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Comparing AnyEvent-MP/MP.pm (file contents):
Revision 1.22 by root, Tue Aug 4 18:33:30 2009 UTC vs.
Revision 1.71 by root, Sun Aug 30 19:52:56 2009 UTC

8 8
9 $NODE # contains this node's noderef 9 $NODE # contains this node's noderef
10 NODE # returns this node's noderef 10 NODE # returns this node's noderef
11 NODE $port # returns the noderef of the port 11 NODE $port # returns the noderef of the port
12 12
13 $SELF # receiving/own port id in rcv callbacks
14
15 # initialise the node so it can send/receive messages
16 initialise_node;
17
18 # ports are message endpoints
19
20 # sending messages
13 snd $port, type => data...; 21 snd $port, type => data...;
22 snd $port, @msg;
23 snd @msg_with_first_element_being_a_port;
14 24
15 $SELF # receiving/own port id in rcv callbacks 25 # creating/using ports, the simple way
26 my $simple_port = port { my @msg = @_; 0 };
16 27
17 rcv $port, smartmatch => $cb->($port, @msg); 28 # creating/using ports, tagged message matching
18 29 my $port = port;
19 # examples:
20 rcv $port2, ping => sub { snd $_[0], "pong"; 0 }; 30 rcv $port, ping => sub { snd $_[0], "pong"; 0 };
21 rcv $port1, pong => sub { warn "pong received\n" }; 31 rcv $port, pong => sub { warn "pong received\n"; 0 };
22 snd $port2, ping => $port1;
23 32
24 # more, smarter, matches (_any_ is exported by this module) 33 # create a port on another node
25 rcv $port, [child_died => $pid] => sub { ... 34 my $port = spawn $node, $initfunc, @initdata;
26 rcv $port, [_any_, _any_, 3] => sub { .. $_[2] is 3 35
36 # monitoring
37 mon $port, $cb->(@msg) # callback is invoked on death
38 mon $port, $otherport # kill otherport on abnormal death
39 mon $port, $otherport, @msg # send message on death
40
41=head1 CURRENT STATUS
42
43 bin/aemp - stable.
44 AnyEvent::MP - stable API, should work.
45 AnyEvent::MP::Intro - uptodate, but incomplete.
46 AnyEvent::MP::Kernel - mostly stable.
47 AnyEvent::MP::Global - stable API, protocol not yet final.
48
49 stay tuned.
27 50
28=head1 DESCRIPTION 51=head1 DESCRIPTION
29 52
30This module (-family) implements a simple message passing framework. 53This module (-family) implements a simple message passing framework.
31 54
32Despite its simplicity, you can securely message other processes running 55Despite its simplicity, you can securely message other processes running
33on the same or other hosts. 56on the same or other hosts, and you can supervise entities remotely.
34 57
58For an introduction to this module family, see the L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro>
59manual page and the examples under F<eg/>.
60
35At the moment, this module family is severly brokena nd underdocumented, 61At the moment, this module family is a bit underdocumented.
36so do not use. This was uploaded mainly to reserve the CPAN namespace -
37stay tuned!
38 62
39=head1 CONCEPTS 63=head1 CONCEPTS
40 64
41=over 4 65=over 4
42 66
43=item port 67=item port
44 68
45A port is something you can send messages to with the C<snd> function, and 69A port is something you can send messages to (with the C<snd> function).
46you can register C<rcv> handlers with. All C<rcv> handlers will receive
47messages they match, messages will not be queued.
48 70
71Ports allow you to register C<rcv> handlers that can match all or just
72some messages. Messages send to ports will not be queued, regardless of
73anything was listening for them or not.
74
49=item port id - C<noderef#portname> 75=item port ID - C<nodeid#portname>
50 76
51A port id is always the noderef, a hash-mark (C<#>) as separator, followed 77A port ID is the concatenation of a node ID, a hash-mark (C<#>) as
52by a port name (a printable string of unspecified format). 78separator, and a port name (a printable string of unspecified format).
53 79
54=item node 80=item node
55 81
56A node is a single process containing at least one port - the node 82A node is a single process containing at least one port - the node port,
57port. You can send messages to node ports to let them create new ports, 83which enables nodes to manage each other remotely, and to create new
58among other things. 84ports.
