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Revision: 1.49
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# Content
1 =head1 NAME
2
3 AnyEvent::MP - multi-processing/message-passing framework
4
5 =head1 SYNOPSIS
6
7 use AnyEvent::MP;
8
9 $NODE # contains this node's noderef
10 NODE # returns this node's noderef
11 NODE $port # returns the noderef of the port
12
13 $SELF # receiving/own port id in rcv callbacks
14
15 # initialise the node so it can send/receive messages
16 initialise_node; # -OR-
17 initialise_node "localhost:4040"; # -OR-
18 initialise_node "slave/", "localhost:4040"
19
20 # ports are message endpoints
21
22 # sending messages
23 snd $port, type => data...;
24 snd $port, @msg;
25 snd @msg_with_first_element_being_a_port;
26
27 # creating/using miniports
28 my $miniport = port { my @msg = @_; 0 };
29
30 # creating/using full ports
31 my $port = port;
32 rcv $port, smartmatch => $cb->(@msg);
33 rcv $port, ping => sub { snd $_[0], "pong"; 0 };
34 rcv $port, pong => sub { warn "pong received\n"; 0 };
35
36 # more, smarter, matches (_any_ is exported by this module)
37 rcv $port, [child_died => $pid] => sub { ...
38 rcv $port, [_any_, _any_, 3] => sub { .. $_[2] is 3
39
40 # create a port on another node
41 my $port = spawn $node, $initfunc, @initdata;
42
43 # monitoring
44 mon $port, $cb->(@msg) # callback is invoked on death
45 mon $port, $otherport # kill otherport on abnormal death
46 mon $port, $otherport, @msg # send message on death
47
48 =head1 CURRENT STATUS
49
50 AnyEvent::MP - stable API, should work
51 AnyEvent::MP::Intro - outdated
52 AnyEvent::MP::Kernel - WIP
53 AnyEvent::MP::Transport - mostly stable
54
55 stay tuned.
56
57 =head1 DESCRIPTION
58
59 This module (-family) implements a simple message passing framework.
60
61 Despite its simplicity, you can securely message other processes running
62 on the same or other hosts.
63
64 For an introduction to this module family, see the L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro>
65 manual page.
66
67 At the moment, this module family is severly broken and underdocumented,
68 so do not use. This was uploaded mainly to reserve the CPAN namespace -
69 stay tuned!
70
71 =head1 CONCEPTS
72
73 =over 4
74
75 =item port
76
77 A port is something you can send messages to (with the C<snd> function).
78
79 Some ports allow you to register C<rcv> handlers that can match specific
80 messages. All C<rcv> handlers will receive messages they match, messages
81 will not be queued.
82
83 =item port id - C<noderef#portname>
84
85 A port id is normaly the concatenation of a noderef, a hash-mark (C<#>) as
86 separator, and a port name (a printable string of unspecified format). An
87 exception is the the node port, whose ID is identical to its node
88 reference.
89
90 =item node
91
92 A node is a single process containing at least one port - the node
93 port. You can send messages to node ports to find existing ports or to
94 create new ports, among other things.
95
96 Nodes are either private (single-process only), slaves (connected to a
97 master node only) or public nodes (connectable from unrelated nodes).
98
99 =item noderef - C<host:port,host:port...>, C<id@noderef>, C<id>
100
101 A node reference is a string that either simply identifies the node (for
102 private and slave nodes), or contains a recipe on how to reach a given
103 node (for public nodes).
104
105 This recipe is simply a comma-separated list of C<address:port> pairs (for
106 TCP/IP, other protocols might look different).
107
108 Node references come in two flavours: resolved (containing only numerical
109 addresses) or unresolved (where hostnames are used instead of addresses).
110
111 Before using an unresolved node reference in a message you first have to
112 resolve it.
