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Revision 1.11 by root, Sun Aug 2 18:08:38 2009 UTC vs.
Revision 1.124 by root, Sat Mar 3 11:38:43 2012 UTC

1=head1 NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3AnyEvent::MP - multi-processing/message-passing framework 3AnyEvent::MP - erlang-style multi-processing/message-passing framework
4 4
5=head1 SYNOPSIS 5=head1 SYNOPSIS
6 6
7 use AnyEvent::MP; 7 use AnyEvent::MP;
8 8
9 NODE # returns this node identifier
10 $NODE # contains this node identifier 9 $NODE # contains this node's node ID
10 NODE # returns this node's node ID
11 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
12 snd $port, type => data...; 20 snd $port, type => data...;
21 snd $port, @msg;
22 snd @msg_with_first_element_being_a_port;
13 23
14 rcv $port, smartmatch => $cb->($port, @msg); 24 # creating/using ports, the simple way
25 my $simple_port = port { my @msg = @_ };
15 26
16 # examples: 27 # creating/using ports, tagged message matching
28 my $port = port;
17 rcv $port2, ping => sub { snd $_[0], "pong"; 0 }; 29 rcv $port, ping => sub { snd $_[0], "pong" };
18 rcv $port1, pong => sub { warn "pong received\n" }; 30 rcv $port, pong => sub { warn "pong received\n" };
19 snd $port2, ping => $port1;
20 31
21 # more, smarter, matches (_any_ is exported by this module) 32 # create a port on another node
22 rcv $port, [child_died => $pid] => sub { ... 33 my $port = spawn $node, $initfunc, @initdata;
23 rcv $port, [_any_, _any_, 3] => sub { .. $_[2] is 3 34
35 # destroy a port again
36 kil $port; # "normal" kill
37 kil $port, my_error => "everything is broken"; # error kill
38
39 # monitoring
40 mon $localport, $cb->(@msg) # callback is invoked on death
41 mon $localport, $otherport # kill otherport on abnormal death
42 mon $localport, $otherport, @msg # send message on death
43
44 # temporarily execute code in port context
45 peval $port, sub { die "kill the port!" };
46
47 # execute callbacks in $SELF port context
48 my $timer = AE::timer 1, 0, psub {
49 die "kill the port, delayed";
50 };
51
52=head1 CURRENT STATUS
53
54 bin/aemp - stable.
55 AnyEvent::MP - stable API, should work.
56 AnyEvent::MP::Intro - explains most concepts.
57 AnyEvent::MP::Kernel - mostly stable API.
58 AnyEvent::MP::Global - stable API.
24 59
25=head1 DESCRIPTION 60=head1 DESCRIPTION
26 61
27This module (-family) implements a simple message passing framework. 62This module (-family) implements a simple message passing framework.
28 63
29Despite its simplicity, you can securely message other processes running 64Despite its simplicity, you can securely message other processes running
30on the same or other hosts. 65on the same or other hosts, and you can supervise entities remotely.
31 66
32At the moment, this module family is severly brokena nd underdocumented, 67For an introduction to this module family, see the L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro>
33so do not use. This was uploaded mainly to resreve the CPAN namespace - 68manual page and the examples under F<eg/>.
34stay tuned!
35 69
36=head1 CONCEPTS 70=head1 CONCEPTS
37 71
38=over 4 72=over 4
39 73
40=item port 74=item port
41 75
42A port is something you can send messages to with the C<snd> function, and 76Not to be confused with a TCP port, a "port" is something you can send
43you can register C<rcv> handlers with. All C<rcv> handlers will receive 77messages to (with the C<snd> function).
44messages they match, messages will not be queued.
45 78
79Ports allow you to register C<rcv> handlers that can match all or just
80some messages. Messages send to ports will not be queued, regardless of
81anything was listening for them or not.
82
83Ports are represented by (printable) strings called "port IDs".
84
46=item port id - C<noderef#portname> 85=item port ID - C<nodeid#portname>
47 86
48A port id is always the noderef, a hash-mark (C<#>) as separator, followed 87A port ID is the concatenation of a node ID, a hash-mark (C<#>)
49by a port name (a printable string of unspecified format). 88as separator, and a port name (a printable string of unspecified
89format created by AnyEvent::MP).
50 90
51=item node 91=item node
52 92
53A node is a single process containing at least one port - the node 93A node is a single process containing at least one port - the node port,
54port. You can send messages to node ports to let them create new ports, 94which enables nodes to manage each other remotely, and to create new
55among other things. 95ports.
56 96
57Initially, nodes are either private (single-process only) or hidden 97Nodes are either public (have one or more listening ports) or private
58(connected to a master node only). Only when they epxlicitly "become 98(no listening ports). Private nodes cannot talk to other private nodes
59public" can you send them messages from unrelated other nodes. 99currently, but all nodes can talk to public nodes.
60 100
61=item noderef - C<host:port,host:port...>, C<id@noderef>, C<id> 101Nodes is represented by (printable) strings called "node IDs".
62 102
103=item node ID - C<[A-Za-z0-9_\-.:]*>
104
63A noderef is a string that either uniquely identifies a given node (for 105A node ID is a string that uniquely identifies the node within a
64private and hidden nodes), or contains a recipe on how to reach a given 106network. Depending on the configuration used, node IDs can look like a
65node (for public nodes). 107hostname, a hostname and a port, or a random string. AnyEvent::MP itself
108doesn't interpret node IDs in any way except to uniquely identify a node.