59 85
60Initially, nodes are either private (single-process only) or hidden 86Nodes are either public (have one or more listening ports) or private
61(connected to a master node only). Only when they epxlicitly "become 87(no listening ports). Private nodes cannot talk to other private nodes
62public" can you send them messages from unrelated other nodes. 88currently.
63 89
64=item noderef - C<host:port,host:port...>, C<id@noderef>, C<id> 90=item node ID - C<[a-za-Z0-9_\-.:]+>
65 91
66A noderef is a string that either uniquely identifies a given node (for 92A node ID is a string that uniquely identifies the node within a
67private and hidden nodes), or contains a recipe on how to reach a given 93network. Depending on the configuration used, node IDs can look like a
68node (for public nodes). 94hostname, a hostname and a port, or a random string. AnyEvent::MP itself
95doesn't interpret node IDs in any way.
96
97=item binds - C<ip:port>
98
99Nodes can only talk to each other by creating some kind of connection to
100each other. To do this, nodes should listen on one or more local transport
101endpoints - binds. Currently, only standard C<ip:port> specifications can
102be used, which specify TCP ports to listen on.
103
104=item seeds - C<host:port>
105
106When a node starts, it knows nothing about the network. To teach the node
107about the network it first has to contact some other node within the
108network. This node is called a seed.
109
110Seeds are transport endpoint(s) of as many nodes as one wants. Those nodes
111are expected to be long-running, and at least one of those should always
112be available. When nodes run out of connections (e.g. due to a network
113error), they try to re-establish connections to some seednodes again to
114join the network.
115
116Apart from being sued for seeding, seednodes are not special in any way -
117every public node can be a seednode.
69 118
70=back 119=back
71 120
72=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS 121=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS
73 122
75 124
76=cut 125=cut
77 126
78package AnyEvent::MP; 127package AnyEvent::MP;
79 128
80use AnyEvent::MP::Base; 129use AnyEvent::MP::Kernel;
81 130
82use common::sense; 131use common::sense;
83 132
84use Carp (); 133use Carp ();
85 134
86use AE (); 135use AE ();
87 136
88use base "Exporter"; 137use base "Exporter";
89 138
90our $VERSION = '0.02'; 139our $VERSION = $AnyEvent::MP::Kernel::VERSION;
140
91our @EXPORT = qw( 141our @EXPORT = qw(
92 NODE $NODE *SELF node_of _any_ 142 NODE $NODE *SELF node_of after
93 become_slave become_public 143 initialise_node
94 snd rcv mon kil reg psub 144 snd rcv mon mon_guard kil reg psub spawn
95 port 145 port
96); 146);
97 147
98our $SELF; 148our $SELF;
99 149
103 kil $SELF, die => $msg; 153 kil $SELF, die => $msg;
104} 154}
105 155
106=item $thisnode = NODE / $NODE 156=item $thisnode = NODE / $NODE
107 157
108The C<NODE> function returns, and the C<$NODE> variable contains 158The 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 159ID 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 160a call to C<initialise_node>.
111identifiers become invalid.
112 161
113=item $noderef = node_of $portid 162=item $nodeid = node_of $port
114 163
115Extracts and returns the noderef from a portid or a noderef. 164Extracts and returns the node ID from a port ID or a node ID.
165
166=item initialise_node $profile_name, key => value...
167
168Before a node can talk to other nodes on the network (i.e. enter
169"distributed mode") it has to initialise itself - the minimum a node needs
170to know is its own name, and optionally it should know the addresses of
171some other nodes in the network to discover other nodes.
172
173This function initialises a node - it must be called exactly once (or
174never) before calling other AnyEvent::MP functions.
175
176The first argument is a profile name. If it is C<undef> or missing, then
177the current nodename will be used instead (i.e. F<uname -n>).
178
179The function first looks up the profile in the aemp configuration (see the
180L<aemp> commandline utility). the profile is calculated as follows:
181
182First, all remaining key => value pairs (all of which are conviniently
183undocumented at the moment) will be used. Then they will be overwritten by
184any values specified in the global default configuration (see the F<aemp>
185utility), then the chain of profiles selected, if any. That means that
186the values specified in the profile have highest priority and the values
187specified via C<initialise_node> have lowest priority.