113
114 =back
115
116 =head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS
117
118 =over 4
119
120 =cut
121
122 package AnyEvent::MP;
123
124 use AnyEvent::MP::Kernel;
125
126 use common::sense;
127
128 use Carp ();
129
130 use AE ();
131
132 use base "Exporter";
133
134 our $VERSION = $AnyEvent::MP::Kernel::VERSION;
135
136 our @EXPORT = qw(
137 NODE $NODE *SELF node_of _any_
138 resolve_node initialise_node
139 snd rcv mon kil reg psub spawn
140 port
141 );
142
143 our $SELF;
144
145 sub _self_die() {
146 my $msg = $@;
147 $msg =~ s/\n+$// unless ref $msg;
148 kil $SELF, die => $msg;
149 }
150
151 =item $thisnode = NODE / $NODE
152
153 The C<NODE> function returns, and the C<$NODE> variable contains
154 the noderef of the local node. The value is initialised by a call
155 to C<become_public> or C<become_slave>, after which all local port
156 identifiers become invalid.
157
158 =item $noderef = node_of $port
159
160 Extracts and returns the noderef from a portid or a noderef.
161
162 =item initialise_node $noderef, $seednode, $seednode...
163
164 =item initialise_node "slave/", $master, $master...
165
166 Before a node can talk to other nodes on the network it has to initialise
167 itself - the minimum a node needs to know is it's own name, and optionally
168 it should know the noderefs of some other nodes in the network.
169
170 This function initialises a node - it must be called exactly once (or
171 never) before calling other AnyEvent::MP functions.
172
173 All arguments (optionally except for the first) are noderefs, which can be
174 either resolved or unresolved.
175
176 The first argument will be looked up in the configuration database first
177 (if it is C<undef> then the current nodename will be used instead) to find
178 the relevant configuration profile (see L<aemp>). If none is found then
179 the default configuration is used. The configuration supplies additional
180 seed/master nodes and can override the actual noderef.
181
182 There are two types of networked nodes, public nodes and slave nodes:
183
184 =over 4
185
186 =item public nodes
187
188 For public nodes, C<$noderef> (supplied either directly to
189 C<initialise_node> or indirectly via a profile or the nodename) must be a
190 noderef (possibly unresolved, in which case it will be resolved).
191
192 After resolving, the node will bind itself on all endpoints and try to
193 connect to all additional C<$seednodes> that are specified. Seednodes are
194 optional and can be used to quickly bootstrap the node into an existing
195 network.
196
197 =item slave nodes
198
199 When the C<$noderef> (either as given or overriden by the config file)
200 is the special string C<slave/>, then the node will become a slave
201 node. Slave nodes cannot be contacted from outside and will route most of
202 their traffic to the master node that they attach to.
203
204 At least one additional noderef is required (either by specifying it
205 directly or because it is part of the configuration profile): The node
206 will try to connect to all of them and will become a slave attached to the
207 first node it can successfully connect to.
208
209 =back
210
211 This function will block until all nodes have been resolved and, for slave
212 nodes, until it has successfully established a connection to a master
213 server.
214
215 Example: become a public node listening on the guessed noderef, or the one
216 specified via C<aemp> for the current node. This should be the most common
217 form of invocation for "daemon"-type nodes.
218
219 initialise_node;
220
221 Example: become a slave node to any of the the seednodes specified via
222 C<aemp>. This form is often used for commandline clients.
223
224 initialise_node "slave/";
225
226 Example: become a slave node to any of the specified master servers. This
227 form is also often used for commandline clients.
228
229 initialise_node "slave/", "master1", "192.168.13.17", "mp.example.net";
230
231 Example: become a public node, and try to contact some well-known master
232 servers to become part of the network.
233
234 initialise_node undef, "master1", "master2";
235
236 Example: become a public node listening on port C<4041>.
237
238 initialise_node 4041;
239
240 Example: become a public node, only visible on localhost port 4044.
241
242 initialise_node "localhost:4044";
243
244 =item $cv = resolve_node $noderef
245
246 Takes an unresolved node reference that may contain hostnames and
247 abbreviated IDs, resolves all of them and returns a resolved node
248 reference.
249
250 In addition to C<address:port> pairs allowed in resolved noderefs, the
251 following forms are supported:
252
253 =over 4
254
255 =item the empty string
256
257 An empty-string component gets resolved as if the default port (4040) was
258 specified.
259
260 =item naked port numbers (e.g. C<1234>)
261
262 These are resolved by prepending the local nodename and a colon, to be
263 further resolved.