109
110=item binds - C<ip:port>
111
112Nodes can only talk to each other by creating some kind of connection to
113each other. To do this, nodes should listen on one or more local transport
114endpoints - binds.
115
116Currently, only standard C<ip:port> specifications can be used, which
117specify TCP ports to listen on. So a bind is basically just a tcp socket
118in listening mode thta accepts conenctions form other nodes.
119
120=item seed nodes
121
122When a node starts, it knows nothing about the network it is in - it
123needs to connect to at least one other node that is already in the
124network. These other nodes are called "seed nodes".
125
126Seed nodes themselves are not special - they are seed nodes only because
127some other node I<uses> them as such, but any node can be used as seed
128node for other nodes, and eahc node cna use a different set of seed nodes.
129
130In addition to discovering the network, seed nodes are also used to
131maintain the network - all nodes using the same seed node form are part of
132the same network. If a network is split into multiple subnets because e.g.
133the network link between the parts goes down, then using the same seed
134nodes for all nodes ensures that eventually the subnets get merged again.
135
136Seed nodes are expected to be long-running, and at least one seed node
137should always be available. They should also be relatively responsive - a
138seed node that blocks for long periods will slow down everybody else.
139
140For small networks, it's best if every node uses the same set of seed
141nodes. For large networks, it can be useful to specify "regional" seed
142nodes for most nodes in an area, and use all seed nodes as seed nodes for
143each other. What's important is that all seed nodes connections form a
144complete graph, so that the network cannot split into separate subnets
145forever.
146
147Seed nodes are represented by seed IDs.
148
149=item seed IDs - C<host:port>
150
151Seed IDs are transport endpoint(s) (usually a hostname/IP address and a
152TCP port) of nodes that should be used as seed nodes.
153
154=item global nodes
155
156An AEMP network needs a discovery service - nodes need to know how to
157connect to other nodes they only know by name. In addition, AEMP offers a
158distributed "group database", which maps group names to a list of strings
159- for example, to register worker ports.
160
161A network needs at least one global node to work, and allows every node to
162be a global node.
163
164Any node that loads the L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> module becomes a global
165node and tries to keep connections to all other nodes. So while it can
166make sense to make every node "global" in small networks, it usually makes
167sense to only make seed nodes into global nodes in large networks (nodes
168keep connections to seed nodes and global nodes, so makign them the same
169reduces overhead).
66 170
67=back 171=back
68 172
69=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS 173=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS
70 174
72 176
73=cut 177=cut
74 178
75package AnyEvent::MP; 179package AnyEvent::MP;
76 180
181use AnyEvent::MP::Config ();
77use AnyEvent::MP::Base; 182use AnyEvent::MP::Kernel;
183use AnyEvent::MP::Kernel qw(%NODE %PORT %PORT_DATA $UNIQ $RUNIQ $ID);
78 184
79use common::sense; 185use common::sense;
80 186
81use Carp (); 187use Carp ();
82 188
83use AE (); 189use AE ();
190use Guard ();
84 191
85use base "Exporter"; 192use base "Exporter";
86 193
87our $VERSION = '0.02'; 194our $VERSION = $AnyEvent::MP::Config::VERSION;
195
88our @EXPORT = qw( 196our @EXPORT = qw(
89 NODE $NODE $PORT snd rcv _any_ 197 NODE $NODE *SELF node_of after
90 create_port create_port_on 198 configure
91 create_miniport 199 snd rcv mon mon_guard kil psub peval spawn cal
92 become_slave become_public 200 port
201 db_set db_del db_reg
93); 202);
94 203
204our $SELF;
205
206sub _self_die() {
207 my $msg = $@;
208 $msg =~ s/\n+$// unless ref $msg;
209 kil $SELF, die => $msg;
210}
211
95=item NODE / $NODE 212=item $thisnode = NODE / $NODE
96 213
97The C<NODE ()> function and the C<$NODE> variable contain the noderef of 214The C<NODE> function returns, and the C<$NODE> variable contains, the node
98the local node. The value is initialised by a call to C<become_public> or 215ID of the node running in the current process. This value is initialised by
99C<become_slave>, after which all local port identifiers become invalid. 216a call to C<configure>.
100 217
218=item $nodeid = node_of $port
219
220Extracts and returns the node ID from a port ID or a node ID.
221
222=item configure $profile, key => value...
223
224=item configure key => value...
225
226Before a node can talk to other nodes on the network (i.e. enter
227"distributed mode") it has to configure itself - the minimum a node needs
228to know is its own name, and optionally it should know the addresses of
229some other nodes in the network to discover other nodes.
230
231This function configures a node - it must be called exactly once (or
232never) before calling other AnyEvent::MP functions.
233
234The key/value pairs are basically the same ones as documented for the
235F<aemp> command line utility (sans the set/del prefix), with two additions:
236
237=over 4
238
239=item norc => $boolean (default false)
240
241If true, then the rc file (e.g. F<~/.perl-anyevent-mp>) will I<not>
242be consulted - all configuraiton options must be specified in the
243C<configure> call.
244
245=item force => $boolean (default false)
246
247IF true, then the values specified in the C<configure> will take
248precedence over any values configured via the rc file. The default is for
249the rc file to override any options specified in the program.
250
251=back
252
253=over 4
254
255=item step 1, gathering configuration from profiles
256
257The function first looks up a profile in the aemp configuration (see the
258L<aemp> commandline utility). The profile name can be specified via the
259named C<profile> parameter or can simply be the first parameter). If it is
260missing, then the nodename (F<uname -n>) will be used as profile name.