188
189If the profile specifies a node ID, then this will become the node ID of
190this process. If not, then the profile name will be used as node ID. The
191special node ID of C<anon/> will be replaced by a random node ID.
192
193The next step is to look up the binds in the profile, followed by binding
194aemp protocol listeners on all binds specified (it is possible and valid
195to have no binds, meaning that the node cannot be contacted form the
196outside. This means the node cannot talk to other nodes that also have no
197binds, but it can still talk to all "normal" nodes).
198
199If the profile does not specify a binds list, then a default of C<*> is
200used.
201
202Lastly, the seeds list from the profile is passed to the
203L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> module, which will then use it to keep
204connectivity with at least on of those seed nodes at any point in time.
205
206Example: become a distributed node listening on the guessed noderef, or
207the one specified via C<aemp> for the current node. This should be the
208most common form of invocation for "daemon"-type nodes.
209
210 initialise_node;
211
212Example: become an anonymous node. This form is often used for commandline
213clients.
214
215 initialise_node "anon/";
216
217Example: become a distributed node. If there is no profile of the given
218name, or no binds list was specified, resolve C<localhost:4044> and bind
219on the resulting addresses.
220
221 initialise_node "localhost:4044";
116 222
117=item $SELF 223=item $SELF
118 224
119Contains the current port id while executing C<rcv> callbacks or C<psub> 225Contains the current port id while executing C<rcv> callbacks or C<psub>
120blocks. 226blocks.
121 227
122=item SELF, %SELF, @SELF... 228=item *SELF, SELF, %SELF, @SELF...
123 229
124Due to some quirks in how perl exports variables, it is impossible to 230Due to some quirks in how perl exports variables, it is impossible to
125just export C<$SELF>, all the symbols called C<SELF> are exported by this 231just export C<$SELF>, all the symbols named C<SELF> are exported by this
126module, but only C<$SELF> is currently used. 232module, but only C<$SELF> is currently used.
127 233
128=item snd $portid, type => @data 234=item snd $port, type => @data
129 235
130=item snd $portid, @msg 236=item snd $port, @msg
131 237
132Send the given message to the given port ID, which can identify either 238Send the given message to the given port, which can identify either a
133a local or a remote port, and can be either a string or soemthignt hat 239local or a remote port, and must be a port ID.
134stringifies a sa port ID (such as a port object :).
135 240
136While the message can be about anything, it is highly recommended to use a 241While the message can be almost anything, it is highly recommended to
137string as first element (a portid, or some word that indicates a request 242use a string as first element (a port ID, or some word that indicates a
138type etc.). 243request type etc.) and to consist if only simple perl values (scalars,
244arrays, hashes) - if you think you need to pass an object, think again.
139 245
140The message data effectively becomes read-only after a call to this 246The message data logically becomes read-only after a call to this
141function: modifying any argument is not allowed and can cause many 247function: modifying any argument (or values referenced by them) is
142problems. 248forbidden, as there can be considerable time between the call to C<snd>
249and the time the message is actually being serialised - in fact, it might
250never be copied as within the same process it is simply handed to the
251receiving port.
143 252
144The type of data you can transfer depends on the transport protocol: when 253The type of data you can transfer depends on the transport protocol: when
145JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting 254JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting
146of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything 255of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything
147that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local 256that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local
148node, anything can be passed. 257node, anything can be passed. Best rely only on the common denominator of
258these.
149 259
150=item kil $portid[, @reason] 260=item $local_port = port
151 261
152Kill the specified port with the given C<@reason>. 262Create a new local port object and returns its port ID. Initially it has
263no callbacks set and will throw an error when it receives messages.
153 264
154If no C<@reason> is specified, then the port is killed "normally" (linked 265=item $local_port = port { my @msg = @_ }
155ports will not be kileld, or even notified).
156 266
157Otherwise, linked ports get killed with the same reason (second form of 267Creates a new local port, and returns its ID. Semantically the same as
158C<mon>, see below). 268creating a port and calling C<rcv $port, $callback> on it.
159 269
160Runtime errors while evaluating C<rcv> callbacks or inside C<psub> blocks 270The block will be called for every message received on the port, with the
161will be reported as reason C<< die => $@ >>. 271global variable C<$SELF> set to the port ID. Runtime errors will cause the
272port to be C<kil>ed. The message will be passed as-is, no extra argument
273(i.e. no port ID) will be passed to the callback.
