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Revision 1.81 by root, Mon Sep 7 18:33:44 2009 UTC

4 4
5=head1 SYNOPSIS 5=head1 SYNOPSIS
6 6
7 use AnyEvent::MP; 7 use AnyEvent::MP;
8 8
9 $NODE # contains this node's noderef 9 $NODE # contains this node's node ID
10 NODE # returns this node's noderef 10 NODE # returns this node's node ID
11 NODE $port # returns the noderef of the port
12 11
12 $SELF # receiving/own port id in rcv callbacks
13
14 # initialise the node so it can send/receive messages
15 configure;
16
17 # ports are message destinations
18
19 # sending messages
13 snd $port, type => data...; 20 snd $port, type => data...;
21 snd $port, @msg;
22 snd @msg_with_first_element_being_a_port;
14 23
15 $SELF # receiving/own port id in rcv callbacks 24 # creating/using ports, the simple way
25 my $simple_port = port { my @msg = @_ };
16 26
17 rcv $port, smartmatch => $cb->($port, @msg); 27 # creating/using ports, tagged message matching
18 28 my $port = port;
19 # examples:
20 rcv $port2, ping => sub { snd $_[0], "pong"; 0 }; 29 rcv $port, ping => sub { snd $_[0], "pong" };
21 rcv $port1, pong => sub { warn "pong received\n" }; 30 rcv $port, pong => sub { warn "pong received\n" };
22 snd $port2, ping => $port1;
23 31
24 # more, smarter, matches (_any_ is exported by this module) 32 # create a port on another node
25 rcv $port, [child_died => $pid] => sub { ... 33 my $port = spawn $node, $initfunc, @initdata;
26 rcv $port, [_any_, _any_, 3] => sub { .. $_[2] is 3 34
35 # monitoring
36 mon $port, $cb->(@msg) # callback is invoked on death
37 mon $port, $otherport # kill otherport on abnormal death
38 mon $port, $otherport, @msg # send message on death
39
40=head1 CURRENT STATUS
41
42 bin/aemp - stable.
43 AnyEvent::MP - stable API, should work.
44 AnyEvent::MP::Intro - explains most concepts.
45 AnyEvent::MP::Kernel - mostly stable.
46 AnyEvent::MP::Global - stable but incomplete, protocol not yet final.
47
48stay tuned.
27 49
28=head1 DESCRIPTION 50=head1 DESCRIPTION
29 51
30This module (-family) implements a simple message passing framework. 52This module (-family) implements a simple message passing framework.
31 53
32Despite its simplicity, you can securely message other processes running 54Despite its simplicity, you can securely message other processes running
33on the same or other hosts. 55on the same or other hosts, and you can supervise entities remotely.
34 56
35For an introduction to this module family, see the L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro> 57For an introduction to this module family, see the L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro>
36manual page. 58manual page and the examples under F<eg/>.
37
38At the moment, this module family is severly broken and underdocumented,
39so do not use. This was uploaded mainly to reserve the CPAN namespace -
40stay tuned! The basic API should be finished, however.
41 59
42=head1 CONCEPTS 60=head1 CONCEPTS
43 61
44=over 4 62=over 4
45 63
46=item port 64=item port
47 65
48A port is something you can send messages to (with the C<snd> function). 66Not to be confused with a TCP port, a "port" is something you can send
67messages to (with the C<snd> function).
49 68
50Some ports allow you to register C<rcv> handlers that can match specific 69Ports allow you to register C<rcv> handlers that can match all or just
51messages. All C<rcv> handlers will receive messages they match, messages 70some messages. Messages send to ports will not be queued, regardless of
52will not be queued. 71anything was listening for them or not.
53 72
54=item port id - C<noderef#portname> 73=item port ID - C<nodeid#portname>
55 74
56A port id is normaly the concatenation of a noderef, a hash-mark (C<#>) as 75A port ID is the concatenation of a node ID, a hash-mark (C<#>) as
57separator, and a port name (a printable string of unspecified format). An 76separator, and a port name (a printable string of unspecified format).
58exception is the the node port, whose ID is identical to it's node
59reference.
60 77
61=item node 78=item node
62 79
63A node is a single process containing at least one port - the node 80A node is a single process containing at least one port - the node port,
64port. You can send messages to node ports to find existing ports or to 81which enables nodes to manage each other remotely, and to create new
65create new ports, among other things. 82ports.
66 83
67Nodes are either private (single-process only), slaves (connected to a 84Nodes are either public (have one or more listening ports) or private
68master node only) or public nodes (connectable from unrelated nodes). 85(no listening ports). Private nodes cannot talk to other private nodes
86currently.
69 87
70=item noderef - C<host:port,host:port...>, C<id@noderef>, C<id> 88=item node ID - C<[a-za-Z0-9_\-.:]+>
71 89
72A node reference is a string that either simply identifies the node (for 90A node ID is a string that uniquely identifies the node within a
73private and slave nodes), or contains a recipe on how to reach a given 91network. Depending on the configuration used, node IDs can look like a
74node (for public nodes). 92hostname, a hostname and a port, or a random string. AnyEvent::MP itself
93doesn't interpret node IDs in any way.
75 94
76This recipe is simply a comma-separated list of C<address:port> pairs (for 95=item binds - C<ip:port>
77TCP/IP, other protocols might look different).
78 96
79Node references come in two flavours: resolved (containing only numerical 97Nodes can only talk to each other by creating some kind of connection to
80addresses) or unresolved (where hostnames are used instead of addresses). 98each other. To do this, nodes should listen on one or more local transport
99endpoints - binds. Currently, only standard C<ip:port> specifications can
100be used, which specify TCP ports to listen on.