261
262The profile data is then gathered as follows:
263
264First, all remaining key => value pairs (all of which are conveniently
265undocumented at the moment) will be interpreted as configuration
266data. Then they will be overwritten by any values specified in the global
267default configuration (see the F<aemp> utility), then the chain of
268profiles chosen by the profile name (and any C<parent> attributes).
269
270That means that the values specified in the profile have highest priority
271and the values specified directly via C<configure> have lowest priority,
272and can only be used to specify defaults.
273
274If the profile specifies a node ID, then this will become the node ID of
275this process. If not, then the profile name will be used as node ID, with
276a slash (C</>) attached.
277
278If the node ID (or profile name) ends with a slash (C</>), then a random
279string is appended to make it unique.
280
281=item step 2, bind listener sockets
282
283The next step is to look up the binds in the profile, followed by binding
284aemp protocol listeners on all binds specified (it is possible and valid
285to have no binds, meaning that the node cannot be contacted form the
286outside. This means the node cannot talk to other nodes that also have no
287binds, but it can still talk to all "normal" nodes).
288
289If the profile does not specify a binds list, then a default of C<*> is
290used, meaning the node will bind on a dynamically-assigned port on every
291local IP address it finds.
292
293=item step 3, connect to seed nodes
294
295As the last step, the seed ID list from the profile is passed to the
296L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> module, which will then use it to keep
297connectivity with at least one node at any point in time.
298
299=back
300
301Example: become a distributed node using the local node name as profile.
302This should be the most common form of invocation for "daemon"-type nodes.
303
304 configure
305
306Example: become an anonymous node. This form is often used for commandline
307clients.
308
309 configure nodeid => "anon/";
310
311Example: configure a node using a profile called seed, which is suitable
312for a seed node as it binds on all local addresses on a fixed port (4040,
313customary for aemp).
314
315 # use the aemp commandline utility
316 # aemp profile seed binds '*:4040'
317
318 # then use it
319 configure profile => "seed";
320
321 # or simply use aemp from the shell again:
322 # aemp run profile seed
323
324 # or provide a nicer-to-remember nodeid
325 # aemp run profile seed nodeid "$(hostname)"
326
327=item $SELF
328
329Contains the current port id while executing C<rcv> callbacks or C<psub>
330blocks.
331
332=item *SELF, SELF, %SELF, @SELF...
333
334Due to some quirks in how perl exports variables, it is impossible to
335just export C<$SELF>, all the symbols named C<SELF> are exported by this
336module, but only C<$SELF> is currently used.
337
101=item snd $portid, type => @data 338=item snd $port, type => @data
102 339
103=item snd $portid, @msg 340=item snd $port, @msg
104 341
105Send the given message to the given port ID, which can identify either 342Send the given message to the given port, which can identify either a
106a local or a remote port, and can be either a string or soemthignt hat 343local or a remote port, and must be a port ID.
107stringifies a sa port ID (such as a port object :).
108 344
109While the message can be about anything, it is highly recommended to use a 345While the message can be almost anything, it is highly recommended to
110string as first element (a portid, or some word that indicates a request 346use a string as first element (a port ID, or some word that indicates a
111type etc.). 347request type etc.) and to consist if only simple perl values (scalars,
348arrays, hashes) - if you think you need to pass an object, think again.
112 349
113The message data effectively becomes read-only after a call to this 350The message data logically becomes read-only after a call to this
114function: modifying any argument is not allowed and can cause many 351function: modifying any argument (or values referenced by them) is
115problems. 352forbidden, as there can be considerable time between the call to C<snd>
353and the time the message is actually being serialised - in fact, it might
354never be copied as within the same process it is simply handed to the
355receiving port.
116 356
117The type of data you can transfer depends on the transport protocol: when 357The type of data you can transfer depends on the transport protocol: when
118JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting 358JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting
119of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything 359of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything
120that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local 360that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local
121node, anything can be passed. 361node, anything can be passed. Best rely only on the common denominator of
362these.
122 363
123=item $local_port = create_port 364=item $local_port = port
124 365
125Create a new local port object. See the next section for allowed methods. 366Create a new local port object and returns its port ID. Initially it has
367no callbacks set and will throw an error when it receives messages.
126 368
127=cut 369=item $local_port = port { my @msg = @_ }
128 370
129sub create_port { 371Creates a new local port, and returns its ID. Semantically the same as
130 my $id = "$AnyEvent::MP::Base::UNIQ." . ++$AnyEvent::MP::Base::ID; 372creating a port and calling C<rcv $port, $callback> on it.
131 373
132 my $self = bless { 374The block will be called for every message received on the port, with the
133 id => "$NODE#$id", 375global variable C<$SELF> set to the port ID. Runtime errors will cause the
134 names => [$id], 376port to be C<kil>ed. The message will be passed as-is, no extra argument
135 }, "AnyEvent::MP::Port"; 377(i.e. no port ID) will be passed to the callback.
136 378
137 $AnyEvent::MP::Base::PORT{$id} = sub { 379If you want to stop/destroy the port, simply C<kil> it:
138 unshift @_, $self;
139 380
140 for (@{ $self->{rc0}{$_[1]} }) { 381 my $port = port {
141 $_ && &{$_->[0]} 382 my @msg = @_;
142 && undef $_; 383 ...
384 kil $SELF;
385 };
386
387=cut
388
389sub rcv($@);
390
391sub _kilme {
392 die "received message on port without callback";
393}
394
395sub port(;&) {
396 my $id = $UNIQ . ++$ID;
397 my $port = "$NODE#$id";
398
399 rcv $port, shift || \&_kilme;
400
401 $port
402}
403
404=item rcv $local_port, $callback->(@msg)
405
406Replaces the default callback on the specified port. There is no way to
407remove the default callback: use C<sub { }> to disable it, or better
408C<kil> the port when it is no longer needed.