162 274
163Transport/communication errors are reported as C<< transport_error => 275If you want to stop/destroy the port, simply C<kil> it:
164$message >>.
165 276
166=item $guard = mon $portid, $cb->(@reason) 277 my $port = port {
278 my @msg = @_;
279 ...
280 kil $SELF;
281 };
167 282
168=item $guard = mon $portid, $otherport 283=cut
169 284
170=item $guard = mon $portid, $otherport, @msg 285sub rcv($@);
171 286
287sub _kilme {
288 die "received message on port without callback";
289}
290
291sub port(;&) {
292 my $id = "$UNIQ." . $ID++;
293 my $port = "$NODE#$id";
294
295 rcv $port, shift || \&_kilme;
296
297 $port
298}
299
300=item rcv $local_port, $callback->(@msg)
301
302Replaces the default callback on the specified port. There is no way to
303remove the default callback: use C<sub { }> to disable it, or better
304C<kil> the port when it is no longer needed.
305
306The global C<$SELF> (exported by this module) contains C<$port> while
307executing the callback. Runtime errors during callback execution will
308result in the port being C<kil>ed.
309
310The default callback received all messages not matched by a more specific
311C<tag> match.
312
313=item rcv $local_port, tag => $callback->(@msg_without_tag), ...
314
315Register (or replace) callbacks to be called on messages starting with the
316given tag on the given port (and return the port), or unregister it (when
317C<$callback> is C<$undef> or missing). There can only be one callback
318registered for each tag.
319
320The original message will be passed to the callback, after the first
321element (the tag) has been removed. The callback will use the same
322environment as the default callback (see above).
323
324Example: create a port and bind receivers on it in one go.
325
326 my $port = rcv port,
327 msg1 => sub { ... },
328 msg2 => sub { ... },
329 ;
330
331Example: create a port, bind receivers and send it in a message elsewhere
332in one go:
333
334 snd $otherport, reply =>
335 rcv port,
336 msg1 => sub { ... },
337 ...
338 ;
339
340Example: temporarily register a rcv callback for a tag matching some port
341(e.g. for a rpc reply) and unregister it after a message was received.
342
343 rcv $port, $otherport => sub {
344 my @reply = @_;
345
346 rcv $SELF, $otherport;
347 };
348
349=cut
350
351sub rcv($@) {
352 my $port = shift;
353 my ($noderef, $portid) = split /#/, $port, 2;
354
355 $NODE{$noderef} == $NODE{""}
356 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on local ports, caught";
357
358 while (@_) {
359 if (ref $_[0]) {
360 if (my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid}) {
361 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
362 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
363
364 $self->[2] = shift;
365 } else {
366 my $cb = shift;
367 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
368 local $SELF = $port;
369 eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
370 };
371 }
372 } elsif (defined $_[0]) {
373 my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid} ||= do {
374 my $self = bless [$PORT{$port} || sub { }, { }, $port], "AnyEvent::MP::Port";
375
376 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
377 local $SELF = $port;
378
379 if (my $cb = $self->[1]{$_[0]}) {
380 shift;
381 eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
382 } else {
383 &{ $self->[0] };
384 }
385 };
386
387 $self
388 };
389
390 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
391 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
392
393 my ($tag, $cb) = splice @_, 0, 2;
394
395 if (defined $cb) {
396 $self->[1]{$tag} = $cb;
397 } else {
398 delete $self->[1]{$tag};
399 }
400 }
401 }
402
403 $port
404}
405
406=item $closure = psub { BLOCK }
407
408Remembers C<$SELF> and creates a closure out of the BLOCK. When the
409closure is executed, sets up the environment in the same way as in C<rcv>
410callbacks, i.e. runtime errors will cause the port to get C<kil>ed.
