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Revision 1.21 by root, Tue Aug 4 14:10:51 2009 UTC vs.
Revision 1.153 by root, Sat Nov 2 01:30:49 2019 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 $port, $cb->(@msg) # callback is invoked on death
41 mon $port, $localport # kill localport on abnormal death
42 mon $port, $localport, @msg # send message on death
43
44 # temporarily execute code in port context
45 peval $port, sub { die "kill the port!" };
46
47 # execute callbacks in $SELF port context
48 my $timer = AE::timer 1, 0, psub {
49 die "kill the port, delayed";
50 };
51
52 # distributed database - modification
53 db_set $family => $subkey [=> $value] # add a subkey
54 db_del $family => $subkey... # delete one or more subkeys
55 db_reg $family => $port [=> $value] # register a port
56
57 # distributed database - queries
58 db_family $family => $cb->(\%familyhash)
59 db_keys $family => $cb->(\@keys)
60 db_values $family => $cb->(\@values)
61
62 # distributed database - monitoring a family
63 db_mon $family => $cb->(\%familyhash, \@added, \@changed, \@deleted)
24 64
25=head1 DESCRIPTION 65=head1 DESCRIPTION
26 66
27This module (-family) implements a simple message passing framework. 67This module (-family) implements a simple message passing framework.
28 68
29Despite its simplicity, you can securely message other processes running 69Despite its simplicity, you can securely message other processes running
30on the same or other hosts. 70on the same or other hosts, and you can supervise entities remotely.
31 71
32At the moment, this module family is severly brokena nd underdocumented, 72For an introduction to this module family, see the L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro>
33so do not use. This was uploaded mainly to reserve the CPAN namespace - 73manual page and the examples under F<eg/>.
34stay tuned!
35 74
36=head1 CONCEPTS 75=head1 CONCEPTS
37 76
38=over 4 77=over 4
39 78
40=item port 79=item port
41 80
42A port is something you can send messages to with the C<snd> function, and 81Not 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 82messages to (with the C<snd> function).
44messages they match, messages will not be queued.
45 83
84Ports allow you to register C<rcv> handlers that can match all or just
85some messages. Messages send to ports will not be queued, regardless of
86anything was listening for them or not.
87
88Ports are represented by (printable) strings called "port IDs".
89
46=item port id - C<noderef#portname> 90=item port ID - C<nodeid#portname>
47 91
48A port id is always the noderef, a hash-mark (C<#>) as separator, followed 92A port ID is the concatenation of a node ID, a hash-mark (C<#>)
49by a port name (a printable string of unspecified format). 93as separator, and a port name (a printable string of unspecified
94format created by AnyEvent::MP).
50 95
51=item node 96=item node
52 97
53A node is a single process containing at least one port - the node 98A 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, 99which enables nodes to manage each other remotely, and to create new
55among other things. 100ports.
56 101
57Initially, nodes are either private (single-process only) or hidden 102Nodes are either public (have one or more listening ports) or private
58(connected to a master node only). Only when they epxlicitly "become 103(no listening ports). Private nodes cannot talk to other private nodes
59public" can you send them messages from unrelated other nodes. 104currently, but all nodes can talk to public nodes.
60 105
61=item noderef - C<host:port,host:port...>, C<id@noderef>, C<id> 106Nodes is represented by (printable) strings called "node IDs".
62 107
108=item node ID - C<[A-Za-z0-9_\-.:]*>
109
63A noderef is a string that either uniquely identifies a given node (for 110A 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 111network. Depending on the configuration used, node IDs can look like a
65node (for public nodes). 112hostname, a hostname and a port, or a random string. AnyEvent::MP itself
113doesn't interpret node IDs in any way except to uniquely identify a node.
114
115=item binds - C<ip:port>
116
117Nodes can only talk to each other by creating some kind of connection to
118each other. To do this, nodes should listen on one or more local transport
119endpoints - binds.
120
121Currently, only standard C<ip:port> specifications can be used, which
122specify TCP ports to listen on. So a bind is basically just a tcp socket
123in listening mode that accepts connections from other nodes.
124
125=item seed nodes
126
127When a node starts, it knows nothing about the network it is in - it
128needs to connect to at least one other node that is already in the
129network. These other nodes are called "seed nodes".
130
131Seed nodes themselves are not special - they are seed nodes only because
132some other node I<uses> them as such, but any node can be used as seed
133node for other nodes, and eahc node can use a different set of seed nodes.
134
135In addition to discovering the network, seed nodes are also used to
136maintain the network - all nodes using the same seed node are part of the
137same network. If a network is split into multiple subnets because e.g. the
138network link between the parts goes down, then using the same seed nodes
139for all nodes ensures that eventually the subnets get merged again.
140
141Seed nodes are expected to be long-running, and at least one seed node
142should always be available. They should also be relatively responsive - a
143seed node that blocks for long periods will slow down everybody else.
144
145For small networks, it's best if every node uses the same set of seed
146nodes. For large networks, it can be useful to specify "regional" seed
147nodes for most nodes in an area, and use all seed nodes as seed nodes for
148each other. What's important is that all seed nodes connections form a
149complete graph, so that the network cannot split into separate subnets
150forever.
151
152Seed nodes are represented by seed IDs.
153
154=item seed IDs - C<host:port>
155
156Seed IDs are transport endpoint(s) (usually a hostname/IP address and a
157TCP port) of nodes that should be used as seed nodes.
158
159=item global nodes
160
161An AEMP network needs a discovery service - nodes need to know how to
162connect to other nodes they only know by name. In addition, AEMP offers a
163distributed "group database", which maps group names to a list of strings
164- for example, to register worker ports.
165
166A network needs at least one global node to work, and allows every node to
167be a global node.
168
169Any node that loads the L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> module becomes a global
170node and tries to keep connections to all other nodes. So while it can
171make sense to make every node "global" in small networks, it usually makes
172sense to only make seed nodes into global nodes in large networks (nodes
173keep connections to seed nodes and global nodes, so making them the same
174reduces overhead).