81 101
82Before using an unresolved node reference in a message you first have to 102=item seeds - C<host:port>
83resolve it. 103
104When a node starts, it knows nothing about the network. To teach the node
105about the network it first has to contact some other node within the
106network. This node is called a seed.
107
108Seeds are transport endpoint(s) of as many nodes as one wants. Those nodes
109are expected to be long-running, and at least one of those should always
110be available. When nodes run out of connections (e.g. due to a network
111error), they try to re-establish connections to some seednodes again to
112join the network.
113
114Apart from being sued for seeding, seednodes are not special in any way -
115every public node can be a seednode.
84 116
85=back 117=back
86 118
87=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS 119=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS
88 120
90 122
91=cut 123=cut
92 124
93package AnyEvent::MP; 125package AnyEvent::MP;
94 126
95use AnyEvent::MP::Base; 127use AnyEvent::MP::Kernel;
96 128
97use common::sense; 129use common::sense;
98 130
99use Carp (); 131use Carp ();
100 132
101use AE (); 133use AE ();
102 134
103use base "Exporter"; 135use base "Exporter";
104 136
105our $VERSION = '0.1'; 137our $VERSION = $AnyEvent::MP::Kernel::VERSION;
138
106our @EXPORT = qw( 139our @EXPORT = qw(
107 NODE $NODE *SELF node_of _any_ 140 NODE $NODE *SELF node_of after
108 resolve_node 141 configure
109 become_slave become_public
110 snd rcv mon kil reg psub 142 snd rcv mon mon_guard kil reg psub spawn
111 port 143 port
112); 144);
113 145
114our $SELF; 146our $SELF;
115 147
119 kil $SELF, die => $msg; 151 kil $SELF, die => $msg;
120} 152}
121 153
122=item $thisnode = NODE / $NODE 154=item $thisnode = NODE / $NODE
123 155
124The C<NODE> function returns, and the C<$NODE> variable contains 156The C<NODE> function returns, and the C<$NODE> variable contains, the node
125the noderef of the local node. The value is initialised by a call 157ID of the node running in the current process. This value is initialised by
126to C<become_public> or C<become_slave>, after which all local port 158a call to C<configure>.
127identifiers become invalid.
128 159
129=item $noderef = node_of $portid 160=item $nodeid = node_of $port
130 161
131Extracts and returns the noderef from a portid or a noderef. 162Extracts and returns the node ID from a port ID or a node ID.
132 163
133=item $cv = resolve_node $noderef 164=item configure $profile, key => value...
134 165
135Takes an unresolved node reference that may contain hostnames and 166=item configure key => value...
136abbreviated IDs, resolves all of them and returns a resolved node
137reference.
138 167
139In addition to C<address:port> pairs allowed in resolved noderefs, the 168Before a node can talk to other nodes on the network (i.e. enter
140following forms are supported: 169"distributed mode") it has to configure 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 configures a node - it must be called exactly once (or
174never) before calling other AnyEvent::MP functions.
141 175
142=over 4 176=over 4
143 177
144=item the empty string 178=item step 1, gathering configuration from profiles
145 179
146An empty-string component gets resolved as if the default port (4040) was 180The function first looks up a profile in the aemp configuration (see the
147specified. 181L<aemp> commandline utility). The profile name can be specified via the
182named C<profile> parameter or can simply be the first parameter). If it is
183missing, then the nodename (F<uname -n>) will be used as profile name.
148 184
149=item naked port numbers (e.g. C<1234>) 185The profile data is then gathered as follows:
150 186
151These are resolved by prepending the local nodename and a colon, to be 187First, all remaining key => value pairs (all of which are conveniently
152further resolved. 188undocumented at the moment) will be interpreted as configuration
189data. Then they will be overwritten by any values specified in the global
190default configuration (see the F<aemp> utility), then the chain of
191profiles chosen by the profile name (and any C<parent> attributes).
153 192
154=item hostnames (e.g. C<localhost:1234>, C<localhost>) 193That means that the values specified in the profile have highest priority
194and the values specified directly via C<configure> have lowest priority,
195and can only be used to specify defaults.
155 196
156These are resolved by using AnyEvent::DNS to resolve them, optionally 197If the profile specifies a node ID, then this will become the node ID of
157looking up SRV records for the C<aemp=4040> port, if no port was 198this process. If not, then the profile name will be used as node ID. The
158specified. 199special node ID of C<anon/> will be replaced by a random node ID.
200
201=item step 2, bind listener sockets
202
203The next step is to look up the binds in the profile, followed by binding
204aemp protocol listeners on all binds specified (it is possible and valid
205to have no binds, meaning that the node cannot be contacted form the
206outside. This means the node cannot talk to other nodes that also have no
207binds, but it can still talk to all "normal" nodes).
208
209If the profile does not specify a binds list, then a default of C<*> is
210used, meaning the node will bind on a dynamically-assigned port on every
211local IP address it finds.
212
213=item step 3, connect to seed nodes
214
215As the last step, the seeds list from the profile is passed to the
216L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> module, which will then use it to keep
217connectivity with at least one node at any point in time.
159 218
160=back 219=back
220
221Example: become a distributed node using the locla node name as profile.
222This should be the most common form of invocation for "daemon"-type nodes.
223
224 configure
225
226Example: become an anonymous node. This form is often used for commandline
227clients.
228
229 configure nodeid => "anon/";
230
231Example: configure a node using a profile called seed, which si suitable
232for a seed node as it binds on all local addresses on a fixed port (4040,
233customary for aemp).