409
410The global C<$SELF> (exported by this module) contains C<$port> while
411executing the callback. Runtime errors during callback execution will
412result in the port being C<kil>ed.
413
414The default callback received all messages not matched by a more specific
415C<tag> match.
416
417=item rcv $local_port, tag => $callback->(@msg_without_tag), ...
418
419Register (or replace) callbacks to be called on messages starting with the
420given tag on the given port (and return the port), or unregister it (when
421C<$callback> is C<$undef> or missing). There can only be one callback
422registered for each tag.
423
424The original message will be passed to the callback, after the first
425element (the tag) has been removed. The callback will use the same
426environment as the default callback (see above).
427
428Example: create a port and bind receivers on it in one go.
429
430 my $port = rcv port,
431 msg1 => sub { ... },
432 msg2 => sub { ... },
433 ;
434
435Example: create a port, bind receivers and send it in a message elsewhere
436in one go:
437
438 snd $otherport, reply =>
439 rcv port,
440 msg1 => sub { ... },
441 ...
442 ;
443
444Example: temporarily register a rcv callback for a tag matching some port
445(e.g. for an rpc reply) and unregister it after a message was received.
446
447 rcv $port, $otherport => sub {
448 my @reply = @_;
449
450 rcv $SELF, $otherport;
451 };
452
453=cut
454
455sub rcv($@) {
456 my $port = shift;
457 my ($nodeid, $portid) = split /#/, $port, 2;
458
459 $NODE{$nodeid} == $NODE{""}
460 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on local ports, caught";
461
462 while (@_) {
463 if (ref $_[0]) {
464 if (my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid}) {
465 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
466 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
467
468 $self->[0] = shift;
469 } else {
470 my $cb = shift;
471 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
472 local $SELF = $port;
473 eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
474 };
475 }
476 } elsif (defined $_[0]) {
477 my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid} ||= do {
478 my $self = bless [$PORT{$portid} || sub { }, { }, $port], "AnyEvent::MP::Port";
479
480 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
481 local $SELF = $port;
482
483 if (my $cb = $self->[1]{$_[0]}) {
484 shift;
485 eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
486 } else {
487 &{ $self->[0] };
488 }
489 };
490
491 $self
492 };
493
494 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
495 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
496
497 my ($tag, $cb) = splice @_, 0, 2;
498
499 if (defined $cb) {
500 $self->[1]{$tag} = $cb;
501 } else {
502 delete $self->[1]{$tag};
503 }
143 } 504 }
505 }
144 506
145 for (@{ $self->{rcv}{$_[1]} }) { 507 $port
146 $_ && [@_[1 .. @{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1] 508}
147 && &{$_->[0]}
148 && undef $_;
149 }
150 509
151 for (@{ $self->{any} }) { 510=item peval $port, $coderef[, @args]
152 $_ && [@_[0 .. $#{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1] 511
153 && &{$_->[0]} 512Evaluates the given C<$codref> within the contetx of C<$port>, that is,
154 && undef $_; 513when the code throews an exception the C<$port> will be killed.
155 } 514
515Any remaining args will be passed to the callback. Any return values will
516be returned to the caller.
517
518This is useful when you temporarily want to execute code in the context of
519a port.
520
521Example: create a port and run some initialisation code in it's context.
522
523 my $port = port { ... };
524
525 peval $port, sub {
526 init
527 or die "unable to init";
156 }; 528 };
157 529
158 $self
159}
160
161=item $portid = create_miniport { }
162
163Creates a "mini port", that is, a port without much #TODO
164
165=cut 530=cut
166 531
167sub create_miniport(&) { 532sub peval($$) {
533 local $SELF = shift;
168 my $cb = shift; 534 my $cb = shift;
169 my $id = "$AnyEvent::MP::Base::UNIQ." . ++$AnyEvent::MP::Base::ID;
170 535
171 $AnyEvent::MP::Base::PORT{$id} = sub { 536 if (wantarray) {
172 &$cb 537 my @res = eval { &$cb };
173 and delete $AnyEvent::MP::Base::PORT{$id}; 538 _self_die if $@;
174 }; 539 @res
175
176 "$NODE#$id"
177}
178
179package AnyEvent::MP::Port;
180
181=back
182
183=head1 METHODS FOR PORT OBJECTS
184
185=over 4
186
187=item "$port"
188
189A port object stringifies to its port ID, so can be used directly for
190C<snd> operations.
191
192=cut
193
194use overload
195 '""' => sub { $_[0]{id} },
196 fallback => 1;
197
198=item $port->rcv (type => $callback->($port, @msg))
199
200=item $port->rcv ($smartmatch => $callback->($port, @msg))
201
202=item $port->rcv ([$smartmatch...] => $callback->($port, @msg))
203
204Register a callback on the given port.
205
206The callback has to return a true value when its work is done, after
207which is will be removed, or a false value in which case it will stay
208registered.
209
210If the match is an array reference, then it will be matched against the
211first elements of the message, otherwise only the first element is being
212matched.
213
214Any element in the match that is specified as C<_any_> (a function
215exported by this module) matches any single element of the message.
216
217While not required, it is highly recommended that the first matching
218element is a string identifying the message. The one-string-only match is
219also the most efficient match (by far).