66 175
67=back 176=back
68 177
69=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS 178=head1 VARIABLES/FUNCTIONS
70 179
72 181
73=cut 182=cut
74 183
75package AnyEvent::MP; 184package AnyEvent::MP;
76 185
186use AnyEvent::MP::Config ();
77use AnyEvent::MP::Base; 187use AnyEvent::MP::Kernel;
188use AnyEvent::MP::Kernel qw(
189 %NODE %PORT %PORT_DATA $UNIQ $RUNIQ $ID
190 add_node load_func
191
192 NODE $NODE
193 configure
194 node_of port_is_local
195 snd kil
196 db_set db_del
197 db_mon db_family db_keys db_values
198);
78 199
79use common::sense; 200use common::sense;
80 201
81use Carp (); 202use Carp ();
82 203
83use AE (); 204use AnyEvent ();
205use Guard ();
84 206
85use base "Exporter"; 207use base "Exporter";
86 208
87our $VERSION = '0.02'; 209our $VERSION = '2.02'; # also in MP/Config.pm
210
88our @EXPORT = qw( 211our @EXPORT = qw(
89 NODE $NODE $PORT snd rcv mon kil _any_ 212 configure
90 create_port create_port_on 213
91 miniport 214 NODE $NODE
92 become_slave become_public 215 *SELF
216
217 node_of port_is_local
218
219 snd kil
220 port rcv mon mon_guard psub peval spawn cal
221 db_set db_del db_reg
222 db_mon db_family db_keys db_values
223
224 after
93); 225);
94 226
227our $SELF;
228
229sub _self_die() {
230 my $msg = $@;
231 $msg =~ s/\n+$// unless ref $msg;
232 kil $SELF, die => $msg;
233}
234
95=item NODE / $NODE 235=item $thisnode = NODE / $NODE
96 236
97The C<NODE ()> function and the C<$NODE> variable contain the noderef of 237The 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 238ID of the node running in the current process. This value is initialised by
99C<become_slave>, after which all local port identifiers become invalid. 239a call to C<configure>.
100 240
241=item $nodeid = node_of $port
242
243Extracts and returns the node ID from a port ID or a node ID.
244
245=item $is_local = port_is_local $port
246
247Returns true iff the port is a local port.
248
249=item configure $profile, key => value...
250
251=item configure key => value...
252
253Before a node can talk to other nodes on the network (i.e. enter
254"distributed mode") it has to configure itself - the minimum a node needs
255to know is its own name, and optionally it should know the addresses of
256some other nodes in the network to discover other nodes.
257
258This function configures a node - it must be called exactly once (or
259never) before calling other AnyEvent::MP functions.
260
261The key/value pairs are basically the same ones as documented for the
262F<aemp> command line utility (sans the set/del prefix), with these additions:
263
264=over 4
265
266=item norc => $boolean (default false)
267
268If true, then the rc file (e.g. F<~/.perl-anyevent-mp>) will I<not>
269be consulted - all configuration options must be specified in the
270C<configure> call.
271
272=item force => $boolean (default false)
273
274IF true, then the values specified in the C<configure> will take
275precedence over any values configured via the rc file. The default is for
276the rc file to override any options specified in the program.
277
278=back
279
280=over 4
281
282=item step 1, gathering configuration from profiles
283
284The function first looks up a profile in the aemp configuration (see the
285L<aemp> commandline utility). The profile name can be specified via the
286named C<profile> parameter or can simply be the first parameter). If it is
287missing, then the nodename (F<uname -n>) will be used as profile name.
288
289The profile data is then gathered as follows:
290
291First, all remaining key => value pairs (all of which are conveniently
292undocumented at the moment) will be interpreted as configuration
293data. Then they will be overwritten by any values specified in the global
294default configuration (see the F<aemp> utility), then the chain of
295profiles chosen by the profile name (and any C<parent> attributes).
296
297That means that the values specified in the profile have highest priority
298and the values specified directly via C<configure> have lowest priority,
299and can only be used to specify defaults.
300
301If the profile specifies a node ID, then this will become the node ID of
302this process. If not, then the profile name will be used as node ID, with
303a unique randoms tring (C</%u>) appended.
304
305The node ID can contain some C<%> sequences that are expanded: C<%n>
306is expanded to the local nodename, C<%u> is replaced by a random
307strign to make the node unique. For example, the F<aemp> commandline
308utility uses C<aemp/%n/%u> as nodename, which might expand to
309C<aemp/cerebro/ZQDGSIkRhEZQDGSIkRhE>.
310
311=item step 2, bind listener sockets
312
313The next step is to look up the binds in the profile, followed by binding
314aemp protocol listeners on all binds specified (it is possible and valid
315to have no binds, meaning that the node cannot be contacted from the
316outside. This means the node cannot talk to other nodes that also have no
317binds, but it can still talk to all "normal" nodes).
318
319If the profile does not specify a binds list, then a default of C<*> is
320used, meaning the node will bind on a dynamically-assigned port on every
321local IP address it finds.
322
323=item step 3, connect to seed nodes
324
325As the last step, the seed ID list from the profile is passed to the
326L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> module, which will then use it to keep
327connectivity with at least one node at any point in time.
328
329=back
330
331Example: become a distributed node using the local node name as profile.
332This should be the most common form of invocation for "daemon"-type nodes.
333
334 configure
335
336Example: become a semi-anonymous node. This form is often used for
337commandline clients.
338
339 configure nodeid => "myscript/%n/%u";
340
341Example: configure a node using a profile called seed, which is suitable
342for a seed node as it binds on all local addresses on a fixed port (4040,
343customary for aemp).
344
345 # use the aemp commandline utility
346 # aemp profile seed binds '*:4040'
347
348 # then use it
349 configure profile => "seed";
350
351 # or simply use aemp from the shell again:
352 # aemp run profile seed
353
354 # or provide a nicer-to-remember nodeid
355 # aemp run profile seed nodeid "$(hostname)"
356
357=item $SELF
358
359Contains the current port id while executing C<rcv> callbacks or C<psub>
360blocks.
361
362=item *SELF, SELF, %SELF, @SELF...
363
364Due to some quirks in how perl exports variables, it is impossible to
365just export C<$SELF>, all the symbols named C<SELF> are exported by this
366module, but only C<$SELF> is currently used.
367
101=item snd $portid, type => @data 368=item snd $port, type => @data
102 369
103=item snd $portid, @msg 370=item snd $port, @msg
104 371
105Send the given message to the given port ID, which can identify either 372Send 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 373local or a remote port, and must be a port ID.
107stringifies a sa port ID (such as a port object :).
108 374
109While the message can be about anything, it is highly recommended to use a 375While the message can be almost anything, it is highly recommended to
110string as first element (a portid, or some word that indicates a request 376use a string as first element (a port ID, or some word that indicates a
111type etc.). 377request type etc.) and to consist if only simple perl values (scalars,
378arrays, hashes) - if you think you need to pass an object, think again.
112 379
113The message data effectively becomes read-only after a call to this 380The message data logically becomes read-only after a call to this
114function: modifying any argument is not allowed and can cause many 381function: modifying any argument (or values referenced by them) is
115problems. 382forbidden, as there can be considerable time between the call to C<snd>
383and the time the message is actually being serialised - in fact, it might
384never be copied as within the same process it is simply handed to the
385receiving port.
116 386
117The type of data you can transfer depends on the transport protocol: when 387The type of data you can transfer depends on the transport protocol: when
118JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting 388JSON is used, then only strings, numbers and arrays and hashes consisting
119of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything 389of those are allowed (no objects). When Storable is used, then anything
120that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local 390that Storable can serialise and deserialise is allowed, and for the local
121node, anything can be passed. 391node, anything can be passed. Best rely only on the common denominator of
392these.
122 393
123=item $guard = mon $portid, $cb->() 394=item $local_port = port
124 395
125=item $guard = mon $portid, $otherport 396Create a new local port object and returns its port ID. Initially it has
397no callbacks set and will throw an error when it receives messages.