234
235 # use the aemp commandline utility
236 # aemp profile seed nodeid anon/ binds '*:4040'
237
238 # then use it
239 configure profile => "seed";
240
241 # or simply use aemp from the shell again:
242 # aemp run profile seed
243
244 # or provide a nicer-to-remember nodeid
245 # aemp run profile seed nodeid "$(hostname)"
161 246
162=item $SELF 247=item $SELF
163 248
164Contains the current port id while executing C<rcv> callbacks or C<psub> 249Contains the current port id while executing C<rcv> callbacks or C<psub>
165blocks. 250blocks.
166 251
167=item SELF, %SELF, @SELF... 252=item *SELF, SELF, %SELF, @SELF...
168 253
169Due to some quirks in how perl exports variables, it is impossible to 254Due to some quirks in how perl exports variables, it is impossible to
170just export C<$SELF>, all the symbols called C<SELF> are exported by this 255just export C<$SELF>, all the symbols named C<SELF> are exported by this
171module, but only C<$SELF> is currently used. 256module, but only C<$SELF> is currently used.
172 257
173=item snd $portid, type => @data 258=item snd $port, type => @data
174 259
175=item snd $portid, @msg 260=item snd $port, @msg
176 261
177Send the given message to the given port ID, which can identify either 262Send the given message to the given port, which can identify either a
178a local or a remote port, and can be either a string or soemthignt hat 263local or a remote port, and must be a port ID.
179stringifies a sa port ID (such as a port object :).
180 264
181While the message can be about anything, it is highly recommended to use a 265While the message can be almost anything, it is highly recommended to
182string as first element (a portid, or some word that indicates a request 266use a string as first element (a port ID, or some word that indicates a
183type etc.). 267request type etc.) and to consist if only simple perl values (scalars,
268arrays, hashes) - if you think you need to pass an object, think again.
184 269
185The message data effectively becomes read-only after a call to this 270The message data logically becomes read-only after a call to this
186function: modifying any argument is not allowed and can cause many 271function: modifying any argument (or values referenced by them) is
187problems. 272forbidden, as there can be considerable time between the call to C<snd>
273and the time the message is actually being serialised - in fact, it might
274never be copied as within the same process it is simply handed to the
275receiving port.
188 276
189The type of data you can transfer depends on the transport protocol: when 277The type of data you can transfer depends on the transport protocol: when
190JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting 278JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting
191of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything 279of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything
192that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local 280that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local
193node, anything can be passed. 281node, anything can be passed. Best rely only on the common denominator of
282these.
194 283
195=item kil $portid[, @reason] 284=item $local_port = port
196 285
197Kill the specified port with the given C<@reason>. 286Create a new local port object and returns its port ID. Initially it has
287no callbacks set and will throw an error when it receives messages.
198 288
199If no C<@reason> is specified, then the port is killed "normally" (linked 289=item $local_port = port { my @msg = @_ }
200ports will not be kileld, or even notified).
201 290
202Otherwise, linked ports get killed with the same reason (second form of 291Creates a new local port, and returns its ID. Semantically the same as
203C<mon>, see below). 292creating a port and calling C<rcv $port, $callback> on it.
204 293
205Runtime errors while evaluating C<rcv> callbacks or inside C<psub> blocks 294The block will be called for every message received on the port, with the
206will be reported as reason C<< die => $@ >>. 295global variable C<$SELF> set to the port ID. Runtime errors will cause the
296port to be C<kil>ed. The message will be passed as-is, no extra argument
297(i.e. no port ID) will be passed to the callback.
207 298
208Transport/communication errors are reported as C<< transport_error => 299If you want to stop/destroy the port, simply C<kil> it:
209$message >>.
210 300
211=item $guard = mon $portid, $cb->(@reason) 301 my $port = port {
302 my @msg = @_;
303 ...
304 kil $SELF;
305 };
212 306
213=item $guard = mon $portid, $otherport 307=cut
214 308
215=item $guard = mon $portid, $otherport, @msg 309sub rcv($@);
216 310
311sub _kilme {
312 die "received message on port without callback";
313}
314
315sub port(;&) {
316 my $id = "$UNIQ." . $ID++;
317 my $port = "$NODE#$id";
318
319 rcv $port, shift || \&_kilme;
320
321 $port
322}
323
324=item rcv $local_port, $callback->(@msg)
325
326Replaces the default callback on the specified port. There is no way to
327remove the default callback: use C<sub { }> to disable it, or better
328C<kil> the port when it is no longer needed.
329
330The global C<$SELF> (exported by this module) contains C<$port> while
331executing the callback. Runtime errors during callback execution will
332result in the port being C<kil>ed.
333
334The default callback received all messages not matched by a more specific
335C<tag> match.
336
337=item rcv $local_port, tag => $callback->(@msg_without_tag), ...
338
339Register (or replace) callbacks to be called on messages starting with the
340given tag on the given port (and return the port), or unregister it (when
341C<$callback> is C<$undef> or missing). There can only be one callback
342registered for each tag.
343
344The original message will be passed to the callback, after the first
345element (the tag) has been removed. The callback will use the same
346environment as the default callback (see above).
347
348Example: create a port and bind receivers on it in one go.
349
350 my $port = rcv port,
351 msg1 => sub { ... },
352 msg2 => sub { ... },
353 ;
354
355Example: create a port, bind receivers and send it in a message elsewhere
356in one go:
357
358 snd $otherport, reply =>
359 rcv port,
360 msg1 => sub { ... },
361 ...
362 ;
363
364Example: temporarily register a rcv callback for a tag matching some port
365(e.g. for a rpc reply) and unregister it after a message was received.
