package POE::Component::Generic; # $Id: Generic.pm 551 2009-09-16 14:28:15Z fil $ use strict; use POE 0.31; use POE::Wheel::Run; use POE::Filter::Line; use POE::Filter::Reference; use POE::Component::Generic::Child; use POE::Component::Generic::Object; use Carp qw(carp croak); use Devel::Symdump; use vars qw($AUTOLOAD $VERSION); use Config; use Scalar::Util qw( reftype blessed ); $VERSION = '0.1205'; ########################################################################## sub spawn { my( $package, @args ) = @_; croak "$package needs an even number of parameters" if @args & 1; my $self = $package->new( @args ); if( $^O eq 'MSWin32' and $self->{alt_fork} ) { carp "Sorry, alt_fork does not work on MSWin32."; delete $self->{alt_fork}; } my $options = $self->{'options'}; $self->{session_id} = POE::Session->create( object_states => [ $self => { map { $_ => '__request1' } keys %{$self->{package_map}{ $self->{package} }} }, $self => [ qw(_start _stop shutdown _child __request2 __wheel_close __wheel_err __wheel_out __wheel_stderr ) ], ], ( ( defined ( $options ) and ref ( $options ) eq 'HASH' ) ? ( options => $options ) : () ), )->ID(); $self->{debug} and warn "$self->{name}: session $self->{session_id} created for $self->{package}"; return $self; } ################################################## sub new { my $package = shift; @_ = ( package => $_[0] ) if @_ == 1; croak "$package needs an even number of parameters" if @_ & 1; my %params; { my %p = @_; while( my( $k, $v ) = each %p ) { $params{ lc $k } = $v; } } unless( $params{package} ) { croak "Please specify a package"; } # map of commands to packages $params{package_map} = {}; # param storage $params{store} = {}; # request IDs $params{RID} = "REQ000000"; my $self = bless(\%params, $package); $self->{child_PID} = 0; if( $self->{error} ) { my $rt = reftype $self->{error}; unless( $rt ) { $self->{error_session} = $poe_kernel->get_active_session; } elsif( 'HASH' eq $rt ) { @{ $self }{ qw( error_session error ) } = @{ $self->{error} }{ qw( session event ) }; } } ####### POE::Component::Generic::Child::package_load( $self->{package} ); $self->__package_register( $self->{package}, { methods => delete($self->{methods}), callbacks => delete($self->{callbacks}), postbacks => delete($self->{postbacks}), factories => delete($self->{factories}) } ); if( $self->{packages} ) { my $pdefs = delete $self->{packages}; while( my( $class, $pdef ) = each %{ $pdefs } ) { $self->__package_register( $class, $pdef ); } } return $self; } ################################################## sub __package_register { my( $self, $class, $pdef ) = @_; unless( ref $pdef ) { $self->__package_map( $class ); } elsif( 'ARRAY' eq ref $pdef ) { $self->__package_map( $class, $pdef ); } else { $self->__package_map( $class, $pdef->{methods} ); $self->__callback_map( $class, $pdef->{callbacks} ); $self->__postback_map( $class, $pdef->{postbacks} ); $self->__factory_map( $class, $pdef->{factories} ); } } ################################################## # Build a map of all methods => package sub __package_map { my( $self, $class, $methods ) = @_; my @methods = $self->__package_methods( $class ); my %OK; if( $methods ) { @OK{ @$methods } = (1) x @$methods; } my $map = {}; foreach my $p ( @methods ) { my ($pk,$sub) = $self->__method_map( $p ); next unless $sub; next if $map->{ $sub }; next if $methods and not $OK{ $sub }; my $o = $p; if (defined &$o) { $map->{ $sub } = $pk; } } $self->{package_map}{ $class } = $map; } ################################################## sub __method_map { my( $P, $method ) = @_; ($method =~ m/^(.+)\:\:([^\:]+)/); my $pk = $1; my $sub = $2; return unless $P->__is_method_name( $pk, $sub ); return ( $pk, $sub ); } sub __is_method_name { my( $P, $pk, $sub ) = @_; return unless $sub =~ /[^A-Z]$/; # I18N detection of CONSTANTS return if $sub =~ m/^_/ or # private and/or protected method $sub =~ m/(carp|croak|confess|cluck)$/; # very common subs return 1; } ################################################## # Get a list of all methods from the package sub __package_methods { my( $P, $class ) = @_; my @obj = Devel::Symdump->functions( $class ); my $isa = Symbol::qualify_to_ref( "ISA", $class ); foreach my $subpack ( @{ *$isa } ) { next if $subpack eq 'Exporter'; push @obj, $P->__package_methods( $subpack ); } # we can't distinguish methods from functions :-/ return @obj } ########################################################################## # POE related object methods sub _start { my ($kernel,$self) = @_[KERNEL,OBJECT]; $self->{session_id} = $_[SESSION]->ID; if ( $self->{alias} ) { $self->{name} = $self->{alias}; $kernel->alias_set( $self->{alias} ); $self->{debug} and warn "$self->{name}: alias is $self->{alias}"; } else { $self->{name} = "poe-generic"; $kernel->refcount_increment( $self->session_id() => __PACKAGE__ ); } $self->{referenced} = 1; my $child_p = $self->{child_package} || 'POE::Component::Generic::Child'; my %prog = ( Program => $self->__subref( $child_p, $self->{name} ) ); if ($self->{alt_fork}) { my $perl = $^X; $perl = $self->{alt_fork} if -x $self->{alt_fork}; if( $ENV{HARNESS_PERL_SWITCHES} ) { $perl .