126 398
127=item $guard = mon $portid, $otherport, @msg 399=item $local_port = port { my @msg = @_ }
128 400
129Monitor the given port and call the given callback when the port is 401Creates a new local port, and returns its ID. Semantically the same as
130destroyed or connection to it's node is lost. 402creating a port and calling C<rcv $port, $callback> on it.
131 403
132#TODO 404The block will be called for every message received on the port, with the
405global variable C<$SELF> set to the port ID. Runtime errors will cause the
406port to be C<kil>ed. The message will be passed as-is, no extra argument
407(i.e. no port ID) will be passed to the callback.
408
409If you want to stop/destroy the port, simply C<kil> it:
410
411 my $port = port {
412 my @msg = @_;
413 ...
414 kil $SELF;
415 };
133 416
134=cut 417=cut
135 418
419sub rcv($@);
420
421my $KILME = sub {
422 (my $tag = substr $_[0], 0, 30) =~ s/([^\x20-\x7e])/./g;
423 kil $SELF, unhandled_message => "no callback found for message '$tag'";
424};
425
426sub port(;&) {
427 my $id = $UNIQ . ++$ID;
428 my $port = "$NODE#$id";
429
430 rcv $port, shift || $KILME;
431
432 $port
433}
434
435=item rcv $local_port, $callback->(@msg)
436
437Replaces the default callback on the specified port. There is no way to
438remove the default callback: use C<sub { }> to disable it, or better
439C<kil> the port when it is no longer needed.
440
441The global C<$SELF> (exported by this module) contains C<$port> while
442executing the callback. Runtime errors during callback execution will
443result in the port being C<kil>ed.
444
445The default callback receives all messages not matched by a more specific
446C<tag> match.
447
448=item rcv $local_port, tag => $callback->(@msg_without_tag), ...
449
450Register (or replace) callbacks to be called on messages starting with the
451given tag on the given port (and return the port), or unregister it (when
452C<$callback> is C<$undef> or missing). There can only be one callback
453registered for each tag.
454
455The original message will be passed to the callback, after the first
456element (the tag) has been removed. The callback will use the same
457environment as the default callback (see above).
458
459Example: create a port and bind receivers on it in one go.
460
461 my $port = rcv port,
462 msg1 => sub { ... },
463 msg2 => sub { ... },
464 ;
465
466Example: create a port, bind receivers and send it in a message elsewhere
467in one go:
468
469 snd $otherport, reply =>
470 rcv port,
471 msg1 => sub { ... },
472 ...
473 ;
474
475Example: temporarily register a rcv callback for a tag matching some port
476(e.g. for an rpc reply) and unregister it after a message was received.
477
478 rcv $port, $otherport => sub {
479 my @reply = @_;
480
481 rcv $SELF, $otherport;
482 };
483
484=cut
485
486sub rcv($@) {
487 my $port = shift;
488 my ($nodeid, $portid) = split /#/, $port, 2;
489
490 $nodeid eq $NODE
491 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on local ports, caught";
492
493 while (@_) {
494 if (ref $_[0]) {
495 if (my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid}) {
496 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
497 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
498
499 $self->[0] = shift;
500 } else {
501 my $cb = shift;
502 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
503 local $SELF = $port;
504 eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
505 };
506 }
507 } elsif (defined $_[0]) {
508 my $self = $PORT_DATA{$portid} ||= do {
509 my $self = bless [$PORT{$portid} || sub { }, { }, $port], "AnyEvent::MP::Port";
510
511 $PORT{$portid} = sub {
512 local $SELF = $port;
513
514 if (my $cb = $self->[1]{$_[0]}) {
515 shift;
516 eval { &$cb }; _self_die if $@;
517 } else {
518 &{ $self->[0] };
519 }
520 };
521
522 $self
523 };
524
525 "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $self
526 or Carp::croak "$port: rcv can only be called on message matching ports, caught";
527
528 my ($tag, $cb) = splice @_, 0, 2;
529
530 if (defined $cb) {
531 $self->[1]{$tag} = $cb;
532 } else {
533 delete $self->[1]{$tag};
534 }
535 }
536 }
537
538 $port
539}
540
541=item peval $port, $coderef[, @args]
542
543Evaluates the given C<$codref> within the context of C<$port>, that is,
544when the code throws an exception the C<$port> will be killed.
545
546Any remaining args will be passed to the callback. Any return values will
547be returned to the caller.
548
549This is useful when you temporarily want to execute code in the context of
550a port.
551
552Example: create a port and run some initialisation code in it's context.
553
554 my $port = port { ... };
555
556 peval $port, sub {
557 init
558 or die "unable to init";
559 };
560
561=cut
562
563sub peval($$) {
564 local $SELF = shift;
565 my $cb = shift;
566
567 if (wantarray) {
568 my @res = eval { &$cb };
569 _self_die if $@;
570 @res
571 } else {
572 my $res = eval { &$cb };
573 _self_die if $@;
574 $res
575 }
576}
577
578=item $closure = psub { BLOCK }
579
580Remembers C<$SELF> and creates a closure out of the BLOCK. When the
581closure is executed, sets up the environment in the same way as in C<rcv>
582callbacks, i.e. runtime errors will cause the port to get C<kil>ed.
583
584The effect is basically as if it returned C<< sub { peval $SELF, sub {
585BLOCK }, @_ } >>.
586
587This is useful when you register callbacks from C<rcv> callbacks:
588
589 rcv delayed_reply => sub {
590 my ($delay, @reply) = @_;
591 my $timer = AE::timer $delay, 0, psub {
592 snd @reply, $SELF;
593 };
594 };
595
596=cut
597
598sub psub(&) {
599 my $cb = shift;
600
601 my $port = $SELF
602 or Carp::croak "psub can only be called from within rcv or psub callbacks, not";
603
604 sub {
605 local $SELF = $port;
606
607 if (wantarray) {
608 my @res = eval { &$cb };
609 _self_die if $@;
610 @res
611 } else {
612 my $res = eval { &$cb };
613 _self_die if $@;
614 $res
615 }
616 }
617}
618
619=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport # kill $rcvport when $port dies
620
621=item $guard = mon $port # kill $SELF when $port dies
622
623=item $guard = mon $port, $cb->(@reason) # call $cb when $port dies
624
625=item $guard = mon $port, $rcvport, @msg # send a message when $port dies
626
627Monitor the given port and do something when the port is killed or
628messages to it were lost, and optionally return a guard that can be used
629to stop monitoring again.
630
631The first two forms distinguish between "normal" and "abnormal" kil's:
632
633In the first form (another port given), if the C<$port> is C<kil>'ed with
634a non-empty reason, the other port (C<$rcvport>) will be kil'ed with the
635same reason. That is, on "normal" kil's nothing happens, while under all
636other conditions, the other port is killed with the same reason.