220
221=cut
222
223sub rcv($@) {
224 my ($self, $match, $cb) = @_;
225
226 if (!ref $match) {
227 push @{ $self->{rc0}{$match} }, [$cb];
228 } elsif (("ARRAY" eq ref $match && !ref $match->[0])) {
229 my ($type, @match) = @$match;
230 @match
231 ? push @{ $self->{rcv}{$match->[0]} }, [$cb, \@match]
232 : push @{ $self->{rc0}{$match->[0]} }, [$cb];
233 } else { 540 } else {
234 push @{ $self->{any} }, [$cb, $match]; 541 my $res = eval { &$cb };
542 _self_die if $@;
543 $res
235 } 544 }
236} 545}
237 546
238=item $port->register ($name) 547=item $closure = psub { BLOCK }
239 548
240Registers the given port under the well known name C<$name>. If the name 549Remembers C<$SELF> and creates a closure out of the BLOCK. When the
241already exists it is replaced. 550closure is executed, sets up the environment in the same way as in C<rcv>
551callbacks, i.e. runtime errors will cause the port to get C<kil>ed.
242 552
243A port can only be registered under one well known name. 553The effect is basically as if it returned C<< sub { peval $SELF, sub {
554BLOCK }, @_ } >>.
244 555
245=cut 556This is useful when you register callbacks from C<rcv> callbacks:
246 557
247sub register { 558 rcv delayed_reply => sub {
248 my ($self, $name) = @_; 559 my ($delay, @reply) = @_;
560 my $timer = AE::timer $delay, 0, psub {
561 snd @reply, $SELF;
562 };
563 };
249 564
250 $self->{wkname} = $name; 565=cut
251 $AnyEvent::MP::Base::WKP{$name} = "$self"; 566
567sub psub(&) {
568 my $cb = shift;
569
570 my $port = $SELF
571 or Carp::croak "psub can only be called from within rcv or psub callbacks, not";
572
573 sub {
574 local $SELF = $port;
575
576 if (wantarray) {
577 my @res = eval { &$cb };
578 _self_die if $@;
579 @res
580 } else {
581 my $res = eval { &$cb };
582 _self_die if $@;
583 $res
584 }
585 }
252} 586}
253 587
254=item $port->destroy 588=item $guard = mon $port, $cb->(@reason) # call $cb when $port dies
255 589
256Explicitly destroy/remove/nuke/vaporise the port. 590=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport # kill $rcvport when $port dies
257 591
258Ports are normally kept alive by there mere existance alone, and need to 592=item $guard = mon $port # kill $SELF when $port dies
259be destroyed explicitly.
260 593
261=cut 594=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport, @msg # send a message when $port dies
262 595
263sub destroy { 596Monitor the given port and do something when the port is killed or
264 my ($self) = @_; 597messages to it were lost, and optionally return a guard that can be used
598to stop monitoring again.
265 599
266 delete $AnyEvent::MP::Base::WKP{ $self->{wkname} }; 600In the first form (callback), the callback is simply called with any
601number of C<@reason> elements (no @reason means that the port was deleted
602"normally"). Note also that I<< the callback B<must> never die >>, so use
603C<eval> if unsure.
267 604
268 delete $AnyEvent::MP::Base::PORT{$_} 605In the second form (another port given), the other port (C<$rcvport>)
269 for @{ $self->{names} }; 606will be C<kil>'ed with C<@reason>, if a @reason was specified, i.e. on
607"normal" kils nothing happens, while under all other conditions, the other
608port is killed with the same reason.
609
610The third form (kill self) is the same as the second form, except that
611C<$rvport> defaults to C<$SELF>.
612
613In the last form (message), a message of the form C<@msg, @reason> will be
614C<snd>.
615
616Monitoring-actions are one-shot: once messages are lost (and a monitoring
617alert was raised), they are removed and will not trigger again.
618
619As a rule of thumb, monitoring requests should always monitor a port from
620a local port (or callback). The reason is that kill messages might get
621lost, just like any other message. Another less obvious reason is that
622even monitoring requests can get lost (for example, when the connection
623to the other node goes down permanently). When monitoring a port locally
624these problems do not exist.
625
626C<mon> effectively guarantees that, in the absence of hardware failures,
627after starting the monitor, either all messages sent to the port will
628arrive, or the monitoring action will be invoked after possible message
629loss has been detected. No messages will be lost "in between" (after
630the first lost message no further messages will be received by the
631port). After the monitoring action was invoked, further messages might get
632delivered again.
633
634Inter-host-connection timeouts and monitoring depend on the transport
635used. The only transport currently implemented is TCP, and AnyEvent::MP
636relies on TCP to detect node-downs (this can take 10-15 minutes on a
637non-idle connection, and usually around two hours for idle connections).
638
639This means that monitoring is good for program errors and cleaning up
640stuff eventually, but they are no replacement for a timeout when you need
641to ensure some maximum latency.
642
643Example: call a given callback when C<$port> is killed.
644
645 mon $port, sub { warn "port died because of <@_>\n" };
646
647Example: kill ourselves when C<$port> is killed abnormally.
648
649 mon $port;
650
651Example: send us a restart message when another C<$port> is killed.
652
653 mon $port, $self => "restart";
654
655=cut
656
657sub mon {
658 my ($nodeid, $port) = split /#/, shift, 2;
659
660 my $node = $NODE{$nodeid} || add_node $nodeid;
661
662 my $cb = @_ ? shift : $SELF || Carp::croak 'mon: called with one argument only, but $SELF not set,';
663
664 unless (ref $cb) {
665 if (@_) {
666 # send a kill info message
667 my (@msg) = ($cb, @_);
668 $cb = sub { snd @msg, @_ };
669 } else {
670 # simply kill other port
671 my $port = $cb;
672 $cb = sub { kil $port, @_ if @_ };
673 }
674 }
675
676 $node->monitor ($port, $cb);
677
678 defined wantarray
679 and ($cb += 0, Guard::guard { $node->unmonitor ($port, $cb) })
270} 680}
271 681
682=item $guard = mon_guard $port, $ref, $ref...