366
367 rcv $port, $otherport => sub {
368 my @reply = @_;
369
370 rcv $SELF, $otherport;
371 };
372
373=cut
374
375sub rcv($@) {
376 my $port = shift;
377 my ($nodeid, $portid) = split /#/, $port, 2;
378
379 $NODE{$nodeid} == $NODE{""}
380 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on local ports, caught";
381
382 while (@_) {
383 if (ref $_[0]) {
384 if (my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid}) {
385 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
386 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
387
388 $self->[2] = shift;
389 } else {
390 my $cb = shift;
391 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
392 local $SELF = $port;
393 eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
394 };
395 }
396 } elsif (defined $_[0]) {
397 my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid} ||= do {
398 my $self = bless [$PORT{$port} || sub { }, { }, $port], "AnyEvent::MP::Port";
399
400 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
401 local $SELF = $port;
402
403 if (my $cb = $self->[1]{$_[0]}) {
404 shift;
405 eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
406 } else {
407 &{ $self->[0] };
408 }
409 };
410
411 $self
412 };
413
414 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
415 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
416
417 my ($tag, $cb) = splice @_, 0, 2;
418
419 if (defined $cb) {
420 $self->[1]{$tag} = $cb;
421 } else {
422 delete $self->[1]{$tag};
423 }
424 }
425 }
426
427 $port
428}
429
430=item $closure = psub { BLOCK }
431
432Remembers C<$SELF> and creates a closure out of the BLOCK. When the
433closure is executed, sets up the environment in the same way as in C<rcv>
434callbacks, i.e. runtime errors will cause the port to get C<kil>ed.
435
436This is useful when you register callbacks from C<rcv> callbacks:
437
438 rcv delayed_reply => sub {
439 my ($delay, @reply) = @_;
440 my $timer = AE::timer $delay, 0, psub {
441 snd @reply, $SELF;
442 };
443 };
444
445=cut
446
447sub psub(&) {
448 my $cb = shift;
449
450 my $port = $SELF
451 or Carp::croak "psub can only be called from within rcv or psub callbacks, not";
452
453 sub {
454 local $SELF = $port;
455
456 if (wantarray) {
457 my @res = eval { &$cb };
458 _self_die if $@;
459 @res
460 } else {
461 my $res = eval { &$cb };
462 _self_die if $@;
463 $res
464 }
465 }
466}
467
468=item $guard = mon $port, $cb->(@reason) # call $cb when $port dies
469
470=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport # kill $rcvport when $port dies
471
472=item $guard = mon $port # kill $SELF when $port dies
473
474=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport, @msg # send a message when $port dies
475
217Monitor the given port and do something when the port is killed. 476Monitor the given port and do something when the port is killed or
477messages to it were lost, and optionally return a guard that can be used
478to stop monitoring again.
218 479
219In the first form, the callback is simply called with any number 480In the first form (callback), the callback is simply called with any
220of C<@reason> elements (no @reason means that the port was deleted 481number of C<@reason> elements (no @reason means that the port was deleted
221"normally"). Note also that I<< the callback B<must> never die >>, so use 482"normally"). Note also that I<< the callback B<must> never die >>, so use
222C<eval> if unsure. 483C<eval> if unsure.
223 484
224In the second form, the other port will be C<kil>'ed with C<@reason>, iff 485In the second form (another port given), the other port (C<$rcvport>)
225a @reason was specified, i.e. on "normal" kils nothing happens, while 486will be C<kil>'ed with C<@reason>, if a @reason was specified, i.e. on
226under all other conditions, the other port is killed with the same reason. 487"normal" kils nothing happens, while under all other conditions, the other
488port is killed with the same reason.
227 489
490The third form (kill self) is the same as the second form, except that
491C<$rvport> defaults to C<$SELF>.
492
228In the last form, a message of the form C<@msg, @reason> will be C<snd>. 493In the last form (message), a message of the form C<@msg, @reason> will be
494C<snd>.
495
496Monitoring-actions are one-shot: once messages are lost (and a monitoring
497alert was raised), they are removed and will not trigger again.
498
499As a rule of thumb, monitoring requests should always monitor a port from
500a local port (or callback). The reason is that kill messages might get
501lost, just like any other message. Another less obvious reason is that
502even monitoring requests can get lost (for example, when the connection
503to the other node goes down permanently). When monitoring a port locally
504these problems do not exist.
505
506C<mon> effectively guarantees that, in the absence of hardware failures,
507after starting the monitor, either all messages sent to the port will
508arrive, or the monitoring action will be invoked after possible message
509loss has been detected. No messages will be lost "in between" (after
510the first lost message no further messages will be received by the
511port). After the monitoring action was invoked, further messages might get
512delivered again.
513
514Inter-host-connection timeouts and monitoring depend on the transport
515used. The only transport currently implemented is TCP, and AnyEvent::MP
516relies on TCP to detect node-downs (this can take 10-15 minutes on a
517non-idle connection, and usually around two hours for idle conenctions).
518
519This means that monitoring is good for program errors and cleaning up
520stuff eventually, but they are no replacement for a timeout when you need
521to ensure some maximum latency.
229 522
230Example: call a given callback when C<$port> is killed. 523Example: call a given callback when C<$port> is killed.
231 524
232 mon $port, sub { warn "port died because of <@_>\n" }; 525 mon $port, sub { warn "port died because of <@_>\n" };
233 526
234Example: kill ourselves when C<$port> is killed abnormally. 527Example: kill ourselves when C<$port> is killed abnormally.
235 528
236 mon $port, $self; 529 mon $port;
237 530
238Example: send us a restart message another C<$port> is killed. 531Example: send us a restart message when another C<$port> is killed.