637
638The second form (kill self) is the same as the first form, except that
639C<$rvport> defaults to C<$SELF>.
640
641The remaining forms don't distinguish between "normal" and "abnormal" kil's
642- it's up to the callback or receiver to check whether the C<@reason> is
643empty and act accordingly.
644
645In the third form (callback), the callback is simply called with any
646number of C<@reason> elements (empty @reason means that the port was deleted
647"normally"). Note also that I<< the callback B<must> never die >>, so use
648C<eval> if unsure.
649
650In the last form (message), a message of the form C<$rcvport, @msg,
651@reason> will be C<snd>.
652
653Monitoring-actions are one-shot: once messages are lost (and a monitoring
654alert was raised), they are removed and will not trigger again, even if it
655turns out that the port is still alive.
656
657As a rule of thumb, monitoring requests should always monitor a remote
658port locally (using a local C<$rcvport> or a callback). The reason is that
659kill messages might get lost, just like any other message. Another less
660obvious reason is that even monitoring requests can get lost (for example,
661when the connection to the other node goes down permanently). When
662monitoring a port locally these problems do not exist.
663
664C<mon> effectively guarantees that, in the absence of hardware failures,
665after starting the monitor, either all messages sent to the port will
666arrive, or the monitoring action will be invoked after possible message
667loss has been detected. No messages will be lost "in between" (after
668the first lost message no further messages will be received by the
669port). After the monitoring action was invoked, further messages might get
670delivered again.
671
672Inter-host-connection timeouts and monitoring depend on the transport
673used. The only transport currently implemented is TCP, and AnyEvent::MP
674relies on TCP to detect node-downs (this can take 10-15 minutes on a
675non-idle connection, and usually around two hours for idle connections).
676
677This means that monitoring is good for program errors and cleaning up
678stuff eventually, but they are no replacement for a timeout when you need
679to ensure some maximum latency.
680
681Example: call a given callback when C<$port> is killed.
682
683 mon $port, sub { warn "port died because of <@_>\n" };
684
685Example: kill ourselves when C<$port> is killed abnormally.
686
687 mon $port;
688
689Example: send us a restart message when another C<$port> is killed.
690
691 mon $port, $self => "restart";
692
693=cut
694
136sub mon { 695sub mon {
137 my ($noderef, $port, $cb) = ((split /#/, shift, 2), shift); 696 my ($nodeid, $port) = split /#/, shift, 2;
138 697
139 my $node = AnyEvent::MP::Base::add_node $noderef; 698 my $node = $NODE{$nodeid} || add_node $nodeid;
140 699
141 #TODO: ports must not be references 700 my $cb = @_ ? shift : $SELF || Carp::croak 'mon: called with one argument only, but $SELF not set,';
142 if (!ref $cb or "AnyEvent::MP::Port" eq ref $cb) { 701
702 unless (ref $cb) {
143 if (@_) { 703 if (@_) {
144 # send a kill info message 704 # send a kill info message
145 my (@msg) = ($cb, @_); 705 my (@msg) = ($cb, @_);
146 $cb = sub { snd @msg, @_ }; 706 $cb = sub { snd @msg, @_ };
147 } else { 707 } else {
148 # simply kill other port 708 # simply kill other port
149 my $port = $cb; 709 my $port = $cb;
150 $cb = sub { kil $port, @_ }; 710 $cb = sub { kil $port, @_ if @_ };
151 } 711 }
152 } 712 }
153 713
154 $node->monitor ($port, $cb); 714 $node->monitor ($port, $cb);
155 715
156 defined wantarray 716 defined wantarray
157 and AnyEvent::Util::guard { $node->unmonitor ($port, $cb) } 717 and ($cb += 0, Guard::guard { $node->unmonitor ($port, $cb) })
158} 718}
159 719
160=item $guard = mon_guard $port, $ref, $ref... 720=item $guard = mon_guard $port, $ref, $ref...
161 721
162Monitors the given C<$port> and keeps the passed references. When the port 722Monitors the given C<$port> and keeps the passed references. When the port
163is killed, the references will be freed. 723is killed, the references will be freed.
164 724
165Optionally returns a guard that will stop the monitoring. 725Optionally returns a guard that will stop the monitoring.
166 726
167This function is useful when you create e.g. timers or other watchers and 727This function is useful when you create e.g. timers or other watchers and
168want to free them when the port gets killed: 728want to free them when the port gets killed (note the use of C<psub>):
169 729
170 $port->rcv (start => sub { 730 $port->rcv (start => sub {
171 my $timer; $timer = mon_guard $port, AE::timer 1, 1, sub { 731 my $timer; $timer = mon_guard $port, AE::timer 1, 1, psub {
172 undef $timer if 0.9 < rand; 732 undef $timer if 0.9 < rand;
173 }); 733 });
174 }); 734 });
175 735
176=cut 736=cut
177 737
178sub mon_guard { 738sub mon_guard {
179 my ($port, @refs) = @_; 739 my ($port, @refs) = @_;
180 740
741 #TODO: mon-less form?
742
181 mon $port, sub { 0 && @refs } 743 mon $port, sub { 0 && @refs }
182} 744}
183 745
184=item $local_port = create_port 746=item kil $port[, @reason]
185 747
186Create a new local port object. See the next section for allowed methods. 748Kill the specified port with the given C<@reason>.
749
750If no C<@reason> is specified, then the port is killed "normally" -
751monitor callback will be invoked, but the kil will not cause linked ports
752(C<mon $mport, $lport> form) to get killed.
753
754If a C<@reason> is specified, then linked ports (C<mon $mport, $lport>
755form) get killed with the same reason.
756
757Runtime errors while evaluating C<rcv> callbacks or inside C<psub> blocks
758will be reported as reason C<< die => $@ >>.
759
760Transport/communication errors are reported as C<< transport_error =>
761$message >>.
762
763Common idioms:
764
765 # silently remove yourself, do not kill linked ports
766 kil $SELF;
767
768 # report a failure in some detail
769 kil $SELF, failure_mode_1 => "it failed with too high temperature";
770
771 # do not waste much time with killing, just die when something goes wrong
772 open my $fh, "<file"
773 or die "file: $!";
774
775=item $port = spawn $node, $initfunc[, @initdata]
776
777Creates a port on the node C<$node> (which can also be a port ID, in which
778case it's the node where that port resides).
779
780The port ID of the newly created port is returned immediately, and it is
781possible to immediately start sending messages or to monitor the port.
782
783After the port has been created, the init function is called on the remote
784node, in the same context as a C<rcv> callback. This function must be a
785fully-qualified function name (e.g. C<MyApp::Chat::Server::init>). To
786specify a function in the main program, use C<::name>.
787
788If the function doesn't exist, then the node tries to C<require>
789the package, then the package above the package and so on (e.g.
790C<MyApp::Chat::Server>, C<MyApp::Chat>, C<MyApp>) until the function
791exists or it runs out of package names.