683
684Monitors the given C<$port> and keeps the passed references. When the port
685is killed, the references will be freed.
686
687Optionally returns a guard that will stop the monitoring.
688
689This function is useful when you create e.g. timers or other watchers and
690want to free them when the port gets killed (note the use of C<psub>):
691
692 $port->rcv (start => sub {
693 my $timer; $timer = mon_guard $port, AE::timer 1, 1, psub {
694 undef $timer if 0.9 < rand;
695 });
696 });
697
698=cut
699
700sub mon_guard {
701 my ($port, @refs) = @_;
702
703 #TODO: mon-less form?
704
705 mon $port, sub { 0 && @refs }
706}
707
708=item kil $port[, @reason]
709
710Kill the specified port with the given C<@reason>.
711
712If no C<@reason> is specified, then the port is killed "normally" -
713monitor callback will be invoked, but the kil will not cause linked ports
714(C<mon $mport, $lport> form) to get killed.
715
716If a C<@reason> is specified, then linked ports (C<mon $mport, $lport>
717form) get killed with the same reason.
718
719Runtime errors while evaluating C<rcv> callbacks or inside C<psub> blocks
720will be reported as reason C<< die => $@ >>.
721
722Transport/communication errors are reported as C<< transport_error =>
723$message >>.
724
725=cut
726
727=item $port = spawn $node, $initfunc[, @initdata]
728
729Creates a port on the node C<$node> (which can also be a port ID, in which
730case it's the node where that port resides).
731
732The port ID of the newly created port is returned immediately, and it is
733possible to immediately start sending messages or to monitor the port.
734
735After the port has been created, the init function is called on the remote
736node, in the same context as a C<rcv> callback. This function must be a
737fully-qualified function name (e.g. C<MyApp::Chat::Server::init>). To
738specify a function in the main program, use C<::name>.
739
740If the function doesn't exist, then the node tries to C<require>
741the package, then the package above the package and so on (e.g.
742C<MyApp::Chat::Server>, C<MyApp::Chat>, C<MyApp>) until the function
743exists or it runs out of package names.
744
745The init function is then called with the newly-created port as context
746object (C<$SELF>) and the C<@initdata> values as arguments. It I<must>
747call one of the C<rcv> functions to set callbacks on C<$SELF>, otherwise
748the port might not get created.
749
750A common idiom is to pass a local port, immediately monitor the spawned
751port, and in the remote init function, immediately monitor the passed
752local port. This two-way monitoring ensures that both ports get cleaned up
753when there is a problem.
754
755C<spawn> guarantees that the C<$initfunc> has no visible effects on the
756caller before C<spawn> returns (by delaying invocation when spawn is
757called for the local node).
758
759Example: spawn a chat server port on C<$othernode>.
760
761 # this node, executed from within a port context:
762 my $server = spawn $othernode, "MyApp::Chat::Server::connect", $SELF;
763 mon $server;
764
765 # init function on C<$othernode>
766 sub connect {
767 my ($srcport) = @_;
768
769 mon $srcport;
770
771 rcv $SELF, sub {
772 ...
773 };
774 }
775
776=cut
777
778sub _spawn {
779 my $port = shift;
780 my $init = shift;
781
782 # rcv will create the actual port
783 local $SELF = "$NODE#$port";
784 eval {
785 &{ load_func $init }
786 };
787 _self_die if $@;
788}
789
790sub spawn(@) {
791 my ($nodeid, undef) = split /#/, shift, 2;
792
793 my $id = $RUNIQ . ++$ID;
794
795 $_[0] =~ /::/
796 or Carp::croak "spawn init function must be a fully-qualified name, caught";
797
798 snd_to_func $nodeid, "AnyEvent::MP::_spawn" => $id, @_;
799
800 "$nodeid#$id"
801}
802
803
804=item after $timeout, @msg
805
806=item after $timeout, $callback
807
808Either sends the given message, or call the given callback, after the
809specified number of seconds.
810
811This is simply a utility function that comes in handy at times - the
812AnyEvent::MP author is not convinced of the wisdom of having it, though,
813so it may go away in the future.
814
815=cut
816
817sub after($@) {
818 my ($timeout, @action) = @_;
819
820 my $t; $t = AE::timer $timeout, 0, sub {
821 undef $t;
822 ref $action[0]
823 ? $action[0]()
824 : snd @action;
825 };
826}
827
828=item cal $port, @msg, $callback[, $timeout]
829
830A simple form of RPC - sends a message to the given C<$port> with the
831given contents (C<@msg>), but adds a reply port to the message.
832
833The reply port is created temporarily just for the purpose of receiving
834the reply, and will be C<kil>ed when no longer needed.
835
836A reply message sent to the port is passed to the C<$callback> as-is.
837
838If an optional time-out (in seconds) is given and it is not C<undef>,
839then the callback will be called without any arguments after the time-out
840elapsed and the port is C<kil>ed.
841
842If no time-out is given (or it is C<undef>), then the local port will
843monitor the remote port instead, so it eventually gets cleaned-up.
844
845Currently this function returns the temporary port, but this "feature"
846might go in future versions unless you can make a convincing case that
847this is indeed useful for something.