= " $ENV{HARNESS_PERL_SWITCHES}"; } my $os_quote = ($^O eq 'MSWin32') ? q(") : q('); #" %prog = (Program => "$perl -M".ref( $self ) ." -I".join( ' -I', map quotemeta, @INC ) ." -e $os_quote".__PACKAGE__."::process_requests(qq(\Q$child_p\E),qq(\Q$self->{name}\E), 1)$os_quote"); $self->{debug} and warn "$self->{name}: Launching $prog{Program}"; } $self->{wheel} = POE::Wheel::Run->new( %prog, CloseOnCall => 0, StdinFilter => POE::Filter::Reference->new(), StdoutFilter => POE::Filter::Reference->new(), StderrFilter => POE::Filter::Line->new(), StdoutEvent => '__wheel_out', StderrEvent => '__wheel_stderr', ErrorEvent => '__wheel_err', CloseEvent => '__wheel_close', ); ######### my $pid = $self->{wheel}->PID; my $state = ref( $self )."--child--".$pid; # NB we don't ever remove this state, but a- it won't be enough to # keep the session alive, and b- only one state is created ever anyway $poe_kernel->state( $state, $self, '_child' ); $poe_kernel->sig_child( $pid, $state ); $self->{child_PID} = $pid; ######### # Tell the other side to create an object $self->{object_options} ||= []; unless( ref $self->{object_options} ) { $self->{object_options} = [ $self->{object_options} ] } my $new = { req => 'setup', debug => $self->{debug}, args => $self->{object_options}, package => $self->{package}, name => $self->{name}, verbose => $self->{verbose}, }; $new->{size} = $self->{size} if $self->{size}; $self->{debug} and warn "$self->{name}: Ask to create object"; $self->{wheel}->put( $new ); undef; } # Build the smallest closure possible sub __subref { my( $child_p, $name ) = @_[1,2]; return sub { process_requests( $child_p, $name ) }; } sub _stop { my( $self ) = @_[OBJECT, ARG0]; $self->{debug} and warn "$self->{name}: _stop"; } ###################################################### # Clean up everything sub _done { my( $self ) = @_; $self->{debug} and warn "$self->{name}: _done"; $self->{child_PID} = 0; # remove the wheel if ($self->{wheel}) { $self->{debug} and warn "$self->{name}: drop wheel"; $self->{wheel}->shutdown_stdin; delete $self->{wheel}; delete $self->{close}; delete $self->{CHLD}; } # remove alias or decrease ref count if( $self->{referenced} ) { if ( $self->{alias} ) { foreach my $alias ( $poe_kernel->alias_list() ) { $self->{debug} and warn "$self->{name}: remove alias $alias"; $poe_kernel->alias_remove( $alias ); } } else { $poe_kernel->refcount_decrement($self->session_id() => __PACKAGE__); } $self->{referenced} = 0; } } sub __is_done { my( $self ) = @_; return 0==$self->{child_PID}; } sub _close_on { my( $self, $what ) = @_; $self->{$what}++; if( $self->{close} and $self->{CHLD} ) { $self->_done; } } ###################################################### # POE request to the parent object sub __request1 { my ( $self,$state, $sender ) = @_[OBJECT, STATE, SENDER]; $self->__request( $sender->ID, $state, @_[ARG0..$#_] ); } # POE request to a sub-object sub __request2 { my ( $self, $sender ) = @_[OBJECT, SENDER]; $self->__request( $sender->ID, @_[ARG0..$#_] ); } ###################################################### # Send request to child process sub __request { my ( $self, $sender, $method, $hash, @args ) = @_; warn "$self->{name}: $$: processing request $method\n" if ($self->{debug}); # Get the arguments if (ref( $hash ) eq 'HASH') { # shallow copy because we are going to modify this hash $hash = { %{ $hash } }; } else { die "Data hash is not a hashref!"; } unless ($self->{wheel}) { warn "$self->{name}: No wheel"; return; } # If we have an {event}, it means the user wants *something* back if( $hash->{event} and not defined $hash->{wantarray} ) { $hash->{wantarray} = 0; } my $params = { method => $method, event => $hash->{event}, wantarray => $hash->{wantarray}, session => ($hash->{session}||$sender), args => \@args, package => ($hash->{package}||$self->{package}) }; $params->{obj} = $hash->{obj} if $hash->{obj}; if( ref $params->{obj} ) { $params->{obj} = $params->{obj}->ID; } my $class = $params->{package} || $self->{package}; my $RID = $params->{RID} = $self->{RID}++; if( $self->{factory_map}{ $method } ) { $self->__factory_marshall( $params ); } # param storage if ( keys %$hash ) { # id to match in param storage $self->{store}->{$RID} = $hash; $hash->{session} = $params->{session}; $hash->{package} = $params->{package}; } # if we have an event to report to...make sure it stays around if ( $hash->{event} ) { $poe_kernel->refcount_increment( $hash->{session} => $self->{name} ); # TODO : Above will explode if $hash->{session} isn't an extant # session. This is OK, but the error message will point here, not # to the user's code. } if( $self->{callback_map}{$class}{ $method } ) { $self->__callback_marshall( $params ); } if( $self->{postback_map}{$class}{ $method } ) { $self->__postback_marshall( $params, $sender ); } $self->{debug} and warn "$self->{name}: request put"; $self->{wheel}->put( $params ); return; } ################################################## # Prepare the callback definitions sub __callback_map { my( $self, $class, $c ) = @_; return unless $c; $c = [$c] unless ref $c; my %callbacks; @callbacks{ @$c } = map {method=>$_}, @$c; $self->{callback_map}{ $class } = \%callbacks; return; } ################################################## # Marshall any callback definitions sub __callback_marshall { my( $self, $params ) = @_; my $cmap = $self->{callback_map}{ $params->{package} }{ $params->{method} }; return unless $cmap; my $args = $params->{args}; my @callbacks; for( my $pos=0; $pos <= $#$args; $pos++ ) { next unless 'CODE' eq (reftype( $args->[$pos] ) ||''); my $CBid = "---CALLBACK-$params->{RID}-$pos---"; ## the callbacks will be GCed when the method returns, in ->response $self->{callback_defs}{ $params->{RID} }{ $pos } = { coderef => $args->[$pos] }; push @callbacks, { CBid=>$CBid, pos=>$pos }; $args->[$pos] = $CBid; } return unless @callbacks; $params->{callbacks} = \@callbacks; return; } ################################################## # Convert a hash-argument into a callback coderef sub __callback_argument { my( $self, $event, $args ) = @_; my $session = $poe_kernel->get_active_session; if( $args->{"${event}Event"} ) { # ex: StdoutEvent => 'state' return $session->postback( $args->{"{event}Event"} ); } elsif( $args->{"${event}Sub"} ) { # ex: StdoutSub => sub { } return $args->{"${event}Sub"}; } return undef(); # undef() => not present } ################################################## # Prepare the postback definitions sub __postback_map { my( $self, $class, $c ) = @_; return unless $c; $c = {$c => {pos=>0}} unless ref $c; $c = { map { $_ => 0 } @$c } if 'ARRAY' eq ref $c; my %postbacks; while( my( $method, $pdef ) = each %$c ) { $postbacks{ $method } = { method=>$method, pos=>[] }; unless( ref $pdef ) { $postbacks{ $method }{pos} = [$pdef||0]; } elsif( 'ARRAY' eq ref $pdef ) { $postbacks{ $method }{pos} = [ map { $_||0 } @$pdef ]; } else { carp "postback position must be an arrayref or scalar"; } } $self->{postback_map}{ $class } = \%postbacks; return; } ################################################## # Marshall any postback definitions sub __postback_marshall { my( $self, $params, $sender ) = @_; my $pmap = $self->{postback_map}{ $params->{package} }{ $params->{method} }; return unless $pmap; my $args = $params->{args}; my @postbacks; foreach my $pos ( @{ $pmap->{pos} } ) { my $PBid = "---POSTBACK-$params->{package}-$pmap->{method}-$pos-$params->{RID}---"; push @postbacks, $self->__postback_def( $args->[$pos], $sender, $params->{RID} ); $postbacks[-1]->{pos} = $pos; $postbacks[-1]->{PBid} = $PBid; $args->[$pos] = $PBid; } return unless @postbacks; $params->{postbacks} = \@postbacks; return; } ################################################## sub __postback_def { my( $self, $arg, $sender, $RID ) = @_; unless( ref $arg ) { # simply an event name return { event=>$arg, session=>$sender }; } elsif( 'HASH' eq ref $arg ) { # { event=>'...' } $arg->{session} ||= $sender; return $arg; } die "$arg isn't not a valid postback"; } ################################################## # Convert a hash-argument into a postback hashref sub __postback_argument { my( $self, $event, $args ) = @_; my $session = $poe_kernel->get_active_session; if( $args->{"${event}Event"} ) { # ex: StdoutEvent => 'state' # or StdoutEvent => { event=>'state', session=>'sessionID'} return $args->{"${event}Event"}; } elsif( $args->{"${event}Sub"} ) { # ex: StdoutSub => sub { } croak "${event}Code not supported yet"; # Problem : how do we know when to remove the state? my $state_name = "SOMETHING"; $session->state( $state_name => $args->{"{event}Sub"} ); return $state_name; } return undef(); # undef() => not present } ################################################## # Prepare the factory-method definitions sub __factory_map { my( $self, $class, $c ) = @_; return unless $c; $c = {$c => {method=>$c}} unless ref $c; $c = { map { $_ => {method=>$_} } @$c } if 'ARRAY' eq ref $c; my %factories; @factories{ keys %$c } = map { ref $c->{$_} ? $c->{$_} : {method=>$_} } keys %$c; $self->{factory_map} = \%factories; return; } ################################################## # Prepare a request for a factory method sub __factory_marshall { my( $self, $params ) = @_; # tell the remote side it's a special request $params->{factory} = $params->{method}; return; } ################################################## # sub __factory_response { my( $self, $input ) = @_; my $obj_def = $input->{result}->[0]; $input->{result} = [ POE::Component::Generic::Object->new( $obj_def, $self->session_id, $self->{package_map}{ $obj_def->{package}||'' } ) ]; return; } ###################################################### # Child process sent us a response sub __wheel_out { my ($self,$input) = @_[ OBJECT,ARG0 ]; $self->{debug} and warn "$self->{name}: __wheel_out"; $input->{result} ||= []; if( $input->{response} ) { $self->OOB_response( $input ); return; } $self->response( $input ); undef; } sub __wheel_stderr { my ($kernel,$self,$input) = @_[KERNEL,OBJECT,ARG0]; warn "$self->{name}:ERR: $input\n" if $self->{debug} or $self->{verbose}; if( $self->{error} ) { $poe_kernel->post( $self->{error_session}, $self->{error}, { stderr=>$input } ); } } sub __wheel_err { my ($self, $operation, $errnum, $errstr, $wheel_id) = @_[OBJECT, ARG0..ARG3]; warn "$self->{name}: Wheel $wheel_id generated $operation error $errnum: $errstr\n" if $self->{debug} or ( $self->{verbose} and $errnum != 0 ); if( $errnum!=0 and $self->{error} ) { $poe_kernel->post( $self->{error_session}, $self->{error}, { operation => $operation, errnum => $errnum, errstr => $errstr } ); } } sub __wheel_close { my $self = $_[OBJECT]; warn "$self->{name}: Wheel closed\n" if ($self->{debug}); # We should see a CHLD soon # warn "$self->{name}: $self->{package} Wheel closed, ieeeeeeee!\n"; $self->_close_on( 'close' ); } sub _child { my( $self, $name, $PID, $ret ) = @_[ OBJECT, ARG0..ARG2 ]; unless( $PID == ($self->{child_PID}||0) ) { $self->{debug} and warn "$self->{name}: Got CHLD for $PID, not $self->{child_PID}\n"; return; } $self->{debug} and warn "$self->{name}: Child $PID exited with $ret"; $poe_kernel->sig_handled; $self->_close_on( 'CHLD' ); return; } ########################################################################## # # Child sent us a response to a {req} request sub OOB_response { my( $self, $input ) = @_; my $res = $input->{result}; if( $input->{response} eq 'new' ) { # $self->{child_PID} = $input->{PID}; $self->{debug} and warn "$self->{name}: Child PID=$input->{PID}"; } elsif( $input->{response} eq 'callback' ) { my $RID = $input->{RID}; my $pos = $input->{pos}; my $CB = $self->{callback_defs}{ $RID }{ $pos }; unless( $CB ) { warn "$self->{name}: Callback to undefined $RID\[$input->{pos}]"; return; } eval { $CB->{coderef}->( @$res ) }; warn "$self->{name}: Error in callback: $@" if $@; } elsif( $input->{response} eq 'postback' ) { my $PBid = $input->{PBid}; unless( $input->{session} and $input->{event} ) { warn "$self->{name}: Bad postback $PBid. Missing {session} or {event}"; return; } $poe_kernel->post( $input->{session} => $input->{event}, @$res ); } else { warn "$self->{name}: Unknown OOB child response $input->{response}"; } } ############################################################################ # Child sent us a regular response sub response { my( $self, $input ) = @_; if (defined $input->{RID}) { my $RID = delete $input->{RID}; # splice in stored data, because we might not trust other side @{ $input }{ keys %{$self->{store}->{$RID}} } = values %{$self->{store}->{$RID}}; delete $self->{store}->{$RID}; delete $self->{callback_defs}->{$RID}; } if( $input->{factory} ) { $self->__factory_response( $input ); } my $session = delete $input->{session}; my $event = delete $input->{event}; if ($event) { $self->{debug} and warn "$self->{name}: ($$) Reply to $session/$event"; $poe_kernel->post( $session => $event, $input, @{$input->{result}} ); $poe_kernel->refcount_decrement( $session => $self->{name} ); } } ############################################################################ # Dual event and object methods sub shutdown { unless (UNIVERSAL::isa($_[KERNEL],'POE::Kernel')) { my $self = shift; if ($poe_kernel and $self->session_id) { $poe_kernel->call($self->session_id() => 'shutdown' => @_); } return; } my ($kernel,$self) = @_[KERNEL,OBJECT]; $self->{debug} and warn "$self->{name}: shutdown"; # if we still have a wheel, tell it to close if ($self->{wheel}) { $self->{wheel}->shutdown_stdin; # this provokes CHLD, which will call ->_done } else { # no wheel; clean up now $self->_done; } undef; } # Object methods sub session_id { shift->{session_id}; } sub yield { my $self = shift; $poe_kernel->post($self->session_id() => @_); } sub call { my $self = shift; $poe_kernel->call($self->session_id() => @_); } sub DESTROY { $_[0]->{debug} and warn "$_[0]->{name}: DESTROY"; if (UNIVERSAL::isa($_[0],__PACKAGE__)) { $_[0]->shutdown(); } } sub AUTOLOAD { my $self = shift; my $method = $AUTOLOAD; $method =~ s/.