264
265 =item hostnames (e.g. C<localhost:1234>, C<localhost>)
266
267 These are resolved by using AnyEvent::DNS to resolve them, optionally
268 looking up SRV records for the C<aemp=4040> port, if no port was
269 specified.
270
271 =back
272
273 =item $SELF
274
275 Contains the current port id while executing C<rcv> callbacks or C<psub>
276 blocks.
277
278 =item SELF, %SELF, @SELF...
279
280 Due to some quirks in how perl exports variables, it is impossible to
281 just export C<$SELF>, all the symbols called C<SELF> are exported by this
282 module, but only C<$SELF> is currently used.
283
284 =item snd $port, type => @data
285
286 =item snd $port, @msg
287
288 Send the given message to the given port ID, which can identify either
289 a local or a remote port, and can be either a string or soemthignt hat
290 stringifies a sa port ID (such as a port object :).
291
292 While the message can be about anything, it is highly recommended to use a
293 string as first element (a portid, or some word that indicates a request
294 type etc.).
295
296 The message data effectively becomes read-only after a call to this
297 function: modifying any argument is not allowed and can cause many
298 problems.
299
300 The type of data you can transfer depends on the transport protocol: when
301 JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting
302 of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything
303 that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local
304 node, anything can be passed.
305
306 =item $local_port = port
307
308 Create a new local port object that can be used either as a pattern
309 matching port ("full port") or a single-callback port ("miniport"),
310 depending on how C<rcv> callbacks are bound to the object.
311
312 =item $port = port { my @msg = @_; $finished }
313
314 Creates a "miniport", that is, a very lightweight port without any pattern
315 matching behind it, and returns its ID. Semantically the same as creating
316 a port and calling C<rcv $port, $callback> on it.
317
318 The block will be called for every message received on the port. When the
319 callback returns a true value its job is considered "done" and the port
320 will be destroyed. Otherwise it will stay alive.
321
322 The message will be passed as-is, no extra argument (i.e. no port id) will
323 be passed to the callback.
324
325 If you need the local port id in the callback, this works nicely:
326
327 my $port; $port = port {
328 snd $otherport, reply => $port;
329 };
330
331 =cut
332
333 sub rcv($@);
334
335 sub port(;&) {
336 my $id = "$UNIQ." . $ID++;
337 my $port = "$NODE#$id";
338
339 if (@_) {
340 rcv $port, shift;
341 } else {
342 $PORT{$id} = sub { }; # nop
343 }
344
345 $port
346 }
347
348 =item reg $port, $name
349
350 =item reg $name
351
352 Registers the given port (or C<$SELF><<< if missing) under the name
353 C<$name>. If the name already exists it is replaced.
354
355 A port can only be registered under one well known name.
356
357 A port automatically becomes unregistered when it is killed.
358
359 =cut
360
361 sub reg(@) {
362 my $port = @_ > 1 ? shift : $SELF || Carp::croak 'reg: called with one argument only, but $SELF not set,';
363
364 $REG{$_[0]} = $port;
365 }
366
367 =item rcv $port, $callback->(@msg)
368
369 Replaces the callback on the specified miniport (after converting it to
370 one if required).
371
372 =item rcv $port, tagstring => $callback->(@msg), ...
373
374 =item rcv $port, $smartmatch => $callback->(@msg), ...
375
376 =item rcv $port, [$smartmatch...] => $callback->(@msg), ...
377
378 Register callbacks to be called on matching messages on the given full
379 port (after converting it to one if required) and return the port.
380
381 The callback has to return a true value when its work is done, after
382 which is will be removed, or a false value in which case it will stay
383 registered.
384
385 The global C<$SELF> (exported by this module) contains C<$port> while
386 executing the callback.
387
388 Runtime errors during callback execution will result in the port being
389 C<kil>ed.
390
391 If the match is an array reference, then it will be matched against the
392 first elements of the message, otherwise only the first element is being
393 matched.
394
395 Any element in the match that is specified as C<_any_> (a function
396 exported by this module) matches any single element of the message.
397
398 While not required, it is highly recommended that the first matching
399 element is a string identifying the message. The one-string-only match is
400 also the most efficient match (by far).