848
849=cut
850
851sub cal(@) {
852 my $timeout = ref $_[-1] ? undef : pop;
853 my $cb = pop;
854
855 my $port = port {
856 undef $timeout;
857 kil $SELF;
858 &$cb;
859 };
860
861 if (defined $timeout) {
862 $timeout = AE::timer $timeout, 0, sub {
863 undef $timeout;
864 kil $port;
865 $cb->();
866 };
867 } else {
868 mon $_[0], sub {
869 kil $port;
870 $cb->();
871 };
872 }
873
874 push @_, $port;
875 &snd;
876
877 $port
878}
879
272=back 880=back
273 881
274=head1 FUNCTIONS FOR NODES 882=head1 DISTRIBUTED DATABASE
883
884AnyEvent::MP comes with a simple distributed database. The database will
885be mirrored asynchronously at all global nodes. Other nodes bind to one of
886the global nodes for their needs.
887
888The database consists of a two-level hash - a hash contains a hash which
889contains values.
890
891The top level hash key is called "family", and the second-level hash key
892is simply called "key".
893
894The family and key must be alphanumeric ASCII strings, i.e. start
895with a letter and consist of letters, digits, underscores and colons
896(C<[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_:]*>, pretty much like Perl module names.
897
898As the family namespaceis global, it is recommended to prefix family names
899with the name of the application or module using it.
900
901The values should preferably be strings, but other perl scalars should
902work as well (such as arrays and hashes).
903
904Every database entry is owned by one node - adding the same family/key
905combination on multiple nodes will not cause discomfort for AnyEvent::MP,
906but the result might be nondeterministic, i.e. the key might have
907different values on different nodes.
908
909=item db_set $family => $key => $value
910
911Sets (or replaces) a key to the database.
912
913=item db_del $family => $key
914
915Deletes a key from the database.
916
917=item $guard = db_reg $family => $key [=> $value]
918
919Sets the key on the database and returns a guard. When the guard is
920destroyed, the key is deleted from the database. If C<$value> is missing,
921then C<undef> is used.
922
923=cut
924
925=back
926
927=head1 AnyEvent::MP vs. Distributed Erlang
928
929AnyEvent::MP got lots of its ideas from distributed Erlang (Erlang node
930== aemp node, Erlang process == aemp port), so many of the documents and
931programming techniques employed by Erlang apply to AnyEvent::MP. Here is a
932sample:
933
934 http://www.erlang.se/doc/programming_rules.shtml
935 http://erlang.org/doc/getting_started/part_frame.html # chapters 3 and 4
936 http://erlang.org/download/erlang-book-part1.pdf # chapters 5 and 6
937 http://erlang.org/download/armstrong_thesis_2003.pdf # chapters 4 and 5
938
939Despite the similarities, there are also some important differences:
275 940
276=over 4 941=over 4
277 942
278=item mon $noderef, $callback->($noderef, $status, $) 943=item * Node IDs are arbitrary strings in AEMP.
279 944
280Monitors the given noderef. 945Erlang relies on special naming and DNS to work everywhere in the same
946way. AEMP relies on each node somehow knowing its own address(es) (e.g. by
947configuration or DNS), and possibly the addresses of some seed nodes, but
948will otherwise discover other nodes (and their IDs) itself.
281 949
282=item become_public endpoint... 950=item * Erlang has a "remote ports are like local ports" philosophy, AEMP
951uses "local ports are like remote ports".
283 952
284Tells the node to become a public node, i.e. reachable from other nodes. 953The failure modes for local ports are quite different (runtime errors
954only) then for remote ports - when a local port dies, you I<know> it dies,
955when a connection to another node dies, you know nothing about the other
956port.
285 957
286If no arguments are given, or the first argument is C<undef>, then 958Erlang pretends remote ports are as reliable as local ports, even when
287AnyEvent::MP tries to bind on port C<4040> on all IP addresses that the 959they are not.
288local nodename resolves to.
289 960
290Otherwise the first argument must be an array-reference with transport 961AEMP encourages a "treat remote ports differently" philosophy, with local
291endpoints ("ip:port", "hostname:port") or port numbers (in which case the 962ports being the special case/exception, where transport errors cannot
292local nodename is used as hostname). The endpoints are all resolved and 963occur.
293will become the node reference.
294 964
295=cut 965=item * Erlang uses processes and a mailbox, AEMP does not queue.
966
967Erlang uses processes that selectively receive messages out of order, and
968therefore needs a queue. AEMP is event based, queuing messages would serve
969no useful purpose. For the same reason the pattern-matching abilities
970of AnyEvent::MP are more limited, as there is little need to be able to
971filter messages without dequeuing them.
972
973This is not a philosophical difference, but simply stems from AnyEvent::MP
974being event-based, while Erlang is process-based.
975
976You cna have a look at L<Coro::MP> for a more Erlang-like process model on
977top of AEMP and Coro threads.
978
979=item * Erlang sends are synchronous, AEMP sends are asynchronous.
980
981Sending messages in Erlang is synchronous and blocks the process until
982a conenction has been established and the message sent (and so does not
983need a queue that can overflow). AEMP sends return immediately, connection
984establishment is handled in the background.
985
986=item * Erlang suffers from silent message loss, AEMP does not.
987
988Erlang implements few guarantees on messages delivery - messages can get
989lost without any of the processes realising it (i.e. you send messages a,
990b, and c, and the other side only receives messages a and c).
991
992AEMP guarantees (modulo hardware errors) correct ordering, and the
993guarantee that after one message is lost, all following ones sent to the
994same port are lost as well, until monitoring raises an error, so there are
995no silent "holes" in the message sequence.