239 532
240 mon $port, $self => "restart"; 533 mon $port, $self => "restart";
241 534
242=cut 535=cut
243 536
244sub mon { 537sub mon {
245 my ($noderef, $port, $cb) = ((split /#/, shift, 2), shift); 538 my ($nodeid, $port) = split /#/, shift, 2;
246 539
247 my $node = $NODE{$noderef} || add_node $noderef; 540 my $node = $NODE{$nodeid} || add_node $nodeid;
248 541
249 #TODO: ports must not be references 542 my $cb = @_ ? shift : $SELF || Carp::croak 'mon: called with one argument only, but $SELF not set,';
250 if (!ref $cb or "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $cb) { 543
544 unless (ref $cb) {
251 if (@_) { 545 if (@_) {
252 # send a kill info message 546 # send a kill info message
253 my (@msg) = ($cb, @_); 547 my (@msg) = ($cb, @_);
254 $cb = sub { snd @msg, @_ }; 548 $cb = sub { snd @msg, @_ };
255 } else { 549 } else {
271is killed, the references will be freed. 565is killed, the references will be freed.
272 566
273Optionally returns a guard that will stop the monitoring. 567Optionally returns a guard that will stop the monitoring.
274 568
275This function is useful when you create e.g. timers or other watchers and 569This function is useful when you create e.g. timers or other watchers and
276want to free them when the port gets killed: 570want to free them when the port gets killed (note the use of C<psub>):
277 571
278 $port->rcv (start => sub { 572 $port->rcv (start => sub {
279 my $timer; $timer = mon_guard $port, AE::timer 1, 1, sub { 573 my $timer; $timer = mon_guard $port, AE::timer 1, 1, psub {
280 undef $timer if 0.9 < rand; 574 undef $timer if 0.9 < rand;
281 }); 575 });
282 }); 576 });
283 577
284=cut 578=cut
285 579
286sub mon_guard { 580sub mon_guard {
287 my ($port, @refs) = @_; 581 my ($port, @refs) = @_;
288 582
583 #TODO: mon-less form?
584
289 mon $port, sub { 0 && @refs } 585 mon $port, sub { 0 && @refs }
290} 586}
291 587
292=item lnk $port1, $port2 588=item kil $port[, @reason]
293 589
294Link two ports. This is simply a shorthand for: 590Kill the specified port with the given C<@reason>.
295 591
296 mon $port1, $port2; 592If no C<@reason> is specified, then the port is killed "normally" (ports
297 mon $port2, $port1; 593monitoring other ports will not necessarily die because a port dies
594"normally").
298 595
299It means that if either one is killed abnormally, the other one gets 596Otherwise, linked ports get killed with the same reason (second form of
300killed as well. 597C<mon>, see above).
301 598
302=item $local_port = port 599Runtime errors while evaluating C<rcv> callbacks or inside C<psub> blocks
600will be reported as reason C<< die => $@ >>.
303 601
304Create a new local port object that supports message matching. 602Transport/communication errors are reported as C<< transport_error =>
603$message >>.
305 604
306=item $portid = port { my @msg = @_; $finished }
307
308Creates a "mini port", that is, a very lightweight port without any
309pattern matching behind it, and returns its ID.
310
311The block will be called for every message received on the port. When the
312callback returns a true value its job is considered "done" and the port
313will be destroyed. Otherwise it will stay alive.
314
315The message will be passed as-is, no extra argument (i.e. no port id) will
316be passed to the callback.
317
318If you need the local port id in the callback, this works nicely:
319
320 my $port; $port = miniport {
321 snd $otherport, reply => $port;
322 };
323
324=cut 605=cut
325 606
326sub port(;&) { 607=item $port = spawn $node, $initfunc[, @initdata]
327 my $id = "$UNIQ." . $ID++;
328 my $port = "$NODE#$id";
329 608
330 if (@_) { 609Creates a port on the node C<$node> (which can also be a port ID, in which
331 my $cb = shift; 610case it's the node where that port resides).
332 $PORT{$id} = sub { 611
333 local $SELF = $port; 612The port ID of the newly created port is returned immediately, and it is
334 eval { 613possible to immediately start sending messages or to monitor the port.
335 &$cb 614
336 and kil $id; 615After the port has been created, the init function is called on the remote
616node, in the same context as a C<rcv> callback. This function must be a
617fully-qualified function name (e.g. C<MyApp::Chat::Server::init>). To
618specify a function in the main program, use C<::name>.
619
620If the function doesn't exist, then the node tries to C<require>
621the package, then the package above the package and so on (e.g.
622C<MyApp::Chat::Server>, C<MyApp::Chat>, C<MyApp>) until the function
623exists or it runs out of package names.
624
625The init function is then called with the newly-created port as context
626object (C<$SELF>) and the C<@initdata> values as arguments.
627
628A common idiom is to pass a local port, immediately monitor the spawned
629port, and in the remote init function, immediately monitor the passed
630local port. This two-way monitoring ensures that both ports get cleaned up
631when there is a problem.
632
633C<spawn> guarantees that the C<$initfunc> has no visible effects on the
634caller before C<spawn> returns (by delaying invocation when spawn is
635called for the local node).
636
637Example: spawn a chat server port on C<$othernode>.
638
639 # this node, executed from within a port context:
640 my $server = spawn $othernode, "MyApp::Chat::Server::connect", $SELF;
641 mon $server;
642
643 # init function on C<$othernode>
644 sub connect {
645 my ($srcport) = @_;
646
647 mon $srcport;
648
649 rcv $SELF, sub {
337 }; 650 ...