401
402 Example: create a port and bind receivers on it in one go.
403
404 my $port = rcv port,
405 msg1 => sub { ...; 0 },
406 msg2 => sub { ...; 0 },
407 ;
408
409 Example: create a port, bind receivers and send it in a message elsewhere
410 in one go:
411
412 snd $otherport, reply =>
413 rcv port,
414 msg1 => sub { ...; 0 },
415 ...
416 ;
417
418 =cut
419
420 sub rcv($@) {
421 my $port = shift;
422 my ($noderef, $portid) = split /#/, $port, 2;
423
424 ($NODE{$noderef} || add_node $noderef) == $NODE{""}
425 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on local ports, caught";
426
427 if (@_ == 1) {
428 my $cb = shift;
429 delete $PORT_DATA{$portid};
430 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
431 local $SELF = $port;
432 eval {
433 &$cb
434 and kil $port;
435 };
436 _self_die if $@;
437 };
438 } else {
439 my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid} ||= do {
440 my $self = bless {
441 id => $port,
442 }, "AnyEvent::MP::Port";
443
444 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
445 local $SELF = $port;
446
447 eval {
448 for (@{ $self->{rc0}{$_[0]} }) {
449 $_ && &{$_->[0]}
450 && undef $_;
451 }
452
453 for (@{ $self->{rcv}{$_[0]} }) {
454 $_ && [@_[1 .. @{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1]
455 && &{$_->[0]}
456 && undef $_;
457 }
458
459 for (@{ $self->{any} }) {
460 $_ && [@_[0 .. $#{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1]
461 && &{$_->[0]}
462 && undef $_;
463 }
464 };
465 _self_die if $@;
466 };
467
468 $self
469 };
470
471 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
472 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
473
474 while (@_) {
475 my ($match, $cb) = splice @_, 0, 2;
476
477 if (!ref $match) {
478 push @{ $self->{rc0}{$match} }, [$cb];
479 } elsif (("ARRAY" eq ref $match && !ref $match->[0])) {
480 my ($type, @match) = @$match;
481 @match
482 ? push @{ $self->{rcv}{$match->[0]} }, [$cb, \@match]
483 : push @{ $self->{rc0}{$match->[0]} }, [$cb];
484 } else {
485 push @{ $self->{any} }, [$cb, $match];
486 }
487 }
488 }
489
490 $port
491 }
492
493 =item $closure = psub { BLOCK }
494
495 Remembers C<$SELF> and creates a closure out of the BLOCK. When the
496 closure is executed, sets up the environment in the same way as in C<rcv>
497 callbacks, i.e. runtime errors will cause the port to get C<kil>ed.
498
499 This is useful when you register callbacks from C<rcv> callbacks:
500
501 rcv delayed_reply => sub {
502 my ($delay, @reply) = @_;
503 my $timer = AE::timer $delay, 0, psub {
504 snd @reply, $SELF;
505 };
506 };
507
508 =cut
509
510 sub psub(&) {
511 my $cb = shift;
512
513 my $port = $SELF
514 or Carp::croak "psub can only be called from within rcv or psub callbacks, not";
515
516 sub {
517 local $SELF = $port;
518
519 if (wantarray) {
520 my @res = eval { &$cb };
521 _self_die if $@;
522 @res
523 } else {
524 my $res = eval { &$cb };
525 _self_die if $@;
526 $res
527 }
528 }
529 }
530
531 =item $guard = mon $port, $cb->(@reason)
532
533 =item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport
534
535 =item $guard = mon $port
536
537 =item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport, @msg
538
539 Monitor the given port and do something when the port is killed or
540 messages to it were lost, and optionally return a guard that can be used
541 to stop monitoring again.
542
543 C<mon> effectively guarantees that, in the absence of hardware failures,
544 that after starting the monitor, either all messages sent to the port
545 will arrive, or the monitoring action will be invoked after possible
546 message loss has been detected. No messages will be lost "in between"
547 (after the first lost message no further messages will be received by the
548 port). After the monitoring action was invoked, further messages might get
549 delivered again.