*:://; my $hash; my $bad = ''; unless( UNIVERSAL::isa( $self, __PACKAGE__ ) ) { $bad = 'object'; } elsif( not blessed $self ) { $bad = 'package'; } else { $hash = shift; unless( ref($hash) eq 'HASH' ) { croak "First argument to $method must be a hashref"; } unless( $self->{package_map}{ $self->{package} }{ $method } ) { $bad = 'object'; } } if( $bad ) { croak qq( Can't locate $bad method "$method" via package ") .ref( $self ). qq("); #" } $hash->{wantarray} = wantarray() unless defined $hash->{wantarray}; warn "$self->{name}: autoload method $method" if ($self->{debug}); # use ->call() so that they happen in order $poe_kernel->call( $self->session_id() => $method => $hash => @_ ); } ########################################################################## # Main Wheel::Run process sub sub process_requests { my( $class, $name, $alt_fork ) = @_; $alt_fork ||= 0; my $ID = $name; $ID =~ s/\W/-/g; my $runner = $class->new( name => __PACKAGE__, ID => $ID, size => 4096, debug => 0, proc => $0, alt_fork => $alt_fork ); $runner->loop; } 1; __END__ =head1 NAME POE::Component::Generic - A POE component that provides non-blocking access to a blocking object. =head1 SYNOPSIS use POE::Component::Generic; my $telnet = POE::Component::Generic->spawn( # required; main object is of this class package => 'Net::Telnet', # optional; Options passed to Net::Telnet->new() object_options => [ ], # optional; You can use $poco->session_id() instead alias => 'telnet', # optional; 1 to turn on debugging debug => 1, # optional; 1 to see the child's STDERR verbose => 1, # optional; Options passed to the internal session options => { trace => 1 }, # optional; describe package signatures packages => { 'Net::Telnet' => { # Methods that require coderefs, and keep them after they # return. # The first arg is converted to a coderef postbacks => { option_callback=>0 } }, 'Other::Package' => { # only these methods are exposed methods => [ qw( one two ) ], # Methods that require coderefs, but don't keep them # after they return callbacks => [ qw( two ) ] } } ); # Start your POE session, then... $telnet->open( { event => 'result' }, "rainmaker.wunderground.com"); # result state sub result { my ($kernel, $ref, $result) = @_[KERNEL, ARG0, ARG1]; if( $ref->{error} ) { die join(' ', @{ $ref->{error} ) . "\n"; } print "connected: $result\n"; } # Setup a postback $telnet->option_callback( {}, "option_back" ); # option_back state sub option_back { my( $obj, $option, $is_remote, $is_enabled, $was_enabled, $buf_position) = @_[ARG0..$#_]; # See L for a discussion of the above. # NOTE: Callbacks and postbacks can't currently receive objects. } # Use a callback # Pretend that $other was created as a proxy to an Other::Package object $other->two( {}, sub { warn "I was called..." } ); my $code = $session->postback( "my_state" ); $other->two( {}, $code ); =head1 DESCRIPTION POE::Component::Generic is a L component that provides a non-blocking wrapper around any object. This allows you to build a POE component from existing code with minimal effort. The following documentation is a tad opaque and complicated. This is unavoidable; the problem POE::Component::Generic solves is complicated. POE::Component::Generic works by forking a child process with L and creating the blocking object in the child process. Method calls on the object are then serialised and sent to the child process to be handled by the object there. The returned value is serialised and sent to the parent process, where it is posted back to the caller as a POE event. Communication is done via the child's C and C. This means that all method arguments and return values must survive serialisation. If you need to pass coderefs or other data that can't be serialised, use L or L. If you want to have multiple objects within a single child process, you will have to create L that create the objects. Method calls are wrapped in C in the child process so that errors may be propagated back to your session. See L. Output to C in the child, that is from your object, is shown only if L or L is set. C in the child, that is from your object, is redirected to STDERR and will be shown in the same circomstances. =head1 METHODS =head2 spawn my $obj = POE::Component::Generic->spawn( $package ); my $obj = POE::Component::Generic->spawn( %arguments ); Create the POE::Component::Generic component. Takes either a single scalar, which is assumed to be a package name, or a hash of arguments, of which all but C are optional. =over 4 =item alias Session alias to register with the kernel. Also used as the child processes' name. See L below. Default is none. =item alt_fork Set to C if you want to run another perl instance. That is, the child process will C a new instance of C using C<$^X> to do the work. C<@INC> is preserved. If present, C<$ENV{HARNESS_PERL_SWITCHES}> is preserved. Using C might help save memory; while the child process will only contain C and your object, it will not be able to share as many memory pages with other processes. Care must be taken that