792
793The init function is then called with the newly-created port as context
794object (C<$SELF>) and the C<@initdata> values as arguments. It I<must>
795call one of the C<rcv> functions to set callbacks on C<$SELF>, otherwise
796the port might not get created.
797
798A common idiom is to pass a local port, immediately monitor the spawned
799port, and in the remote init function, immediately monitor the passed
800local port. This two-way monitoring ensures that both ports get cleaned up
801when there is a problem.
802
803C<spawn> guarantees that the C<$initfunc> has no visible effects on the
804caller before C<spawn> returns (by delaying invocation when spawn is
805called for the local node).
806
807Example: spawn a chat server port on C<$othernode>.
808
809 # this node, executed from within a port context:
810 my $server = spawn $othernode, "MyApp::Chat::Server::connect", $SELF;
811 mon $server;
812
813 # init function on C<$othernode>
814 sub connect {
815 my ($srcport) = @_;
816
817 mon $srcport;
818
819 rcv $SELF, sub {
820 ...
821 };
822 }
187 823
188=cut 824=cut
189 825
190sub create_port { 826sub _spawn {
191 my $id = "$AnyEvent::MP::Base::UNIQ." . $AnyEvent::MP::Base::ID++; 827 my $port = shift;
828 my $init = shift;
192 829
193 my $self = bless { 830 # rcv will create the actual port
194 id => "$NODE#$id", 831 local $SELF = "$NODE#$port";
195 }, "AnyEvent::MP::Port"; 832 eval {
196 833 &{ load_func $init }
197 $AnyEvent::MP::Base::PORT{$id} = sub {
198 unshift @_, $self;
199
200 for (@{ $self->{rc0}{$_[1]} }) {
201 $_ && &{$_->[0]}
202 && undef $_;
203 }
204
205 for (@{ $self->{rcv}{$_[1]} }) {
206 $_ && [@_[1 .. @{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1]
207 && &{$_->[0]}
208 && undef $_;
209 }
210
211 for (@{ $self->{any} }) {
212 $_ && [@_[0 .. $#{$_->[1]}]] ~~ $_->[1]
213 && &{$_->[0]}
214 && undef $_;
215 }
216 }; 834 };
217 835 _self_die if $@;
218 $self
219} 836}
220 837
221=item $portid = miniport { my @msg = @_; $finished } 838sub spawn(@) {
839 my ($nodeid, undef) = split /#/, shift, 2;
222 840
223Creates a "mini port", that is, a very lightweight port without any 841 my $id = $RUNIQ . ++$ID;
224pattern matching behind it, and returns its ID.
225 842
226The block will be called for every message received on the port. When the 843 $_[0] =~ /::/
227callback returns a true value its job is considered "done" and the port 844 or Carp::croak "spawn init function must be a fully-qualified name, caught";
228will be destroyed. Otherwise it will stay alive.
229 845
230The message will be passed as-is, no extra argument (i.e. no port id) will 846 snd_to_func $nodeid, "AnyEvent::MP::_spawn" => $id, @_;
231be passed to the callback.
232 847
233If you need the local port id in the callback, this works nicely: 848 "$nodeid#$id"
849}
234 850
235 my $port; $port = miniport { 851
236 snd $otherport, reply => $port; 852=item after $timeout, @msg
853
854=item after $timeout, $callback
855
856Either sends the given message, or call the given callback, after the
857specified number of seconds.
858
859This is simply a utility function that comes in handy at times - the
860AnyEvent::MP author is not convinced of the wisdom of having it, though,
861so it may go away in the future.
862
863=cut
864
865sub after($@) {
866 my ($timeout, @action) = @_;
867
868 my $t; $t = AE::timer $timeout, 0, sub {
869 undef $t;
870 ref $action[0]
871 ? $action[0]()
872 : snd @action;
237 }; 873 };
874}
875
876#=item $cb2 = timeout $seconds, $cb[, @args]
877
878=item cal $port, @msg, $callback[, $timeout]
879
880A simple form of RPC - sends a message to the given C<$port> with the
881given contents (C<@msg>), but adds a reply port to the message.
882
883The reply port is created temporarily just for the purpose of receiving
884the reply, and will be C<kil>ed when no longer needed.
885
886A reply message sent to the port is passed to the C<$callback> as-is.
887
888If an optional time-out (in seconds) is given and it is not C<undef>,
889then the callback will be called without any arguments after the time-out
890elapsed and the port is C<kil>ed.
891
892If no time-out is given (or it is C<undef>), then the local port will
893monitor the remote port instead, so it eventually gets cleaned-up.
894
895Currently this function returns the temporary port, but this "feature"
896might go in future versions unless you can make a convincing case that
897this is indeed useful for something.
238 898
239=cut 899=cut
240 900
241sub miniport(&) { 901sub cal(@) {
902 my $timeout = ref $_[-1] ? undef : pop;
242 my $cb = shift; 903 my $cb = pop;
243 my $id = "$AnyEvent::MP::Base::UNIQ." . $AnyEvent::MP::Base::ID++;
244 904
245 $AnyEvent::MP::Base::PORT{$id} = sub { 905 my $port = port {
906 undef $timeout;
907 kil $SELF;
246 &$cb 908 &$cb;
247 and kil $id;
248 }; 909 };
249 910
250 "$NODE#$id" 911 if (defined $timeout) {
912 $timeout = AE::timer $timeout, 0, sub {
913 undef $timeout;
914 kil $port;
915 $cb->();
916 };
917 } else {
918 mon $_[0], sub {
919 kil $port;
920 $cb->();
921 };
922 }
923
924 push @_, $port;
925 &snd;
926
927 $port
251} 928}
252 929
253package AnyEvent::MP::Port;
254
255=back 930=back
256 931
257=head1 METHODS FOR PORT OBJECTS 932=head1 DISTRIBUTED DATABASE
933
934AnyEvent::MP comes with a simple distributed database. The database will
935be mirrored asynchronously on all global nodes. Other nodes bind to one
936of the global nodes for their needs. Every node has a "local database"
937which contains all the values that are set locally. All local databases
938are merged together to form the global database, which can be queried.
939
940The database structure is that of a two-level hash - the database hash
941contains hashes which contain values, similarly to a perl hash of hashes,
942i.e.:
943
944 $DATABASE{$family}{$subkey} = $value
945
946The top level hash key is called "family", and the second-level hash key
947is called "subkey" or simply "key".
948
949The family must be alphanumeric, i.e. start with a letter and consist
950of letters, digits, underscores and colons (C<[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_:]*>,
951pretty much like Perl module names.
952
953As the family namespace is global, it is recommended to prefix family names
954with the name of the application or module using it.
955
956The subkeys must be non-empty strings, with no further restrictions.
957
958The values should preferably be strings, but other perl scalars should
959work as well (such as C<undef>, arrays and hashes).
960
961Every database entry is owned by one node - adding the same family/subkey
962combination on multiple nodes will not cause discomfort for AnyEvent::MP,
963but the result might be nondeterministic, i.e. the key might have
964different values on different nodes.