550
551 In the first form (callback), the callback is simply called with any
552 number of C<@reason> elements (no @reason means that the port was deleted
553 "normally"). Note also that I<< the callback B<must> never die >>, so use
554 C<eval> if unsure.
555
556 In the second form (another port given), the other port (C<$rcvport>)
557 will be C<kil>'ed with C<@reason>, iff a @reason was specified, i.e. on
558 "normal" kils nothing happens, while under all other conditions, the other
559 port is killed with the same reason.
560
561 The third form (kill self) is the same as the second form, except that
562 C<$rvport> defaults to C<$SELF>.
563
564 In the last form (message), a message of the form C<@msg, @reason> will be
565 C<snd>.
566
567 As a rule of thumb, monitoring requests should always monitor a port from
568 a local port (or callback). The reason is that kill messages might get
569 lost, just like any other message. Another less obvious reason is that
570 even monitoring requests can get lost (for exmaple, when the connection
571 to the other node goes down permanently). When monitoring a port locally
572 these problems do not exist.
573
574 Example: call a given callback when C<$port> is killed.
575
576 mon $port, sub { warn "port died because of <@_>\n" };
577
578 Example: kill ourselves when C<$port> is killed abnormally.
579
580 mon $port;
581
582 Example: send us a restart message when another C<$port> is killed.
583
584 mon $port, $self => "restart";
585
586 =cut
587
588 sub mon {
589 my ($noderef, $port) = split /#/, shift, 2;
590
591 my $node = $NODE{$noderef} || add_node $noderef;
592
593 my $cb = @_ ? shift : $SELF || Carp::croak 'mon: called with one argument only, but $SELF not set,';
594
595 unless (ref $cb) {
596 if (@_) {
597 # send a kill info message
598 my (@msg) = ($cb, @_);
599 $cb = sub { snd @msg, @_ };
600 } else {
601 # simply kill other port
602 my $port = $cb;
603 $cb = sub { kil $port, @_ if @_ };
604 }
605 }
606
607 $node->monitor ($port, $cb);
608
609 defined wantarray
610 and AnyEvent::Util::guard { $node->unmonitor ($port, $cb) }
611 }
612
613 =item $guard = mon_guard $port, $ref, $ref...
614
615 Monitors the given C<$port> and keeps the passed references. When the port
616 is killed, the references will be freed.
617
618 Optionally returns a guard that will stop the monitoring.
619
620 This function is useful when you create e.g. timers or other watchers and
621 want to free them when the port gets killed:
622
623 $port->rcv (start => sub {
624 my $timer; $timer = mon_guard $port, AE::timer 1, 1, sub {
625 undef $timer if 0.9 < rand;
626 });
627 });
628
629 =cut
630
631 sub mon_guard {
632 my ($port, @refs) = @_;
633
634 #TODO: mon-less form?
635
636 mon $port, sub { 0 && @refs }
637 }
638
639 =item kil $port[, @reason]
640
641 Kill the specified port with the given C<@reason>.
642
643 If no C<@reason> is specified, then the port is killed "normally" (linked
644 ports will not be kileld, or even notified).
645
646 Otherwise, linked ports get killed with the same reason (second form of
647 C<mon>, see below).
648
649 Runtime errors while evaluating C<rcv> callbacks or inside C<psub> blocks
650 will be reported as reason C<< die => $@ >>.
651
652 Transport/communication errors are reported as C<< transport_error =>
653 $message >>.
654
655 =cut
656
657 =item $port = spawn $node, $initfunc[, @initdata]
658
659 Creates a port on the node C<$node> (which can also be a port ID, in which
660 case it's the node where that port resides).
661
662 The port ID of the newly created port is return immediately, and it is
663 permissible to immediately start sending messages or monitor the port.
664
665 After the port has been created, the init function is
666 called. This function must be a fully-qualified function name
667 (e.g. C<MyApp::Chat::Server::init>). To specify a function in the main
668 program, use C<::name>.
669
670 If the function doesn't exist, then the node tries to C<require>
671 the package, then the package above the package and so on (e.g.
672 C<MyApp::Chat::Server>, C<MyApp::Chat>, C<MyApp>) until the function
673 exists or it runs out of package names.
674
675 The init function is then called with the newly-created port as context
676 object (C<$SELF>) and the C<@initdata> values as arguments.