411
412This is useful when you register callbacks from C<rcv> callbacks:
413
414 rcv delayed_reply => sub {
415 my ($delay, @reply) = @_;
416 my $timer = AE::timer $delay, 0, psub {
417 snd @reply, $SELF;
418 };
419 };
420
421=cut
422
423sub psub(&) {
424 my $cb = shift;
425
426 my $port = $SELF
427 or Carp::croak "psub can only be called from within rcv or psub callbacks, not";
428
429 sub {
430 local $SELF = $port;
431
432 if (wantarray) {
433 my @res = eval { &$cb };
434 _self_die if $@;
435 @res
436 } else {
437 my $res = eval { &$cb };
438 _self_die if $@;
439 $res
440 }
441 }
442}
443
444=item $guard = mon $port, $cb->(@reason) # call $cb when $port dies
445
446=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport # kill $rcvport when $port dies
447
448=item $guard = mon $port # kill $SELF when $port dies
449
450=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport, @msg # send a message when $port dies
451
172Monitor the given port and do something when the port is killed. 452Monitor the given port and do something when the port is killed or
453messages to it were lost, and optionally return a guard that can be used
454to stop monitoring again.
173 455
456C<mon> effectively guarantees that, in the absence of hardware failures,
457after starting the monitor, either all messages sent to the port will
458arrive, or the monitoring action will be invoked after possible message
459loss has been detected. No messages will be lost "in between" (after
460the first lost message no further messages will be received by the
461port). After the monitoring action was invoked, further messages might get
462delivered again.
463
464Note that monitoring-actions are one-shot: once messages are lost (and a
465monitoring alert was raised), they are removed and will not trigger again.
466
174In the first form, the callback is simply called with any number 467In the first form (callback), the callback is simply called with any
175of C<@reason> elements (no @reason means that the port was deleted 468number of C<@reason> elements (no @reason means that the port was deleted
176"normally"). Note also that I<< the callback B<must> never die >>, so use 469"normally"). Note also that I<< the callback B<must> never die >>, so use
177C<eval> if unsure. 470C<eval> if unsure.
178 471
179In the second form, the other port will be C<kil>'ed with C<@reason>, iff 472In the second form (another port given), the other port (C<$rcvport>)
180a @reason was specified, i.e. on "normal" kils nothing happens, while 473will be C<kil>'ed with C<@reason>, iff a @reason was specified, i.e. on
181under all other conditions, the other port is killed with the same reason. 474"normal" kils nothing happens, while under all other conditions, the other
475port is killed with the same reason.
182 476
477The third form (kill self) is the same as the second form, except that
478C<$rvport> defaults to C<$SELF>.
479
183In the last form, a message of the form C<@msg, @reason> will be C<snd>. 480In the last form (message), a message of the form C<@msg, @reason> will be
481C<snd>.
482
483As a rule of thumb, monitoring requests should always monitor a port from
484a local port (or callback). The reason is that kill messages might get
485lost, just like any other message. Another less obvious reason is that
486even monitoring requests can get lost (for exmaple, when the connection
487to the other node goes down permanently). When monitoring a port locally
488these problems do not exist.
184 489
185Example: call a given callback when C<$port> is killed. 490Example: call a given callback when C<$port> is killed.
186 491
187 mon $port, sub { warn "port died because of <@_>\n" }; 492 mon $port, sub { warn "port died because of <@_>\n" };
188 493
189Example: kill ourselves when C<$port> is killed abnormally. 494Example: kill ourselves when C<$port> is killed abnormally.
190 495
191 mon $port, $self; 496 mon $port;
192 497
193Example: send us a restart message another C<$port> is killed. 498Example: send us a restart message when another C<$port> is killed.
194 499
195 mon $port, $self => "restart"; 500 mon $port, $self => "restart";
196 501
197=cut 502=cut
198 503
199sub mon { 504sub mon {
200 my ($noderef, $port, $cb) = ((split /#/, shift, 2), shift); 505 my ($noderef, $port) = split /#/, shift, 2;
201 506
202 my $node = $NODE{$noderef} || add_node $noderef; 507 my $node = $NODE{$noderef} || add_node $noderef;
203 508
204 #TODO: ports must not be references 509 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) { 510
511 unless (ref $cb) {
206 if (@_) { 512 if (@_) {
207 # send a kill info message 513 # send a kill info message
208 my (@msg) = ($cb, @_); 514 my (@msg) = ($cb, @_);
209 $cb = sub { snd @msg, @_ }; 515 $cb = sub { snd @msg, @_ };
210 } else { 516 } else {
226is killed, the references will be freed. 532is killed, the references will be freed.
227 533
228Optionally returns a guard that will stop the monitoring. 534Optionally returns a guard that will stop the monitoring.
