1MCE::Child(3)         User Contributed Perl Documentation        MCE::Child(3)
2
3
4

NAME

6       MCE::Child - A threads-like parallelization module compatible with Perl
7       5.8
8

VERSION

10       This document describes MCE::Child version 1.862
11

SYNOPSIS

13        use MCE::Child;
14
15        MCE::Child->init(
16            max_workers => 'auto',   # default undef, unlimited
17            child_timeout => 20,     # default undef, no timeout
18            posix_exit => 1,         # default undef, CORE::exit
19            void_context => 1,       # default undef
20            on_start => sub {
21                my ( $pid, $ident ) = @_;
22                ...
23            },
24            on_finish => sub {
25                my ( $pid, $exit, $ident, $signal, $error, @ret ) = @_;
26                ...
27            }
28        );
29
30        MCE::Child->create( sub { print "Hello from child\n" } )->join();
31
32        sub parallel {
33            my ($arg1) = @_;
34            print "Hello again, $arg1\n" if defined($arg1);
35            print "Hello again, $_\n"; # same thing
36        }
37
38        MCE::Child->create( \&parallel, $_ ) for 1 .. 3;
39
40        my @procs    = MCE::Child->list();
41        my @pids     = MCE::Child->list_pids();
42        my @running  = MCE::Child->list_running();
43        my @joinable = MCE::Child->list_joinable();
44        my @count    = MCE::Child->pending();
45
46        # Joining is orderly, e.g. child1 is joined first, child2, child3.
47        $_->join() for @procs;   # (or)
48        $_->join() for @joinable;
49
50        # Joining occurs immediately as child processes complete execution.
51        1 while MCE::Child->wait_one();
52
53        my $child = mce_child { foreach (@files) { ... } };
54
55        $child->join();
56
57        if ( my $err = $child->error() ) {
58            warn "Child error: $err\n";
59        }
60
61        # Get a child's object
62        $child = MCE::Child->self();
63
64        # Get a child's ID
65        $pid = MCE::Child->pid();  # $$
66        $pid = $child->pid();
67        $pid = MCE::Child->tid();  # tid is an alias for pid
68        $pid = $child->tid();
69
70        # Test child objects
71        if ( $child1 == $child2 ) {
72            ...
73        }
74
75        # Give other workers a chance to run
76        MCE::Child->yield();
77        MCE::Child->yield(0.05);
78
79        # Return context, wantarray aware
80        my ($value1, $value2) = $child->join();
81        my $value = $child->join();
82
83        # Check child's state
84        if ( $child->is_running() ) {
85            sleep 1;
86        }
87        if ( $child->is_joinable() ) {
88            $child->join();
89        }
90
91        # Send a signal to a child
92        $child->kill('SIGUSR1');
93
94        # Exit a child
95        MCE::Child->exit(0);
96        MCE::Child->exit(0, @ret);
97

DESCRIPTION

99       MCE::Child is a fork of MCE::Hobo for compatibility with Perl 5.8.
100
101       A child is a migratory worker inside the machine that carries the
102       asynchronous gene. Child processes are equipped with "threads"-like
103       capability for running code asynchronously. Unlike threads, each child
104       is a unique process to the underlying OS. The IPC is handled via
105       "MCE::Channel", which runs on all the major platforms including Cygwin
106       and Strawberry Perl.
107
108       "MCE::Child" may be used as a standalone or together with "MCE"
109       including running alongside "threads".
110
111        use MCE::Child;
112        use MCE::Shared;
113
114        # synopsis: head -20 file.txt | perl script.pl
115
116        my $ifh = MCE::Shared->handle( "<", \*STDIN  );  # shared
117        my $ofh = MCE::Shared->handle( ">", \*STDOUT );
118        my $ary = MCE::Shared->array();
119
120        sub parallel_task {
121            my ( $id ) = @_;
122            while ( <$ifh> ) {
123                printf {$ofh} "[ %4d ] %s", $., $_;
124              # $ary->[ $. - 1 ] = "[ ID $id ] read line $.\n" );  # dereferencing
125                $ary->set( $. - 1, "[ ID $id ] read line $.\n" );  # faster via OO
126            }
127        }
128
129        my $child1 = MCE::Child->new( "parallel_task", 1 );
130        my $child2 = MCE::Child->new( \&parallel_task, 2 );
131        my $child3 = MCE::Child->new( sub { parallel_task(3) } );
132
133        $_->join for MCE::Child->list();  # ditto: MCE::Child->wait_all();
134
135        # search array (total one round-trip via IPC)
136        my @vals = $ary->vals( "val =~ / ID 2 /" );
137
138        print {*STDERR} join("", @vals);
139