677
678 A common idiom is to pass your own port, monitor the spawned port, and
679 in the init function, monitor the original port. This two-way monitoring
680 ensures that both ports get cleaned up when there is a problem.
681
682 Example: spawn a chat server port on C<$othernode>.
683
684 # this node, executed from within a port context:
685 my $server = spawn $othernode, "MyApp::Chat::Server::connect", $SELF;
686 mon $server;
687
688 # init function on C<$othernode>
689 sub connect {
690 my ($srcport) = @_;
691
692 mon $srcport;
693
694 rcv $SELF, sub {
695 ...
696 };
697 }
698
699 =cut
700
701 sub _spawn {
702 my $port = shift;
703 my $init = shift;
704
705 local $SELF = "$NODE#$port";
706 eval {
707 &{ load_func $init }
708 };
709 _self_die if $@;
710 }
711
712 sub spawn(@) {
713 my ($noderef, undef) = split /#/, shift, 2;
714
715 my $id = "$RUNIQ." . $ID++;
716
717 $_[0] =~ /::/
718 or Carp::croak "spawn init function must be a fully-qualified name, caught";
719
720 ($NODE{$noderef} || add_node $noderef)
721 ->send (["", "AnyEvent::MP::_spawn" => $id, @_]);
722
723 "$noderef#$id"
724 }
725
726 =back
727
728 =head1 NODE MESSAGES
729
730 Nodes understand the following messages sent to them. Many of them take
731 arguments called C<@reply>, which will simply be used to compose a reply
732 message - C<$reply[0]> is the port to reply to, C<$reply[1]> the type and
733 the remaining arguments are simply the message data.
734
735 While other messages exist, they are not public and subject to change.
736
737 =over 4
738
739 =cut
740
741 =item lookup => $name, @reply
742
743 Replies with the port ID of the specified well-known port, or C<undef>.
744
745 =item devnull => ...
746
747 Generic data sink/CPU heat conversion.
748
749 =item relay => $port, @msg
750
751 Simply forwards the message to the given port.
752
753 =item eval => $string[ @reply]
754
755 Evaluates the given string. If C<@reply> is given, then a message of the
756 form C<@reply, $@, @evalres> is sent.
757
758 Example: crash another node.
759
760 snd $othernode, eval => "exit";
761
762 =item time => @reply
763
764 Replies the the current node time to C<@reply>.
765
766 Example: tell the current node to send the current time to C<$myport> in a
767 C<timereply> message.
768
769 snd $NODE, time => $myport, timereply => 1, 2;
770 # => snd $myport, timereply => 1, 2, <time>
771
772 =back
773
774 =head1 AnyEvent::MP vs. Distributed Erlang
775
776 AnyEvent::MP got lots of its ideas from distributed Erlang (Erlang node
777 == aemp node, Erlang process == aemp port), so many of the documents and
778 programming techniques employed by Erlang apply to AnyEvent::MP. Here is a
779 sample:
780
781 http://www.Erlang.se/doc/programming_rules.shtml
782 http://Erlang.org/doc/getting_started/part_frame.html # chapters 3 and 4
783 http://Erlang.org/download/Erlang-book-part1.pdf # chapters 5 and 6
784 http://Erlang.org/download/armstrong_thesis_2003.pdf # chapters 4 and 5
785
786 Despite the similarities, there are also some important differences:
787
788 =over 4
789
790 =item * Node references contain the recipe on how to contact them.
791
792 Erlang relies on special naming and DNS to work everywhere in the
793 same way. AEMP relies on each node knowing it's own address(es), with
794 convenience functionality.
795
796 This means that AEMP requires a less tightly controlled environment at the
797 cost of longer node references and a slightly higher management overhead.
798
799 =item * Erlang uses processes and a mailbox, AEMP does not queue.
800
801 Erlang uses processes that selctively receive messages, and therefore
802 needs a queue. AEMP is event based, queuing messages would serve no useful
803 purpose.
804
805 (But see L<Coro::MP> for a more Erlang-like process model on top of AEMP).
806
807 =item * Erlang sends are synchronous, AEMP sends are asynchronous.
808
809 Sending messages in Erlang is synchronous and blocks the process. AEMP
810 sends are immediate, connection establishment is handled in the
811 background.