338 _self_die if $@;
339 };
340 } else {
341 my $self = bless {
342 id => "$NODE#$id",
343 }, "AnyEvent::MP::Port";
344
345 $PORT_DATA{$id} = $self;
346 $PORT{$id} = sub {
347 local $SELF = $port;
348
349 eval {
350 for (@{ $self->{rc0}{$_[0]} }) {
351 $_ && &{$_->[0]}
352 && undef $_;
353 }
354
355 for (@{ $self->{rcv}{$_[0]} }) {
356 $_ && [@_[1 .. @{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1]
357 && &{$_->[0]}
358 && undef $_;
359 }
360
361 for (@{ $self->{any} }) {
362 $_ && [@_[0 .. $#{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1]
363 && &{$_->[0]}
364 && undef $_;
365 }
366 };
367 _self_die if $@;
368 }; 651 };
369 } 652 }
370 653
371 $port
372}
373
374=item reg $portid, $name
375
376Registers the given port under the name C<$name>. If the name already
377exists it is replaced.
378
379A port can only be registered under one well known name.
380
381A port automatically becomes unregistered when it is killed.
382
383=cut 654=cut
384 655
385sub reg(@) { 656sub _spawn {
386 my ($portid, $name) = @_; 657 my $port = shift;
658 my $init = shift;
387 659
388 $REG{$name} = $portid; 660 local $SELF = "$NODE#$port";
389} 661 eval {
390 662 &{ load_func $init }
391=item rcv $portid, tagstring => $callback->(@msg), ...
392
393=item rcv $portid, $smartmatch => $callback->(@msg), ...
394
395=item rcv $portid, [$smartmatch...] => $callback->(@msg), ...
396
397Register callbacks to be called on matching messages on the given port.
398
399The callback has to return a true value when its work is done, after
400which is will be removed, or a false value in which case it will stay
401registered.
402
403The global C<$SELF> (exported by this module) contains C<$portid> while
404executing the callback.
405
406Runtime errors wdurign callback execution will result in the port being
407C<kil>ed.
408
409If the match is an array reference, then it will be matched against the
410first elements of the message, otherwise only the first element is being
411matched.
412
413Any element in the match that is specified as C<_any_> (a function
414exported by this module) matches any single element of the message.
415
416While not required, it is highly recommended that the first matching
417element is a string identifying the message. The one-string-only match is
418also the most efficient match (by far).
419
420=cut
421
422sub rcv($@) {
423 my ($noderef, $port) = split /#/, shift, 2;
424
425 ($NODE{$noderef} || add_node $noderef) == $NODE{""}
426 or Carp::croak "$noderef#$port: rcv can only be called on local ports, caught";
427
428 my $self = $PORT_DATA{$port}
429 or Carp::croak "$noderef#$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
430
431 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
432 or Carp::croak "$noderef#$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
433
434 while (@_) {
435 my ($match, $cb) = splice @_, 0, 2;
436
437 if (!ref $match) {
438 push @{ $self->{rc0}{$match} }, [$cb];
439 } elsif (("ARRAY" eq ref $match && !ref $match->[0])) {
440 my ($type, @match) = @$match;
441 @match
442 ? push @{ $self->{rcv}{$match->[0]} }, [$cb, \@match]
443 : push @{ $self->{rc0}{$match->[0]} }, [$cb];
444 } else {
445 push @{ $self->{any} }, [$cb, $match];
446 }
447 }
448}
449
450=item $closure = psub { BLOCK }
451
452Remembers C<$SELF> and creates a closure out of the BLOCK. When the
453closure is executed, sets up the environment in the same way as in C<rcv>
454callbacks, i.e. runtime errors will cause the port to get C<kil>ed.
455
456This is useful when you register callbacks from C<rcv> callbacks:
457
458 rcv delayed_reply => sub {
459 my ($delay, @reply) = @_;
460 my $timer = AE::timer $delay, 0, psub {
461 snd @reply, $SELF;
462 };
463 }; 663 };
464
465=cut
466
467sub psub(&) {
468 my $cb = shift;
469
470 my $port = $SELF
471 or Carp::croak "psub can only be called from within rcv or psub callbacks, not";
472
473 sub {
474 local $SELF = $port;
475
476 if (wantarray) {
477 my @res = eval { &$cb };
478 _self_die if $@; 664 _self_die if $@;
479 @res 665}
480 } else { 666
481 my $res = eval { &$cb }; 667sub spawn(@) {
482 _self_die if $@; 668 my ($nodeid, undef) = split /#/, shift, 2;
483 $res 669
484 } 670 my $id = "$RUNIQ." . $ID++;
671
672 $_[0] =~ /::/
673 or Carp::croak "spawn init function must be a fully-qualified name, caught";
674
675 snd_to_func $nodeid, "AnyEvent::MP::_spawn" => $id, @_;
676
677 "$nodeid#$id"
678}
679
680=item after $timeout, @msg
681
682=item after $timeout, $callback
683
684Either sends the given message, or call the given callback, after the
685specified number of seconds.
686
687This is simply a utility function that comes in handy at times - the
688AnyEvent::MP author is not convinced of the wisdom of having it, though,
689so it may go away in the future.