229 535
230This function is useful when you create e.g. timers or other watchers and 536This function is useful when you create e.g. timers or other watchers and
231want to free them when the port gets killed: 537want to free them when the port gets killed (note the use of C<psub>):
232 538
233 $port->rcv (start => sub { 539 $port->rcv (start => sub {
234 my $timer; $timer = mon_guard $port, AE::timer 1, 1, sub { 540 my $timer; $timer = mon_guard $port, AE::timer 1, 1, psub {
235 undef $timer if 0.9 < rand; 541 undef $timer if 0.9 < rand;
236 }); 542 });
237 }); 543 });
238 544
239=cut 545=cut
240 546
241sub mon_guard { 547sub mon_guard {
242 my ($port, @refs) = @_; 548 my ($port, @refs) = @_;
243 549
550 #TODO: mon-less form?
551
244 mon $port, sub { 0 && @refs } 552 mon $port, sub { 0 && @refs }
245} 553}
246 554
247=item $local_port = port 555=item kil $port[, @reason]
248 556
249Create a new local port object that supports message matching. 557Kill the specified port with the given C<@reason>.
250 558
251=item $portid = port { my @msg = @_; $finished } 559If no C<@reason> is specified, then the port is killed "normally" (ports
560monitoring other ports will not necessarily die because a port dies
561"normally").
252 562
253Creates a "mini port", that is, a very lightweight port without any 563Otherwise, linked ports get killed with the same reason (second form of
254pattern matching behind it, and returns its ID. 564C<mon>, see above).
255 565
256The block will be called for every message received on the port. When the 566Runtime errors while evaluating C<rcv> callbacks or inside C<psub> blocks
257callback returns a true value its job is considered "done" and the port 567will be reported as reason C<< die => $@ >>.
258will be destroyed. Otherwise it will stay alive.
259 568
260The message will be passed as-is, no extra argument (i.e. no port id) will 569Transport/communication errors are reported as C<< transport_error =>
261be passed to the callback. 570$message >>.
262 571
263If you need the local port id in the callback, this works nicely:
264
265 my $port; $port = miniport {
266 snd $otherport, reply => $port;
267 };
268
269=cut 572=cut
270 573
271sub port(;&) { 574=item $port = spawn $node, $initfunc[, @initdata]
272 my $id = "$UNIQ." . $ID++;
273 my $port = "$NODE#$id";
274 575
275 if (@_) { 576Creates a port on the node C<$node> (which can also be a port ID, in which
276 my $cb = shift; 577case it's the node where that port resides).
277 $PORT{$id} = sub { 578
278 local $SELF = $port; 579The port ID of the newly created port is returned immediately, and it is
279 eval { 580possible to immediately start sending messages or to monitor the port.
280 &$cb 581
281 and kil $id; 582After the port has been created, the init function is called on the remote
583node, in the same context as a C<rcv> callback. This function must be a
584fully-qualified function name (e.g. C<MyApp::Chat::Server::init>). To
585specify a function in the main program, use C<::name>.
586
587If the function doesn't exist, then the node tries to C<require>
588the package, then the package above the package and so on (e.g.
589C<MyApp::Chat::Server>, C<MyApp::Chat>, C<MyApp>) until the function
590exists or it runs out of package names.
591
592The init function is then called with the newly-created port as context
593object (C<$SELF>) and the C<@initdata> values as arguments.
594
595A common idiom is to pass a local port, immediately monitor the spawned
596port, and in the remote init function, immediately monitor the passed
597local port. This two-way monitoring ensures that both ports get cleaned up
598when there is a problem.
599
600Example: spawn a chat server port on C<$othernode>.
601
602 # this node, executed from within a port context:
603 my $server = spawn $othernode, "MyApp::Chat::Server::connect", $SELF;
604 mon $server;
605
606 # init function on C<$othernode>
607 sub connect {
608 my ($srcport) = @_;
609
610 mon $srcport;
611
612 rcv $SELF, sub {
282 }; 613 ...
