coro threads.
545		1144
546	=item * Erlang sends are synchronous, AEMP sends are asynchronous.	1145	=item * Erlang sends are synchronous, AEMP sends are asynchronous.
547		1146
548	Sending messages in erlang is synchronous and blocks the process. AEMP	1147	Sending messages in Erlang is synchronous and blocks the process until
549	sends are immediate, connection establishment is handled in the	1148	a conenction has been established and the message sent (and so does not
550	background.	1149	need a queue that can overflow). AEMP sends return immediately, connection
		1150	establishment is handled in the background.
551		1151
552	=item * Erlang can silently lose messages, AEMP cannot.	1152	=item * Erlang suffers from silent message loss, AEMP does not.
553		1153
554	Erlang makes few guarantees on messages delivery - messages can get lost	1154	Erlang implements few guarantees on messages delivery - messages can get
555	without any of the processes realising it (i.e. you send messages a, b,	1155	lost without any of the processes realising it (i.e. you send messages a,
556	and c, and the other side only receives messages a and c).	1156	b, and c, and the other side only receives messages a and c).
557		1157
558	AEMP guarantees correct ordering, and the guarantee that there are no	1158	AEMP guarantees (modulo hardware errors) correct ordering, and the
		1159	guarantee that after one message is lost, all following ones sent to the
		1160	same port are lost as well, until monitoring raises an error, so there are
559	holes in the message sequence.	1161	no silent "holes" in the message sequence.
560		1162
561	=item * In erlang, processes can be declared dead and later be found to be	1163	If you want your software to be very reliable, you have to cope with
562	alive.	1164	corrupted and even out-of-order messages in both Erlang and AEMP. AEMP
563		1165	simply tries to work better in common error cases, such as when a network
564	In erlang it can happen that a monitored process is declared dead and	1166	link goes down.
565	linked processes get killed, but later it turns out that the process is
566	still alive - and can receive messages.
567
568	In AEMP, when port monitoring detects a port as dead, then that port will
569	eventually be killed - it cannot happen that a node detects a port as dead
570	and then later sends messages to it, finding it is still alive.
571		1167
572	=item * Erlang can send messages to the wrong port, AEMP does not.	1168	=item * Erlang can send messages to the wrong port, AEMP does not.
573		1169
574	In erlang it is quite possible that a node that restarts reuses a process	1170	In Erlang it is quite likely that a node that restarts reuses an Erlang
575	ID known to other nodes for a completely different process, causing	1171	process ID known to other nodes for a completely different process,
576	messages destined for that process to end up in an unrelated process.	1172	causing messages destined for that process to end up in an unrelated
		1173	process.
577		1174
578	AEMP never reuses port IDs, so old messages or old port IDs floating	1175	AEMP does not reuse port IDs, so old messages or old port IDs floating
579	around in the network will not be sent to an unrelated port.	1176	around in the network will not be sent to an unrelated port.
580		1177
581	=item * Erlang uses unprotected connections, AEMP uses secure	1178	=item * Erlang uses unprotected connections, AEMP uses secure
582	authentication and can use TLS.	1179	authentication and can use TLS.
583		1180
584	AEMP can use a proven protocol - SSL/TLS - to protect connections and	1181	AEMP can use a proven protocol - TLS - to protect connections and
585	securely authenticate nodes.	1182	securely authenticate nodes.
586		1183
		1184	=item * The AEMP protocol is optimised for both text-based and binary
		1185	communications.
		1186
		1187	The AEMP protocol, unlike the Erlang protocol, supports both programming
		1188	language independent text-only protocols (good for debugging), and binary,
		1189	language-specific serialisers (e.g. Storable). By default, unless TLS is
		1190	used, the protocol is actually completely text-based.
		1191
		1192	It has also been carefully designed to be implementable in other languages
		1193	with a minimum of work while gracefully degrading functionality to make the
		1194	protocol simple.
		1195
		1196	=item * AEMP has more flexible monitoring options than Erlang.