the all necessary modules are loaded in the new perl instance. Make sure that your main C loads all modules that it might interact with. Default is false. Please note that C does not currently work on MSWin32. The problem is that C is failing in L. If you can fix that I will reactivate C for MSWin32. Note also that if you are running in an embedded perl and L<$^X> does not actually point to the perl binary, you may set alt_fork to the path to the perl executable. POE::Component::Generic will make sure that this path is executable or will silently fall back to C<$^X>. =item callbacks Callbacks are coderefs that are passed as method parameters. Because coderefs can't be serialised, a little bit of magic needs to happen. When a method that has callbacks is called, it's parameters are marshaled in the parent process. The callback coderef is saved in the parent, and replaced by markers which the child process converts into thunk coderefs when demarshalling. These thunks, when called by the object, will sent a request to the parent process, which is translated into a call of the callback coderef which the parent saved during marshalling. Callbacks are only valid during the method's execution. After the method returns, the callback will be invalidated. If you need to pass a coderef which is valid for longer then one method call, use L. The C parameter is a list of methods that have callbacks in their parameter list. When one of the methods in C is called, any coderefs in the parameters are converted into a message to the child process to propagate the call back to the parent. IMPORTANT: The callback is called from inside L. This means that the current session is NOT your session. If you need to be inside your session, use C. Defaults to empty. =item child_package Set the package that the child process worker object. Sometimes advanced interaction with objects will require more smarts in the child process. You may control child process behaviour by setting this to an subclass of L. For more details, consult the source! =item debug Set to C to see component debug information, such as anything output to STDERR by your code. Default to C. =item error Event that all L errors and text from stderr will be posted to. May be either a hash, in which case it must have C and C members, like L. POE::Component::Generic->spawn( .... error => { event => 'generic_event', session => 'error_watcher' }, .... ); If C is a string, it is used as an event in the current session. POE::Component::Generic->spawn( .... error => 'generic_error', # in the current session .... ); When called, C will be a hash reference containing either 1 or 3 keys, depending on the situation: sub generic_error { my( $session, $err ) = @_[ SESSION, ARG0 ]; if( $err->{stderr} ) { # $err->{stderr} is a line that was printed to the # sub-processes' STDERR. 99% of the time that means from # your code. } else { # Wheel error. See L # $err->{operation} # $err->{errnum} # $err->{errstr} } } I =item factories List of methods that are object factories. An object factory is one that returns a different object. For example, C's $dbh->prepare returns a statement handle object, so it is an object factory. The first value of the return argument is assumed to be the object. It is kept in the child process. Your return event will receive a proxy object that will allow you to use the L, L and L calls, as documented below. See L for details. You should configure package signatures for the proxy objects that factories return with L. =item methods An array ref containing methods that you want the component to expose. If not specified, all the methods of C and its super-classes are exposed. Note that methods that begin with C<_> or don't end with a lower case letter (C) are excluded, as well as methods that end in C, C and C. =item options A hashref of L options that are passed to the component's session creator. =item object_options An optional array ref of options that will be passed to the main object constructor. =item package Package used to create the main object. Object creation happens in the child process. The package is loaded, if it isn't already, then a constructor is called with C as the parameters. The constructor is a package method named C, C or C, searching in that order. =item packages Set the I for packages that are be created with factory methods. This allows you to configure the L, L and L for objects that are returned by methods listed with the L parameter. Must be a hashref, keys are package names, values are either a B, which will case the package will be scanned for methods, a B, which is taken as a list of L, or a B, which gives you full control. The B may contain the keys L, L and L, which work as described above and below. It is also possible to specify the package signature for the main object