965
966Different subkeys in the same family can be owned by different nodes
967without problems, and in fact, this is the common method to create worker
968pools. For example, a worker port for image scaling might do this:
969
970 db_set my_image_scalers => $port;
971
972And clients looking for an image scaler will want to get the
973C<my_image_scalers> keys from time to time:
974
975 db_keys my_image_scalers => sub {
976 @ports = @{ $_[0] };
977 };
978
979Or better yet, they want to monitor the database family, so they always
980have a reasonable up-to-date copy:
981
982 db_mon my_image_scalers => sub {
983 @ports = keys %{ $_[0] };
984 };
985
986In general, you can set or delete single subkeys, but query and monitor
987whole families only.
988
989If you feel the need to monitor or query a single subkey, try giving it
990it's own family.
991
992=over
993
994=item $guard = db_set $family => $subkey [=> $value]
995
996Sets (or replaces) a key to the database - if C<$value> is omitted,
997C<undef> is used instead.
998
999When called in non-void context, C<db_set> returns a guard that
1000automatically calls C<db_del> when it is destroyed.
1001
1002=item db_del $family => $subkey...
1003
1004Deletes one or more subkeys from the database family.
1005
1006=item $guard = db_reg $family => $port => $value
1007
1008=item $guard = db_reg $family => $port
1009
1010=item $guard = db_reg $family
1011
1012Registers a port in the given family and optionally returns a guard to
1013remove it.
1014
1015This function basically does the same as:
1016
1017 db_set $family => $port => $value
1018
1019Except that the port is monitored and automatically removed from the
1020database family when it is kil'ed.
1021
1022If C<$value> is missing, C<undef> is used. If C<$port> is missing, then
1023C<$SELF> is used.
1024
1025This function is most useful to register a port in some port group (which
1026is just another name for a database family), and have it removed when the
1027port is gone. This works best when the port is a local port.
1028
1029=cut
1030
1031sub db_reg($$;$) {
1032 my $family = shift;
1033 my $port = @_ ? shift : $SELF;
1034
1035 my $clr = sub { db_del $family => $port };
1036 mon $port, $clr;
1037
1038 db_set $family => $port => $_[0];
1039
1040 defined wantarray
1041 and &Guard::guard ($clr)
1042}
1043
1044=item db_family $family => $cb->(\%familyhash)
1045
1046Queries the named database C<$family> and call the callback with the
1047family represented as a hash. You can keep and freely modify the hash.
1048
1049=item db_keys $family => $cb->(\@keys)
1050
1051Same as C<db_family>, except it only queries the family I<subkeys> and passes
1052them as array reference to the callback.
1053
1054=item db_values $family => $cb->(\@values)
1055
1056Same as C<db_family>, except it only queries the family I<values> and passes them
1057as array reference to the callback.
1058
1059=item $guard = db_mon $family => $cb->(\%familyhash, \@added, \@changed, \@deleted)
1060
1061Creates a monitor on the given database family. Each time a key is
1062set or is deleted the callback is called with a hash containing the
1063database family and three lists of added, changed and deleted subkeys,
1064respectively. If no keys have changed then the array reference might be
1065C<undef> or even missing.
1066
1067If not called in void context, a guard object is returned that, when
1068destroyed, stops the monitor.
1069
1070The family hash reference and the key arrays belong to AnyEvent::MP and
1071B<must not be modified or stored> by the callback. When in doubt, make a
1072copy.
1073
1074As soon as possible after the monitoring starts, the callback will be
1075called with the intiial contents of the family, even if it is empty,
1076i.e. there will always be a timely call to the callback with the current
1077contents.
1078
1079It is possible that the callback is called with a change event even though
1080the subkey is already present and the value has not changed.
1081
1082The monitoring stops when the guard object is destroyed.
1083
1084Example: on every change to the family "mygroup", print out all keys.
1085
1086 my $guard = db_mon mygroup => sub {
1087 my ($family, $a, $c, $d) = @_;
1088 print "mygroup members: ", (join " ", keys %$family), "\n";
1089 };
1090
1091Exmaple: wait until the family "My::Module::workers" is non-empty.
1092
1093 my $guard; $guard = db_mon My::Module::workers => sub {
1094 my ($family, $a, $c, $d) = @_;
1095 return unless %$family;
1096 undef $guard;
1097 print "My::Module::workers now nonempty\n";
1098 };
1099
1100Example: print all changes to the family "AnyEvent::Fantasy::Module".
1101
1102 my $guard = db_mon AnyEvent::Fantasy::Module => sub {
1103 my ($family, $a, $c, $d) = @_;
1104
1105 print "+$_=$family->{$_}\n" for @$a;
1106 print "*$_=$family->{$_}\n" for @$c;
1107 print "-$_=$family->{$_}\n" for @$d;
1108 };
1109
1110=cut
1111
1112=back
1113
1114=head1 AnyEvent::MP vs. Distributed Erlang
1115
1116AnyEvent::MP got lots of its ideas from distributed Erlang (Erlang node
1117== aemp node, Erlang process == aemp port), so many of the documents and
1118programming techniques employed by Erlang apply to AnyEvent::MP. Here is a
1119sample:
1120
1121 http://www.erlang.se/doc/programming_rules.shtml
1122 http://erlang.org/doc/getting_started/part_frame.html # chapters 3 and 4
1123 http://erlang.org/download/erlang-book-part1.pdf # chapters 5 and 6
1124 http://erlang.org/download/armstrong_thesis_2003.pdf # chapters 4 and 5
1125
1126Despite the similarities, there are also some important differences:
258 1127
259=over 4 1128=over 4
260 1129
261=item "$port" 1130=item * Node IDs are arbitrary strings in AEMP.
262 1131
263A port object stringifies to its port ID, so can be used directly for 1132Erlang relies on special naming and DNS to work everywhere in the same
264C<snd> operations. 1133way. AEMP relies on each node somehow knowing its own address(es) (e.g. by
1134configuration or DNS), and possibly the addresses of some seed nodes, but
1135will otherwise discover other nodes (and their IDs) itself.
265 1136
266=cut 1137=item * Erlang has a "remote ports are like local ports" philosophy, AEMP
1138uses "local ports are like remote ports".
267 1139
268use overload 1140The failure modes for local ports are quite different (runtime errors
269 '""' => sub { $_[0]{id} }, 1141only) then for remote ports - when a local port dies, you I<know> it dies,
270 fallback => 1; 1142when a connection to another node dies, you know nothing about the other
1143port.
271 1144
272sub TO_JSON { $_[0]{id} } 1145Erlang pretends remote ports are as reliable as local ports, even when
1146they are not.
273 1147
274=item $port->rcv (type => $callback->($port, @msg)) 1148AEMP encourages a "treat remote ports differently" philosophy, with local
1149ports being the special case/exception, where transport errors cannot
1150occur.
275 1151
276=item $port->rcv ($smartmatch => $callback->($port, @msg)) 1152=item * Erlang uses processes and a mailbox, AEMP does not queue.