		1197
		1198	In Erlang, you can chose to receive I<all> exit signals as messages or
		1199	I<none>, there is no in-between, so monitoring single Erlang processes is
		1200	difficult to implement.
		1201
		1202	Monitoring in AEMP is more flexible than in Erlang, as one can choose
		1203	between automatic kill, exit message or callback on a per-port basis.
		1204
		1205	=item * Erlang tries to hide remote/local connections, AEMP does not.
		1206
		1207	Monitoring in Erlang is not an indicator of process death/crashes, in the
		1208	same way as linking is (except linking is unreliable in Erlang).
		1209
		1210	In AEMP, you don't "look up" registered port names or send to named ports
		1211	that might or might not be persistent. Instead, you normally spawn a port
		1212	on the remote node. The init function monitors you, and you monitor the
		1213	remote port. Since both monitors are local to the node, they are much more
		1214	reliable (no need for C<spawn_link>).
		1215
		1216	This also saves round-trips and avoids sending messages to the wrong port
		1217	(hard to do in Erlang).
		1218
587	=back	1219	=back
588		1220
		1221	=head1 RATIONALE
		1222
		1223	=over 4
		1224
		1225	=item Why strings for port and node IDs, why not objects?
		1226
		1227	We considered "objects", but found that the actual number of methods
		1228	that can be called are quite low. Since port and node IDs travel over
		1229	the network frequently, the serialising/deserialising would add lots of
		1230	overhead, as well as having to keep a proxy object everywhere.
		1231
		1232	Strings can easily be printed, easily serialised etc. and need no special
		1233	procedures to be "valid".
		1234
		1235	And as a result, a port with just a default receiver consists of a single
		1236	code reference stored in a global hash - it can't become much cheaper.
		1237
		1238	=item Why favour JSON, why not a real serialising format such as Storable?
		1239
		1240	In fact, any AnyEvent::MP node will happily accept Storable as framing
		1241	format, but currently there is no way to make a node use Storable by
		1242	default (although all nodes will accept it).
		1243
		1244	The default framing protocol is JSON because a) JSON::XS is many times
		1245	faster for small messages and b) most importantly, after years of
		1246	experience we found that object serialisation is causing more problems
		1247	than it solves: Just like function calls, objects simply do not travel
		1248	easily over the network, mostly because they will always be a copy, so you
		1249	always have to re-think your design.
		1250
		1251	Keeping your messages simple, concentrating on data structures rather than
		1252	objects, will keep your messages clean, tidy and efficient.
		1253
		1254	=back
		1255
		1256	=head1 PORTING FROM AnyEvent::MP VERSION 1.X
		1257
		1258	AEMP version 2 has a few major incompatible changes compared to version 1:
		1259
		1260	=over 4
		1261
		1262	=item AnyEvent::MP::Global no longer has group management functions.
		1263
		1264	At least not officially - the grp_* functions are still exported and might
		1265	work, but they will be removed in some later release.
		1266
		1267	AnyEvent::MP now comes with a distributed database that is more
		1268	powerful. Its database families map closely to port groups, but the API
		1269	has changed (the functions are also now exported by AnyEvent::MP). Here is
		1270	a rough porting guide:
		1271
		1272	grp_reg $group, $port # old
		1273	db_reg $group, $port # new
		1274
		1275	$list = grp_get $group # old
		1276	db_keys $group, sub { my $list = shift } # new
		1277
		1278	grp_mon $group, $cb->(\@ports, $add, $del) # old
		1279	db_mon $group, $cb->(\%ports, $add, $change, $del) # new
		1280
		1281	C<grp_reg> is a no-brainer (just replace by C<db_reg>), but C<grp_get> is
		1282	no longer instant, because the local node might not have a copy of the
		1283	group. You can either modify your code to allow for a callback, or use
		1284	C<db_mon> to keep an updated copy of the group:
		1285
		1286	my $local_group_copy;
		1287	db_mon $group => sub { $local_group_copy = $_[0] };
		1288
		1289	# now "keys %$local_group_copy" always returns the most up-to-date
		1290	# list of ports in the group.