283 _self_die if $@;
284 };
285 } else {
286 my $self = bless {
287 id => "$NODE#$id",
288 }, "AnyEvent::MP::Port";
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 }; 614 };
314 } 615 }
315 616
316 $port
317}
318
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 617=cut
329 618
330sub reg(@) { 619sub _spawn {
331 my ($portid, $name) = @_; 620 my $port = shift;
621 my $init = shift;
332 622
333 $REG{$name} = $portid; 623 local $SELF = "$NODE#$port";
334} 624 eval {
335 625 &{ load_func $init }
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 }; 626 };
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 $@; 627 _self_die if $@;
424 @res 628}
425 } else { 629
426 my $res = eval { &$cb }; 630sub spawn(@) {
427 _self_die if $@; 631 my ($noderef, undef) = split /#/, shift, 2;
428 $res 632
429 } 633 my $id = "$RUNIQ." . $ID++;
634
635 $_[0] =~ /::/
636 or Carp::croak "spawn init function must be a fully-qualified name, caught";
637
638 snd_to_func $noderef, "AnyEvent::MP::_spawn" => $id, @_;
639
640 "$noderef#$id"
641}
642
643=item after $timeout, @msg
644
645=item after $timeout, $callback
646
647Either sends the given message, or call the given callback, after the
648specified number of seconds.
649
650This is simply a utility function that comes in handy at times - the
651AnyEvent::MP author is not convinced of the wisdom of having it, though,
652so it may go away in the future.
653
654=cut
655
656sub after($@) {
657 my ($timeout, @action) = @_;
658
659 my $t; $t = AE::timer $timeout, 0, sub {
660 undef $t;
661 ref $action[0]
662 ? $action[0]()
663 : snd @action;
430 } 664 };
431} 665}
432 666
433=back 667=back
434 668
435=head1 FUNCTIONS FOR NODES 669=head1 AnyEvent::MP vs. Distributed Erlang
670
671AnyEvent::MP got lots of its ideas from distributed Erlang (Erlang node
672== aemp node, Erlang process == aemp port), so many of the documents and
673programming techniques employed by Erlang apply to AnyEvent::MP. Here is a
674sample:
675
676 http://www.Erlang.se/doc/programming_rules.shtml
677 http://Erlang.org/doc/getting_started/part_frame.html # chapters 3 and 4
678 http://Erlang.org/download/Erlang-book-part1.pdf # chapters 5 and 6
679 http://Erlang.org/download/armstrong_thesis_2003.pdf # chapters 4 and 5
680
681Despite the similarities, there are also some important differences:
436 682
437=over 4 683=over 4
438 684
439=item become_public endpoint... 685=item * Node IDs are arbitrary strings in AEMP.
440 686
441Tells the node to become a public node, i.e. reachable from other nodes. 687Erlang relies on special naming and DNS to work everywhere in the same
688way. AEMP relies on each node somehow knowing its own address(es) (e.g. by
689configuraiton or DNS), but will otherwise discover other odes itself.
442 690
443If no arguments are given, or the first argument is C<undef>, then 691=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 692uses "local ports are like remote ports".
445local nodename resolves to.
446 693
447Otherwise the first argument must be an array-reference with transport 694The failure modes for local ports are quite different (runtime errors
448endpoints ("ip:port", "hostname:port") or port numbers (in which case the 695only) 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 696when a connection to another node dies, you know nothing about the other
450will become the node reference. 697port.
451 698
452=cut 699Erlang pretends remote ports are as reliable as local ports, even when
700they are not.
701
702AEMP encourages a "treat remote ports differently" philosophy, with local
703ports being the special case/exception, where transport errors cannot
704occur.
705
706=item * Erlang uses processes and a mailbox, AEMP does not queue.
707
708Erlang uses processes that selectively receive messages, and therefore
709needs a queue. AEMP is event based, queuing messages would serve no
710useful purpose. For the same reason the pattern-matching abilities of
711AnyEvent::MP are more limited, as there is little need to be able to
712filter messages without dequeing them.
713
714(But see L<Coro::MP> for a more Erlang-like process model on top of AEMP).
715
716=item * Erlang sends are synchronous, AEMP sends are asynchronous.
717
718Sending messages in Erlang is synchronous and blocks the process (and
719so does not need a queue that can overflow). AEMP sends are immediate,
720connection establishment is handled in the background.
721
722=item * Erlang suffers from silent message loss, AEMP does not.