996
997If you want your software to be very reliable, you have to cope with
998corrupted and even out-of-order messages in both Erlang and AEMP. AEMP
999simply tries to work better in common error cases, such as when a network
1000link goes down.
1001
1002=item * Erlang can send messages to the wrong port, AEMP does not.
1003
1004In Erlang it is quite likely that a node that restarts reuses an Erlang
1005process ID known to other nodes for a completely different process,
1006causing messages destined for that process to end up in an unrelated
1007process.
1008
1009AEMP does not reuse port IDs, so old messages or old port IDs floating
1010around in the network will not be sent to an unrelated port.
1011
1012=item * Erlang uses unprotected connections, AEMP uses secure
1013authentication and can use TLS.
1014
1015AEMP can use a proven protocol - TLS - to protect connections and
1016securely authenticate nodes.
1017
1018=item * The AEMP protocol is optimised for both text-based and binary
1019communications.
1020
1021The AEMP protocol, unlike the Erlang protocol, supports both programming
1022language independent text-only protocols (good for debugging), and binary,
1023language-specific serialisers (e.g. Storable). By default, unless TLS is
1024used, the protocol is actually completely text-based.
1025
1026It has also been carefully designed to be implementable in other languages
1027with a minimum of work while gracefully degrading functionality to make the
1028protocol simple.
1029
1030=item * AEMP has more flexible monitoring options than Erlang.
1031
1032In Erlang, you can chose to receive I<all> exit signals as messages or
1033I<none>, there is no in-between, so monitoring single Erlang processes is
1034difficult to implement.
1035
1036Monitoring in AEMP is more flexible than in Erlang, as one can choose
1037between automatic kill, exit message or callback on a per-port basis.
1038
1039=item * Erlang tries to hide remote/local connections, AEMP does not.
1040
1041Monitoring in Erlang is not an indicator of process death/crashes, in the
1042same way as linking is (except linking is unreliable in Erlang).
1043
1044In AEMP, you don't "look up" registered port names or send to named ports
1045that might or might not be persistent. Instead, you normally spawn a port
1046on the remote node. The init function monitors you, and you monitor the
1047remote port. Since both monitors are local to the node, they are much more
1048reliable (no need for C<spawn_link>).
1049
1050This also saves round-trips and avoids sending messages to the wrong port
1051(hard to do in Erlang).
296 1052
297=back 1053=back
298 1054
299=head1 NODE MESSAGES 1055=head1 RATIONALE
300
301Nodes understand the following messages sent to them. Many of them take
302arguments called C<@reply>, which will simply be used to compose a reply
303message - C<$reply[0]> is the port to reply to, C<$reply[1]> the type and
304the remaining arguments are simply the message data.
305 1056
306=over 4 1057=over 4
307 1058
308=cut 1059=item Why strings for port and node IDs, why not objects?
309 1060
310=item wkp => $name, @reply 1061We considered "objects", but found that the actual number of methods
1062that can be called are quite low. Since port and node IDs travel over
1063the network frequently, the serialising/deserialising would add lots of
1064overhead, as well as having to keep a proxy object everywhere.
311 1065
312Replies with the port ID of the specified well-known port, or C<undef>. 1066Strings can easily be printed, easily serialised etc. and need no special
1067procedures to be "valid".
313 1068
314=item devnull => ... 1069And as a result, a port with just a default receiver consists of a single
1070code reference stored in a global hash - it can't become much cheaper.
315 1071
316Generic data sink/CPU heat conversion. 1072=item Why favour JSON, why not a real serialising format such as Storable?
317 1073
318=item relay => $port, @msg 1074In fact, any AnyEvent::MP node will happily accept Storable as framing
1075format, but currently there is no way to make a node use Storable by
1076default (although all nodes will accept it).
319 1077
320Simply forwards the message to the given port. 1078The default framing protocol is JSON because a) JSON::XS is many times
1079faster for small messages and b) most importantly, after years of
1080experience we found that object serialisation is causing more problems
1081than it solves: Just like function calls, objects simply do not travel
1082easily over the network, mostly because they will always be a copy, so you
1083always have to re-think your design.
321 1084
322=item eval => $string[ @reply] 1085Keeping your messages simple, concentrating on data structures rather than
323 1086objects, will keep your messages clean, tidy and efficient.
324Evaluates the given string. If C<@reply> is given, then a message of the
325form C<@reply, $@, @evalres> is sent.
326
327Example: crash another node.
328
329 snd $othernode, eval => "exit";
330
331=item time => @reply
332
333Replies the the current node time to C<@reply>.
334
335Example: tell the current node to send the current time to C<$myport> in a
336C<timereply> message.
337
338 snd $NODE, time => $myport, timereply => 1, 2;
339 # => snd $myport, timereply => 1, 2, <time>
340 1087
341=back 1088=back
342 1089
343=head1 SEE ALSO 1090=head1 SEE ALSO
1091
1092L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro> - a gentle introduction.
1093
1094L<AnyEvent::MP::Kernel> - more, lower-level, stuff.
1095
1096L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> - network maintenance and port groups, to find
1097your applications.
1098
1099L<AnyEvent::MP::DataConn> - establish data connections between nodes.
1100
1101L<AnyEvent::MP::LogCatcher> - simple service to display log messages from
1102all nodes.
344 1103
345L<AnyEvent>. 1104L<AnyEvent>.
346 1105
347=head1 AUTHOR 1106=head1 AUTHOR
348 1107

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