with L. Example: POE::Component::Generic->spawn( package => 'Honk', methods => [ qw(off on fast slow) ], postbacks => { slow=>1, fast=>[1,2] } ); # Could also be written as POE::Component::Generic->spawn( package =>'Honk', packages => { Honk => { methods=>[ qw(off on fast slow) ], postbacks=>{ slow=>1, fast=>[1,2] } } } ); =item postbacks Postbacks are like L, but for POE event calls. They will also be valid even after the object method returns. If the object doesn't hold on to the coderef longer then one method call, you should use L, because postbacks use memory in the parent process. The C value must be a hashref, keys are method names, values are lists of the offsets of argument that will be converted into postbacks. These offsets maybe be a number, or an array of numeric offsets. Remember that argument offsets are numbered from 0. C may also be an array of method names. In this case, the argument offset for each listed method is assumed to be 0. Examples: [ qw( new_cert new_connect ) ] { new_cert=>0, new_connect=>0 } # equivalent to previous { double_set=>[0,3] } # first and fourth param are coderefs When calling a method that has a postback, the parameter should be an event name in the current session, or a hashref containing C and C keys. If C is missing, the current session is used. Yes, this means you may create postbacks that go to other sessions. Examples: $obj->new_cert( "some_back" ); $obj->new_cert( { event=>"some_back" } ); $obj->new_cert( { event=>"some_back", session=>"my-session" } ); $obj->double_set( "postback1", $P1, $P2, { event=>"postback1", session=>"other-session" } ); Use L to convert coderefs into POE states. Your postback will have the arguments that the object calls it with. Contrary to response events, ARG0 isn't the OUTPUT data hashref. At least, not for now. my $coderef = sub { my( $arg1, $arg2 ) = @_[ARG0, ARG1]; .... }; $poe_kernel->state( "temp-postback" => $coderef ); $obj->new_cert( "temp-postback" ); # Note that you will probably want to remove the 'temp-postback' state # at some point. =item verbose Component tells you more about what is happening in the child process. The child's PID is reported to STDERR. All text sent to STDERR in the child process is reported. Any abnormal error conditions or exits are also reported. All this reported via warn. If you wish to have STDERR delivered to your session, use L. =back =head2 shutdown Shut the component down, doing all the magic so that POE may exit. The child process will exit, causing C to be called on your object. The child process will of course wait if the object is in a blocking method. It is assumed that your object won't prevent the child from exiting. If you want your object to live longer (say for some long-running activity) please fork off a grand-child. Shutdown that this is also a POE event, which means you can not call a method named 'shutdown' on your object. Shuting down if there are responses pending (see L below) is undefined. Calling L will not cause the kernel to exit if you have other components or sessions keeping POE from doing so. =head2 session_id Takes no arguments, returns the L ID of the component. Useful if you don't want to use aliases. =head1 METHOD CALLS There are 4 ways of calling methods on the object. All methods need a data hashref that will be handed back to the return event. This data hash is discussed in the L section. =head2 post Post events to the object. First argument is the event to post, second is the data hashref, following arguments are sent as arguments in the resultant post. $poe_kernel->post( $alias => 'open', { event => 'result' }, "localhost" ); This will call the C method on your object with one parameter: C. The method's return value is posted to C in the current session. =head2 yield This method provides an alternative object based means of asynchronisly calling methods on the object. First argument is the method to call, second is the data hashref (described in L), following arguments are sent as arguments to the resultant post. $generic->yield( open => { event => 'result' }, "localhost" ); =head2 call This method provides an alternative object based means of synchronisly calling methods on the object. First argument is the event to call, second is the data hashref (described in L), following arguments are following arguments are sent as arguments to the resultant call. $generic->call( open => { event => 'result' }, "localhost" ); L returns a request ID which may be matched with the response. NOT IMPLEMENTED. The difference between L and L is that L by-passes POE's event queue and the request is potentially sent faster to the child process. =head2 psuedo-method All methods of the object can also be called directly, but the first argument must be the data hashref as noted in the L section. $generic->open( { event => 'opened' }, "localhost" ); =head1 INPUT Each method call requires a data hashref as it's first argument. The data hashref may have the following keys. =over 4 =item data Opaque data element that will be present in the L hash. While it is possible that other hash members will also work for now, only this one is reserved for your use. =item event Event in your session that you want the results of the method to go to. C is needed for all requests that you want a response to. You may send responses to other sessions with C. No response is sent if C is missing. =item obj Don't call the method on the main object, but rather on this object. Value is the ID of an object returned by a factory method. Doesn't work for L calls. =item session Session that you want the response event to be sent to. Defaults to current session. Abuse with caution. =item wantarray Should the method be called in array context (1), scalar context (0) or void context (undef)? Defaults to void context, unless you specify a response L, in which case it defaults to scalar context. =back Note that at some point in the future this data hashref is going to be a full object for better encapsulation. =head1 OUTPUT You may specify a response event for each method call. C of this event handler contains the data hashref. C are the returned values, if any. =over 4 =item data Opaque value that was set in L. =item error In the event of an error occurring this will be defined. It is a scalar which contains the text of the error, which is normally C<$@>. =item method Name of the method this is the output of. That is, if you call the method "foo", C is set to "foo" in the response event. =item result This is an arrayref containing the data returned from the function you called. Method calls in scalar context have the return value at result->[0]. That is, they look like: $response->{result}[0] = $object->method(...); Method calls in array context populate as much of the array as needed. That is, they look like: $response->{result} = [ $object->method(...) ]; =back =head1 SUB-CLASSING It might be desirable to overload the following methods in a sub-class of POE::Component::Generic. =head2 __is_method_name sub __is_method_name { my( $package, $pk, $sub ) = @_; # ... } Must return true if C<$sub> is a valid object method of C<$pk>. Must return false otherwise. Method names are verified when a package specified with L's L argument is scanned for methods. The default implementation tries to reject constants (C<$sub> ending in non-uppercase), private methods (C<$sub> begining with C<_>) and common subroutines (ie, L). =head1 HELPER METHODS These methods will help you writing components based on L. =head2 Argument processing Callbacks and postbacks expect the arguments are in order. This is a pain for your users and isn't really the POE-way. Instead, your method may accept a hash, and then convert it into the argument list. For a given event I, there are 2 possible arguments: =over 4 =item IEvent The argument is a POE event, either a simple string (event in the current session) or a hashref ({event=>$event, session=>$session}). =item ISub The argument is a subref. =back You may use the following 2 methods to help convert the arguments into the appropriate type for a given situaion. They return undef() if the argument isn't present. This so you may use the following idiom and it will Just Work: sub method { my( $self, %args ) = @_; my @args; foreach my $ev ( qw(Stdin Stdout Close) ) { push @args, $self->__postback_argument( $ev, \%args ); } $self->true_method( @args ); } =head2 __callback_argument my $coderef = $self->__callback_argument( $event, \%args ); Converts argument into a coderef appropriate for L. Returns C<$args{ "${event}Sub" }> if present. If present, converts C<$args{ "${event}Event" }> to a coderef and returns that. Returns C otherwise. =head2 __postback_argument Converts argument into a POE event call appropriate for L. Returns C<$args{ "${event}Event" }> if present. If present, converts C<$args{ "${event}Sub" }> to a state of the current session and returns a call to that. NOT YET IMPLEMENTED. Returns C otherwise. =head1 STATUS For your comfort and conveinence, the child process updates C<$O> to tell you what it is doing. On many systems, C<$O> is available via C. =head1 AUTHOR Philip Gwyn Egwyn-at-cpan.orgE Based on work by David Davis Exantus@cpan.orgE =head1 SEE ALSO L =head1 RATING Please rate this module. L =head1 BUGS Probably. Report them here: L =head1 CREDITS BinGOs for L that helped xantus get started. David Davis for L on which this is originally based. =head1 COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE Copyright 2006-2009 by Philip Gwyn; Copyright 2005 by David Davis and Teknikill Software. This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself. =cut