277 1153
278=item $port->rcv ([$smartmatch...] => $callback->($port, @msg)) 1154Erlang uses processes that selectively receive messages out of order, and
1155therefore needs a queue. AEMP is event based, queuing messages would serve
1156no useful purpose. For the same reason the pattern-matching abilities
1157of AnyEvent::MP are more limited, as there is little need to be able to
1158filter messages without dequeuing them.
279 1159
280Register a callback on the given port. 1160This is not a philosophical difference, but simply stems from AnyEvent::MP
1161being event-based, while Erlang is process-based.
281 1162
282The callback has to return a true value when its work is done, after 1163You can have a look at L<Coro::MP> for a more Erlang-like process model on
283which is will be removed, or a false value in which case it will stay 1164top of AEMP and Coro threads.
284registered.
285 1165
286If the match is an array reference, then it will be matched against the 1166=item * Erlang sends are synchronous, AEMP sends are asynchronous.
287first elements of the message, otherwise only the first element is being
288matched.
289 1167
290Any element in the match that is specified as C<_any_> (a function 1168Sending messages in Erlang is synchronous and blocks the process until
291exported by this module) matches any single element of the message. 1169a connection has been established and the message sent (and so does not
1170need a queue that can overflow). AEMP sends return immediately, connection
1171establishment is handled in the background.
292 1172
293While not required, it is highly recommended that the first matching 1173=item * Erlang suffers from silent message loss, AEMP does not.
294element is a string identifying the message. The one-string-only match is
295also the most efficient match (by far).
296 1174
297=cut 1175Erlang implements few guarantees on messages delivery - messages can get
1176lost without any of the processes realising it (i.e. you send messages a,
1177b, and c, and the other side only receives messages a and c).
298 1178
299sub rcv($@) { 1179AEMP guarantees (modulo hardware errors) correct ordering, and the
300 my ($self, $match, $cb) = @_; 1180guarantee that after one message is lost, all following ones sent to the
1181same port are lost as well, until monitoring raises an error, so there are
1182no silent "holes" in the message sequence.
301 1183
302 if (!ref $match) { 1184If you want your software to be very reliable, you have to cope with
303 push @{ $self->{rc0}{$match} }, [$cb]; 1185corrupted and even out-of-order messages in both Erlang and AEMP. AEMP
304 } elsif (("ARRAY" eq ref $match && !ref $match->[0])) { 1186simply tries to work better in common error cases, such as when a network
305 my ($type, @match) = @$match; 1187link goes down.
306 @match
307 ? push @{ $self->{rcv}{$match->[0]} }, [$cb, \@match]
308 : push @{ $self->{rc0}{$match->[0]} }, [$cb];
309 } else {
310 push @{ $self->{any} }, [$cb, $match];
311 }
312}
313 1188
314=item $port->register ($name) 1189=item * Erlang can send messages to the wrong port, AEMP does not.
315 1190
316Registers the given port under the well known name C<$name>. If the name 1191In Erlang it is quite likely that a node that restarts reuses an Erlang
317already exists it is replaced. 1192process ID known to other nodes for a completely different process,
1193causing messages destined for that process to end up in an unrelated
1194process.
318 1195
319A port can only be registered under one well known name. 1196AEMP does not reuse port IDs, so old messages or old port IDs floating
1197around in the network will not be sent to an unrelated port.
320 1198
321=cut 1199=item * Erlang uses unprotected connections, AEMP uses secure
1200authentication and can use TLS.
322 1201
323sub register { 1202AEMP can use a proven protocol - TLS - to protect connections and
324 my ($self, $name) = @_; 1203securely authenticate nodes.
325 1204
326 $self->{wkname} = $name; 1205=item * The AEMP protocol is optimised for both text-based and binary
327 $AnyEvent::MP::Base::WKP{$name} = "$self"; 1206communications.
328}
329 1207
330=item $port->destroy 1208The AEMP protocol, unlike the Erlang protocol, supports both programming
1209language independent text-only protocols (good for debugging), and binary,
1210language-specific serialisers (e.g. Storable). By default, unless TLS is
1211used, the protocol is actually completely text-based.
331 1212
332Explicitly destroy/remove/nuke/vaporise the port. 1213It has also been carefully designed to be implementable in other languages
1214with a minimum of work while gracefully degrading functionality to make the
1215protocol simple.
333 1216
334Ports are normally kept alive by their mere existance alone, and need to 1217=item * AEMP has more flexible monitoring options than Erlang.
335be destroyed explicitly.
336 1218
337=cut 1219In Erlang, you can chose to receive I<all> exit signals as messages or
1220I<none>, there is no in-between, so monitoring single Erlang processes is
1221difficult to implement.
338 1222
339sub destroy { 1223Monitoring in AEMP is more flexible than in Erlang, as one can choose
340 my ($self) = @_; 1224between automatic kill, exit message or callback on a per-port basis.
341 1225
342 delete $AnyEvent::MP::Base::WKP{ $self->{wkname} }; 1226=item * Erlang tries to hide remote/local connections, AEMP does not.
343 1227
344 AnyEvent::MP::Base::kil $self->{id}; 1228Monitoring in Erlang is not an indicator of process death/crashes, in the
345} 1229same way as linking is (except linking is unreliable in Erlang).
1230
1231In AEMP, you don't "look up" registered port names or send to named ports
1232that might or might not be persistent. Instead, you normally spawn a port
1233on the remote node. The init function monitors you, and you monitor the
1234remote port. Since both monitors are local to the node, they are much more
1235reliable (no need for C<spawn_link>).
1236
1237This also saves round-trips and avoids sending messages to the wrong port
1238(hard to do in Erlang).
346 1239
347=back 1240=back
348 1241
349=head1 FUNCTIONS FOR NODES 1242=head1 RATIONALE
350 1243
351=over 4 1244=over 4
352 1245
353=item mon $noderef, $callback->($noderef, $status, $) 1246=item Why strings for port and node IDs, why not objects?
354 1247
355Monitors the given noderef. 1248We considered "objects", but found that the actual number of methods
1249that can be called are quite low. Since port and node IDs travel over
1250the network frequently, the serialising/deserialising would add lots of
1251overhead, as well as having to keep a proxy object everywhere.
356 1252
357=item become_public endpoint... 1253Strings can easily be printed, easily serialised etc. and need no special
1254procedures to be "valid".
358 1255
359Tells the node to become a public node, i.e. reachable from other nodes. 1256And as a result, a port with just a default receiver consists of a single
1257code reference stored in a global hash - it can't become much cheaper.
360 1258
361If no arguments are given, or the first argument is C<undef>, then 1259=item Why favour JSON, why not a real serialising format such as Storable?
362AnyEvent::MP tries to bind on port C<4040> on all IP addresses that the
363local nodename resolves to.