723
724Erlang makes few guarantees on messages delivery - messages can get lost
725without any of the processes realising it (i.e. you send messages a, b,
726and c, and the other side only receives messages a and c).
727
728AEMP guarantees correct ordering, and the guarantee that after one message
729is lost, all following ones sent to the same port are lost as well, until
730monitoring raises an error, so there are no silent "holes" in the message
731sequence.
732
733=item * Erlang can send messages to the wrong port, AEMP does not.
734
735In Erlang it is quite likely that a node that restarts reuses a process ID
736known to other nodes for a completely different process, causing messages
737destined for that process to end up in an unrelated process.
738
739AEMP never reuses port IDs, so old messages or old port IDs floating
740around in the network will not be sent to an unrelated port.
741
742=item * Erlang uses unprotected connections, AEMP uses secure
743authentication and can use TLS.
744
745AEMP can use a proven protocol - TLS - to protect connections and
746securely authenticate nodes.
747
748=item * The AEMP protocol is optimised for both text-based and binary
749communications.
750
751The AEMP protocol, unlike the Erlang protocol, supports both programming
752language independent text-only protocols (good for debugging) and binary,
753language-specific serialisers (e.g. Storable). By default, unless TLS is
754used, the protocol is actually completely text-based.
755
756It has also been carefully designed to be implementable in other languages
757with a minimum of work while gracefully degrading functionality to make the
758protocol simple.
759
760=item * AEMP has more flexible monitoring options than Erlang.
761
762In Erlang, you can chose to receive I<all> exit signals as messages
763or I<none>, there is no in-between, so monitoring single processes is
764difficult to implement. Monitoring in AEMP is more flexible than in
765Erlang, as one can choose between automatic kill, exit message or callback
766on a per-process basis.
767
768=item * Erlang tries to hide remote/local connections, AEMP does not.
769
770Monitoring in Erlang is not an indicator of process death/crashes, in the
771same way as linking is (except linking is unreliable in Erlang).
772
773In AEMP, you don't "look up" registered port names or send to named ports
774that might or might not be persistent. Instead, you normally spawn a port
775on the remote node. The init function monitors you, and you monitor the
776remote port. Since both monitors are local to the node, they are much more
777reliable (no need for C<spawn_link>).
778
779This also saves round-trips and avoids sending messages to the wrong port
780(hard to do in Erlang).
453 781
454=back 782=back
455 783
456=head1 NODE MESSAGES 784=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.
462 785
463=over 4 786=over 4
464 787
465=cut 788=item Why strings for port and node IDs, why not objects?
466 789
467=item lookup => $name, @reply 790We considered "objects", but found that the actual number of methods
791that can be called are quite low. Since port and node IDs travel over
792the network frequently, the serialising/deserialising would add lots of
793overhead, as well as having to keep a proxy object everywhere.
468 794
469Replies with the port ID of the specified well-known port, or C<undef>. 795Strings can easily be printed, easily serialised etc. and need no special
796procedures to be "valid".
470 797
471=item devnull => ... 798And as a result, a miniport consists of a single closure stored in a
799global hash - it can't become much cheaper.
472 800
473Generic data sink/CPU heat conversion. 801=item Why favour JSON, why not a real serialising format such as Storable?
474 802
475=item relay => $port, @msg 803In fact, any AnyEvent::MP node will happily accept Storable as framing
804format, but currently there is no way to make a node use Storable by
805default (although all nodes will accept it).
476 806
477Simply forwards the message to the given port. 807The default framing protocol is JSON because a) JSON::XS is many times
808faster for small messages and b) most importantly, after years of
809experience we found that object serialisation is causing more problems
810than it solves: Just like function calls, objects simply do not travel
811easily over the network, mostly because they will always be a copy, so you
812always have to re-think your design.
478 813
479=item eval => $string[ @reply] 814Keeping your messages simple, concentrating on data structures rather than
480 815objects, 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>
497 816
498=back 817=back
499 818
500=head1 SEE ALSO 819=head1 SEE ALSO
820
821L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro> - a gentle introduction.
822
823L<AnyEvent::MP::Kernel> - more, lower-level, stuff.
824
825L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> - network maintainance and port groups, to find
826your applications.
501 827
502L<AnyEvent>. 828L<AnyEvent>.
503 829
504=head1 AUTHOR 830=head1 AUTHOR
505 831

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