690
691=cut
692
693sub after($@) {
694 my ($timeout, @action) = @_;
695
696 my $t; $t = AE::timer $timeout, 0, sub {
697 undef $t;
698 ref $action[0]
699 ? $action[0]()
700 : snd @action;
485 } 701 };
486} 702}
487 703
488=back 704=back
489 705
490=head1 FUNCTIONS FOR NODES 706=head1 AnyEvent::MP vs. Distributed Erlang
707
708AnyEvent::MP got lots of its ideas from distributed Erlang (Erlang node
709== aemp node, Erlang process == aemp port), so many of the documents and
710programming techniques employed by Erlang apply to AnyEvent::MP. Here is a
711sample:
712
713 http://www.Erlang.se/doc/programming_rules.shtml
714 http://Erlang.org/doc/getting_started/part_frame.html # chapters 3 and 4
715 http://Erlang.org/download/Erlang-book-part1.pdf # chapters 5 and 6
716 http://Erlang.org/download/armstrong_thesis_2003.pdf # chapters 4 and 5
717
718Despite the similarities, there are also some important differences:
491 719
492=over 4 720=over 4
493 721
494=item become_public $noderef 722=item * Node IDs are arbitrary strings in AEMP.
495 723
496Tells the node to become a public node, i.e. reachable from other nodes.
497
498The first argument is the (unresolved) node reference of the local node
499(if missing then the empty string is used).
500
501It is quite common to not specify anything, in which case the local node
502tries to listen on the default port, or to only specify a port number, in
503which case AnyEvent::MP tries to guess the local addresses.
504
505=cut
506
507=back
508
509=head1 NODE MESSAGES
510
511Nodes understand the following messages sent to them. Many of them take
512arguments called C<@reply>, which will simply be used to compose a reply
513message - C<$reply[0]> is the port to reply to, C<$reply[1]> the type and
514the remaining arguments are simply the message data.
515
516While other messages exist, they are not public and subject to change.
517
518=over 4
519
520=cut
521
522=item lookup => $name, @reply
523
524Replies with the port ID of the specified well-known port, or C<undef>.
525
526=item devnull => ...
527
528Generic data sink/CPU heat conversion.
529
530=item relay => $port, @msg
531
532Simply forwards the message to the given port.
533
534=item eval => $string[ @reply]
535
536Evaluates the given string. If C<@reply> is given, then a message of the
537form C<@reply, $@, @evalres> is sent.
538
539Example: crash another node.
540
541 snd $othernode, eval => "exit";
542
543=item time => @reply
544
545Replies the the current node time to C<@reply>.
546
547Example: tell the current node to send the current time to C<$myport> in a
548C<timereply> message.
549
550 snd $NODE, time => $myport, timereply => 1, 2;
551 # => snd $myport, timereply => 1, 2, <time>
552
553=back
554
555=head1 AnyEvent::MP vs. Distributed Erlang
556
557AnyEvent::MP got lots of its ideas from distributed erlang (erlang node
558== aemp node, erlang process == aemp port), so many of the documents and
559programming techniques employed by erlang apply to AnyEvent::MP. Here is a
560sample:
561
562 http://www.erlang.se/doc/programming_rules.shtml
563 http://erlang.org/doc/getting_started/part_frame.html # chapters 3 and 4
564 http://erlang.org/download/erlang-book-part1.pdf # chapters 5 and 6
565 http://erlang.org/download/armstrong_thesis_2003.pdf # chapters 4 and 5
566
567Despite the similarities, there are also some important differences:
568
569=over 4
570
571=item * Node references contain the recipe on how to contact them.
572
573Erlang relies on special naming and DNS to work everywhere in the 724Erlang relies on special naming and DNS to work everywhere in the same
574same way. AEMP relies on each node knowing it's own address(es), with 725way. AEMP relies on each node somehow knowing its own address(es) (e.g. by
575convenience functionality. 726configuration or DNS), but will otherwise discover other odes itself.
576 727
577This means that AEMP requires a less tightly controlled environment at the 728=item * Erlang has a "remote ports are like local ports" philosophy, AEMP
578cost of longer node references and a slightly higher management overhead. 729uses "local ports are like remote ports".
730
731The failure modes for local ports are quite different (runtime errors
732only) then for remote ports - when a local port dies, you I<know> it dies,
733when a connection to another node dies, you know nothing about the other
734port.
735
736Erlang pretends remote ports are as reliable as local ports, even when
737they are not.
738
739AEMP encourages a "treat remote ports differently" philosophy, with local
740ports being the special case/exception, where transport errors cannot
741occur.
579 742
580=item * Erlang uses processes and a mailbox, AEMP does not queue. 743=item * Erlang uses processes and a mailbox, AEMP does not queue.
581 744
582Erlang uses processes that selctively receive messages, and therefore 745Erlang uses processes that selectively receive messages, and therefore
583needs a queue. AEMP is event based, queuing messages would serve no useful 746needs a queue. AEMP is event based, queuing messages would serve no
584purpose. 747useful purpose. For the same reason the pattern-matching abilities of
748AnyEvent::MP are more limited, as there is little need to be able to
749filter messages without dequeuing them.
585 750
586(But see L<Coro::MP> for a more erlang-like process model on top of AEMP). 751(But see L<Coro::MP> for a more Erlang-like process model on top of AEMP).
587 752
588=item * Erlang sends are synchronous, AEMP sends are asynchronous. 753=item * Erlang sends are synchronous, AEMP sends are asynchronous.
589 754
590Sending messages in erlang is synchronous and blocks the process. AEMP 755Sending messages in Erlang is synchronous and blocks the process (and
591sends are immediate, connection establishment is handled in the 756so does not need a queue that can overflow). AEMP sends are immediate,
592background. 757connection establishment is handled in the background.
593 758
594=item * Erlang can silently lose messages, AEMP cannot. 759=item * Erlang suffers from silent message loss, AEMP does not.