		1291
		1292	C<grp_mon> can be replaced by C<db_mon> with minor changes - C<db_mon>
		1293	passes a hash as first argument, and an extra C<$chg> argument that can be
		1294	ignored:
		1295
		1296	db_mon $group => sub {
		1297	my ($ports, $add, $chg, $lde) = @_;
		1298	$ports = [keys %$ports];
		1299
		1300	# now $ports, $add and $del are the same as
		1301	# were originally passed by grp_mon.
		1302	...
		1303	};
		1304
		1305	=item Nodes not longer connect to all other nodes.
		1306
		1307	In AEMP 1.x, every node automatically loads the L<AnyEvent::MP::Global>
		1308	module, which in turn would create connections to all other nodes in the
		1309	network (helped by the seed nodes).
		1310
		1311	In version 2.x, global nodes still connect to all other global nodes, but
		1312	other nodes don't - now every node either is a global node itself, or
		1313	attaches itself to another global node.
		1314
		1315	If a node isn't a global node itself, then it attaches itself to one
		1316	of its seed nodes. If that seed node isn't a global node yet, it will
		1317	automatically be upgraded to a global node.
		1318
		1319	So in many cases, nothing needs to be changed - one just has to make sure
		1320	that all seed nodes are meshed together with the other seed nodes (as with
		1321	AEMP 1.x), and other nodes specify them as seed nodes. This is most easily
		1322	achieved by specifying the same set of seed nodes for all nodes in the
		1323	network.
		1324
		1325	Not opening a connection to every other node is usually an advantage,
		1326	except when you need the lower latency of an already established
		1327	connection. To ensure a node establishes a connection to another node,
		1328	you can monitor the node port (C<mon $node, ...>), which will attempt to
		1329	create the connection (and notify you when the connection fails).
		1330
		1331	=item Listener-less nodes (nodes without binds) are gone.
		1332
		1333	And are not coming back, at least not in their old form. If no C<binds>
		1334	are specified for a node, AnyEvent::MP assumes a default of C<*:*>.
		1335
		1336	There are vague plans to implement some form of routing domains, which
		1337	might or might not bring back listener-less nodes, but don't count on it.
		1338
		1339	The fact that most connections are now optional somewhat mitigates this,
		1340	as a node can be effectively unreachable from the outside without any
		1341	problems, as long as it isn't a global node and only reaches out to other
		1342	nodes (as opposed to being contacted from other nodes).
		1343
		1344	=item $AnyEvent::MP::Kernel::WARN has gone.
		1345
		1346	AnyEvent has acquired a logging framework (L<AnyEvent::Log>), and AEMP now
		1347	uses this, and so should your programs.
		1348
		1349	Every module now documents what kinds of messages it generates, with
		1350	AnyEvent::MP acting as a catch all.
		1351
		1352	On the positive side, this means that instead of setting
		1353	C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MP_WARNLEVEL>, you can get away by setting C<AE_VERBOSE> -
		1354	much less to type.
		1355
		1356	=back
		1357
		1358	=head1 LOGGING
		1359
		1360	AnyEvent::MP does not normally log anything by itself, but sinc eit is the
		1361	root of the contetx hierarchy for AnyEvent::MP modules, it will receive
		1362	all log messages by submodules.
		1363
589	=head1 SEE ALSO	1364	=head1 SEE ALSO
		1365
		1366	L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro> - a gentle introduction.
		1367
		1368	L<AnyEvent::MP::Kernel> - more, lower-level, stuff.
		1369
		1370	L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> - network maintenance and port groups, to find
		1371	your applications.
		1372
		1373	L<AnyEvent::MP::DataConn> - establish data connections between nodes.
		1374
		1375	L<AnyEvent::MP::LogCatcher> - simple service to display log messages from
		1376	all nodes.
590		1377
591	L<AnyEvent>.	1378	L<AnyEvent>.
592		1379
593	=head1 AUTHOR	1380	=head1 AUTHOR
594		1381

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