364 1260
365Otherwise the first argument must be an array-reference with transport 1261In fact, any AnyEvent::MP node will happily accept Storable as framing
366endpoints ("ip:port", "hostname:port") or port numbers (in which case the 1262format, but currently there is no way to make a node use Storable by
367local nodename is used as hostname). The endpoints are all resolved and 1263default (although all nodes will accept it).
368will become the node reference.
369 1264
370=cut 1265The default framing protocol is JSON because a) JSON::XS is many times
1266faster for small messages and b) most importantly, after years of
1267experience we found that object serialisation is causing more problems
1268than it solves: Just like function calls, objects simply do not travel
1269easily over the network, mostly because they will always be a copy, so you
1270always have to re-think your design.
1271
1272Keeping your messages simple, concentrating on data structures rather than
1273objects, will keep your messages clean, tidy and efficient.
371 1274
372=back 1275=back
373 1276
374=head1 NODE MESSAGES 1277=head1 PORTING FROM AnyEvent::MP VERSION 1.X
375 1278
376Nodes understand the following messages sent to them. Many of them take 1279AEMP version 2 has a few major incompatible changes compared to version 1:
377arguments called C<@reply>, which will simply be used to compose a reply
378message - C<$reply[0]> is the port to reply to, C<$reply[1]> the type and
379the remaining arguments are simply the message data.
380 1280
381=over 4 1281=over 4
382 1282
383=cut 1283=item AnyEvent::MP::Global no longer has group management functions.
384 1284
385=item wkp => $name, @reply 1285At least not officially - the grp_* functions are still exported and might
1286work, but they will be removed in some later release.
386 1287
387Replies with the port ID of the specified well-known port, or C<undef>. 1288AnyEvent::MP now comes with a distributed database that is more
1289powerful. Its database families map closely to port groups, but the API
1290has changed (the functions are also now exported by AnyEvent::MP). Here is
1291a rough porting guide:
388 1292
389=item devnull => ... 1293 grp_reg $group, $port # old
1294 db_reg $group, $port # new
390 1295
391Generic data sink/CPU heat conversion. 1296 $list = grp_get $group # old
1297 db_keys $group, sub { my $list = shift } # new
392 1298
393=item relay => $port, @msg 1299 grp_mon $group, $cb->(\@ports, $add, $del) # old
1300 db_mon $group, $cb->(\%ports, $add, $change, $del) # new
394 1301
395Simply forwards the message to the given port. 1302C<grp_reg> is a no-brainer (just replace by C<db_reg>), but C<grp_get> is
1303no longer instant, because the local node might not have a copy of the
1304group. You can either modify your code to allow for a callback, or use
1305C<db_mon> to keep an updated copy of the group:
396 1306
397=item eval => $string[ @reply] 1307 my $local_group_copy;
1308 db_mon $group => sub { $local_group_copy = $_[0] };
398 1309
399Evaluates the given string. If C<@reply> is given, then a message of the 1310 # now "keys %$local_group_copy" always returns the most up-to-date
400form C<@reply, $@, @evalres> is sent. 1311 # list of ports in the group.
401 1312
402Example: crash another node. 1313C<grp_mon> can be replaced by C<db_mon> with minor changes - C<db_mon>
1314passes a hash as first argument, and an extra C<$chg> argument that can be
1315ignored:
403 1316
404 snd $othernode, eval => "exit"; 1317 db_mon $group => sub {
1318 my ($ports, $add, $chg, $del) = @_;
1319 $ports = [keys %$ports];
405 1320
406=item time => @reply 1321 # now $ports, $add and $del are the same as
1322 # were originally passed by grp_mon.
1323 ...
1324 };
407 1325
408Replies the the current node time to C<@reply>. 1326=item Nodes not longer connect to all other nodes.
409 1327
410Example: tell the current node to send the current time to C<$myport> in a 1328In AEMP 1.x, every node automatically loads the L<AnyEvent::MP::Global>
411C<timereply> message. 1329module, which in turn would create connections to all other nodes in the
1330network (helped by the seed nodes).
412 1331
413 snd $NODE, time => $myport, timereply => 1, 2; 1332In version 2.x, global nodes still connect to all other global nodes, but
414 # => snd $myport, timereply => 1, 2, <time> 1333other nodes don't - now every node either is a global node itself, or
1334attaches itself to another global node.
1335
1336If a node isn't a global node itself, then it attaches itself to one
1337of its seed nodes. If that seed node isn't a global node yet, it will
1338automatically be upgraded to a global node.
1339
1340So in many cases, nothing needs to be changed - one just has to make sure
1341that all seed nodes are meshed together with the other seed nodes (as with
1342AEMP 1.x), and other nodes specify them as seed nodes. This is most easily
1343achieved by specifying the same set of seed nodes for all nodes in the
1344network.
1345
1346Not opening a connection to every other node is usually an advantage,
1347except when you need the lower latency of an already established
1348connection. To ensure a node establishes a connection to another node,
1349you can monitor the node port (C<mon $node, ...>), which will attempt to
1350create the connection (and notify you when the connection fails).
1351
1352=item Listener-less nodes (nodes without binds) are gone.
1353
1354And are not coming back, at least not in their old form. If no C<binds>
1355are specified for a node, AnyEvent::MP assumes a default of C<*:*>.
1356
1357There are vague plans to implement some form of routing domains, which
1358might or might not bring back listener-less nodes, but don't count on it.
1359
1360The fact that most connections are now optional somewhat mitigates this,
1361as a node can be effectively unreachable from the outside without any
1362problems, as long as it isn't a global node and only reaches out to other
1363nodes (as opposed to being contacted from other nodes).
1364
1365=item $AnyEvent::MP::Kernel::WARN has gone.
1366
1367AnyEvent has acquired a logging framework (L<AnyEvent::Log>), and AEMP now
1368uses this, and so should your programs.
1369
1370Every module now documents what kinds of messages it generates, with
1371AnyEvent::MP acting as a catch all.
1372
1373On the positive side, this means that instead of setting
1374C<PERL_ANYEVENT_MP_WARNLEVEL>, you can get away by setting C<AE_VERBOSE> -
1375much less to type.
415 1376
416=back 1377=back
417 1378
1379=head1 LOGGING
1380
1381AnyEvent::MP does not normally log anything by itself, but since it is the
1382root of the context hierarchy for AnyEvent::MP modules, it will receive
1383all log messages by submodules.
1384
418=head1 SEE ALSO 1385=head1 SEE ALSO
1386
1387L<AnyEvent::MP::Intro> - a gentle introduction.
1388
1389L<AnyEvent::MP::Kernel> - more, lower-level, stuff.
1390
1391L<AnyEvent::MP::Global> - network maintenance and port groups, to find
1392your applications.
1393
1394L<AnyEvent::MP::DataConn> - establish data connections between nodes.
1395
1396L<AnyEvent::MP::LogCatcher> - simple service to display log messages from
1397all nodes.
419 1398
420L<AnyEvent>. 1399L<AnyEvent>.
421 1400
422=head1 AUTHOR 1401=head1 AUTHOR
423 1402

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