595 760
596Erlang makes few guarantees on messages delivery - messages can get lost 761Erlang makes few guarantees on messages delivery - messages can get lost
597without any of the processes realising it (i.e. you send messages a, b, 762without any of the processes realising it (i.e. you send messages a, b,
598and c, and the other side only receives messages a and c). 763and c, and the other side only receives messages a and c).
599 764
600AEMP guarantees correct ordering, and the guarantee that there are no 765AEMP guarantees correct ordering, and the guarantee that after one message
601holes in the message sequence. 766is lost, all following ones sent to the same port are lost as well, until
602 767monitoring raises an error, so there are no silent "holes" in the message
603=item * In erlang, processes can be declared dead and later be found to be 768sequence.
604alive.
605
606In erlang it can happen that a monitored process is declared dead and
607linked processes get killed, but later it turns out that the process is
608still alive - and can receive messages.
609
610In AEMP, when port monitoring detects a port as dead, then that port will
611eventually be killed - it cannot happen that a node detects a port as dead
612and then later sends messages to it, finding it is still alive.
613 769
614=item * Erlang can send messages to the wrong port, AEMP does not. 770=item * Erlang can send messages to the wrong port, AEMP does not.
615 771
616In erlang it is quite possible that a node that restarts reuses a process 772In Erlang it is quite likely that a node that restarts reuses a process ID
617ID known to other nodes for a completely different process, causing 773known to other nodes for a completely different process, causing messages
618messages destined for that process to end up in an unrelated process. 774destined for that process to end up in an unrelated process.
619 775
620AEMP never reuses port IDs, so old messages or old port IDs floating 776AEMP never reuses port IDs, so old messages or old port IDs floating
621around in the network will not be sent to an unrelated port. 777around in the network will not be sent to an unrelated port.
622 778
623=item * Erlang uses unprotected connections, AEMP uses secure 779=item * Erlang uses unprotected connections, AEMP uses secure
624authentication and can use TLS. 780authentication and can use TLS.
625 781
626AEMP can use a proven protocol - SSL/TLS - to protect connections and 782AEMP can use a proven protocol - TLS - to protect connections and
627securely authenticate nodes. 783securely authenticate nodes.
628 784
629=item * The AEMP protocol is optimised for both text-based and binary 785=item * The AEMP protocol is optimised for both text-based and binary
630communications. 786communications.
631 787
632The AEMP protocol, unlike the erlang protocol, supports both 788The AEMP protocol, unlike the Erlang protocol, supports both programming
633language-independent text-only protocols (good for debugging) and binary, 789language independent text-only protocols (good for debugging) and binary,
634language-specific serialisers (e.g. Storable). 790language-specific serialisers (e.g. Storable). By default, unless TLS is
791used, the protocol is actually completely text-based.
635 792
636It has also been carefully designed to be implementable in other languages 793It has also been carefully designed to be implementable in other languages
637with a minimum of work while gracefully degrading fucntionality to make the 794with a minimum of work while gracefully degrading functionality to make the
638protocol simple. 795protocol simple.
639 796
797=item * AEMP has more flexible monitoring options than Erlang.
798
799In Erlang, you can chose to receive I<all> exit signals as messages
800or I<none>, there is no in-between, so monitoring single processes is
801difficult to implement. Monitoring in AEMP is more flexible than in
802Erlang, as one can choose between automatic kill, exit message or callback
803on a per-process basis.
804
805=item * Erlang tries to hide remote/local connections, AEMP does not.
806
807Monitoring in Erlang is not an indicator of process death/crashes, in the
808same way as linking is (except linking is unreliable in Erlang).
809
810In AEMP, you don't "look up" registered port names or send to named ports
811that might or might not be persistent. Instead, you normally spawn a port
812on the remote node. The init function monitors you, and you monitor the
813remote port. Since both monitors are local to the node, they are much more
814reliable (no need for C<spawn_link>).
815
816This also saves round-trips and avoids sending messages to the wrong port
817(hard to do in Erlang).
818
640=back 819=back
641 820
821=head1 RATIONALE
822
823=over 4
824
825=item Why strings for port and node IDs, why not objects?
826
827We considered "objects", but found that the actual number of methods
828that can be called are quite low. Since port and node IDs travel over
829the network frequently, the serialising/deserialising would add lots of
830overhead, as well as having to keep a proxy object everywhere.
831
832Strings can easily be printed, easily serialised etc. and need no special
833procedures to be "valid".
834
835And as a result, a miniport consists of a single closure stored in a
836global hash - it can't become much cheaper.
837
838=item Why favour JSON, why not a real serialising format such as Storable?
839
840In fact, any AnyEvent::MP node will happily accept Storable as framing
841format, but currently there is no way to make a node use Storable by
842default (although all nodes will accept it).
843
844The default framing protocol is JSON because a) JSON::XS is many times
845faster for small messages and b) most importantly, after years of
846experience we found that object serialisation is causing more problems
847than it solves: Just like function calls, objects simply do not travel
848easily over the network, mostly because they will always be a copy, so you
849always have to re-think your design.
850
851Keeping your messages simple, concentrating on data structures rather than
852objects, will keep your messages clean, tidy and efficient.
853
854=back
855
642=head1 SEE ALSO 856=head1 SEE ALSO
857
858L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro> - a gentle introduction.
859
860L<AnyEvent::MP::Kernel> - more, lower-level, stuff.
861
862L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> - network maintainance and port groups, to find
863your applications.
864
865L<AnyEvent::MP::LogCatcher> - simple service to display log messages from
866all nodes.
643 867
644L<AnyEvent>. 868L<AnyEvent>.
645 869
646=head1 AUTHOR 870=head1 AUTHOR
647 871

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