812
813 =item * Erlang can silently lose messages, AEMP cannot.
814
815 Erlang makes few guarantees on messages delivery - messages can get lost
816 without any of the processes realising it (i.e. you send messages a, b,
817 and c, and the other side only receives messages a and c).
818
819 AEMP guarantees correct ordering, and the guarantee that there are no
820 holes in the message sequence.
821
822 =item * In Erlang, processes can be declared dead and later be found to be
823 alive.
824
825 In Erlang it can happen that a monitored process is declared dead and
826 linked processes get killed, but later it turns out that the process is
827 still alive - and can receive messages.
828
829 In AEMP, when port monitoring detects a port as dead, then that port will
830 eventually be killed - it cannot happen that a node detects a port as dead
831 and then later sends messages to it, finding it is still alive.
832
833 =item * Erlang can send messages to the wrong port, AEMP does not.
834
835 In Erlang it is quite possible that a node that restarts reuses a process
836 ID known to other nodes for a completely different process, causing
837 messages destined for that process to end up in an unrelated process.
838
839 AEMP never reuses port IDs, so old messages or old port IDs floating
840 around in the network will not be sent to an unrelated port.
841
842 =item * Erlang uses unprotected connections, AEMP uses secure
843 authentication and can use TLS.
844
845 AEMP can use a proven protocol - SSL/TLS - to protect connections and
846 securely authenticate nodes.
847
848 =item * The AEMP protocol is optimised for both text-based and binary
849 communications.
850
851 The AEMP protocol, unlike the Erlang protocol, supports both
852 language-independent text-only protocols (good for debugging) and binary,
853 language-specific serialisers (e.g. Storable).
854
855 It has also been carefully designed to be implementable in other languages
856 with a minimum of work while gracefully degrading fucntionality to make the
857 protocol simple.
858
859 =item * AEMP has more flexible monitoring options than Erlang.
860
861 In Erlang, you can chose to receive I<all> exit signals as messages
862 or I<none>, there is no in-between, so monitoring single processes is
863 difficult to implement. Monitoring in AEMP is more flexible than in
864 Erlang, as one can choose between automatic kill, exit message or callback
865 on a per-process basis.
866
867 =item * Erlang tries to hide remote/local connections, AEMP does not.
868
869 Monitoring in Erlang is not an indicator of process death/crashes,
870 as linking is (except linking is unreliable in Erlang).
871
872 In AEMP, you don't "look up" registered port names or send to named ports
873 that might or might not be persistent. Instead, you normally spawn a port
874 on the remote node. The init function monitors the you, and you monitor
875 the remote port. Since both monitors are local to the node, they are much
876 more reliable.
877
878 This also saves round-trips and avoids sending messages to the wrong port
879 (hard to do in Erlang).
880
881 =back
882
883 =head1 RATIONALE
884
885 =over 4
886
887 =item Why strings for ports and noderefs, why not objects?
888
889 We considered "objects", but found that the actual number of methods
890 thatc an be called are very low. Since port IDs and noderefs travel over
891 the network frequently, the serialising/deserialising would add lots of
892 overhead, as well as having to keep a proxy object.
893
894 Strings can easily be printed, easily serialised etc. and need no special
895 procedures to be "valid".
896
897 And a a miniport consists of a single closure stored in a global hash - it
898 can't become much cheaper.
899
900 =item Why favour JSON, why not real serialising format such as Storable?
901
902 In fact, any AnyEvent::MP node will happily accept Storable as framing
903 format, but currently there is no way to make a node use Storable by
904 default.
905
906 The default framing protocol is JSON because a) JSON::XS is many times
907 faster for small messages and b) most importantly, after years of
908 experience we found that object serialisation is causing more problems
909 than it gains: Just like function calls, objects simply do not travel
910 easily over the network, mostly because they will always be a copy, so you
911 always have to re-think your design.
912
913 Keeping your messages simple, concentrating on data structures rather than
914 objects, will keep your messages clean, tidy and efficient.
915
916 =back
917
918 =head1 SEE ALSO
919
920 L<AnyEvent>.
921
922 =head1 AUTHOR
923
924 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
925 http://home.schmorp.de/
926
927 =cut
928
929 1
930