API DOCUMENTATION

141       $child = MCE::Child->create( FUNCTION, ARGS )
142       $child = MCE::Child->new( FUNCTION, ARGS )
143          This will create a new child process that will begin execution with
144          function as the entry point, and optionally ARGS for list of
145          parameters. It will return the corresponding MCE::Child object, or
146          undef if child creation failed.
147
148          FUNCTION may either be the name of a function, an anonymous
149          subroutine, or a code ref.
150
151           my $child = MCE::Child->create( "func_name", ... );
152               # or
153           my $child = MCE::Child->create( sub { ... }, ... );
154               # or
155           my $child = MCE::Child->create( \&func, ... );
156
157       $child = MCE::Child->create( { options }, FUNCTION, ARGS )
158       $child = MCE::Child->create( IDENT, FUNCTION, ARGS )
159          Options, excluding "ident", may be specified globally via the "init"
160          function.  Otherwise, "ident", "child_timeout", "posix_exit", and
161          "void_context" may be set uniquely.
162
163          The "ident" option is used by callback functions "on_start" and
164          "on_finish" for identifying the started and finished child process
165          respectively.
166
167           my $child1 = MCE::Child->create( { posix_exit => 1 }, sub {
168               ...
169           } );
170
171           $child1->join;
172
173           my $child2 = MCE::Child->create( { child_timeout => 3 }, sub {
174               sleep 1 for ( 1 .. 9 );
175           } );
176
177           $child2->join;
178
179           if ( $child2->error() eq "Child timed out\n" ) {
180               ...
181           }
182
183          The "new()" method is an alias for "create()".
184
185       mce_child { BLOCK } ARGS;
186       mce_child { BLOCK };
187          "mce_child" runs the block asynchronously similarly to
188          "MCE::Child->create()".  It returns the child object, or undef if
189          child creation failed.
190
191           my $child = mce_child { foreach (@files) { ... } };
192
193           $child->join();
194
195           if ( my $err = $child->error() ) {
196               warn("Child error: $err\n");
197           }
198
199       $child->join()
200          This will wait for the corresponding child process to complete its
201          execution.  In non-voided context, "join()" will return the value(s)
202          of the entry point function.
203
204          The context (void, scalar or list) for the return value(s) for
205          "join" is determined at the time of joining and mostly "wantarray"
206          aware.
207
208           my $child1 = MCE::Child->create( sub {
209               my @res = qw(foo bar baz);
210               return (@res);
211           });
212
213           my @res1 = $child1->join();  # ( foo, bar, baz )
214           my $res1 = $child1->join();  #   baz
215
216           my $child2 = MCE::Child->create( sub {
217               return 'foo';
218           });
219
220           my @res2 = $child2->join();  # ( foo )
221           my $res2 = $child2->join();  #   foo
222
223       $child1->equal( $child2 )
224          Tests if two child objects are the same child or not. Child
225          comparison is based on process IDs. This is overloaded to the more
226          natural forms.
227
228           if ( $child1 == $child2 ) {
229               print("Child objects are the same\n");
230           }
231           # or
232           if ( $child1 != $child2 ) {
233               print("Child objects differ\n");
234           }
235
236       $child->error()
237          Child processes are executed in an "eval" context. This method will
238          return "undef" if the child terminates normally. Otherwise, it
239          returns the value of $@ associated with the child's execution status
240          in its "eval" context.
241
242       $child->exit()
243          This sends 'SIGINT' to the child process, notifying the child to
244          exit.  It returns the child object to allow for method chaining. It
245          is important to join later if not immediately to not leave a zombie
246          or defunct process.
247
248           $child->exit()->join();
249           ...
250
251           $child->join();  # later
252
253       MCE::Child->exit( 0 )
254       MCE::Child->exit( 0, @ret )
255          A child can exit at any time by calling "MCE::Child->exit()".
256          Otherwise, the behavior is the same as "exit(status)" when called
257          from the main process. The child process may optionally return data,
258          to be sent via IPC.
259
260       MCE::Child->finish()
261          This class method is called automatically by "END", but may be
262          called explicitly. An error is emitted via croak if there are active
263          child processes not yet joined.
264
265           MCE::Child->create( 'task1', $_ ) for 1 .. 4;
266           $_->join for MCE::Child->list();
267
268           MCE::Child->create( 'task2', $_ ) for 1 .. 4;
269           $_->join for MCE::Child->list();
270
271           MCE::Child->create( 'task3', $_ ) for 1 .. 4;
272           $_->join for MCE::Child->list();
273
274           MCE::Child->finish();
275
276       MCE::Child->init( options )
277          The init function accepts a list of MCE::Child options.
278
279           MCE::Child->init(
280               max_workers => 'auto',   # default undef, unlimited
281               child_timeout => 20,     # default undef, no timeout
282               posix_exit => 1,         # default undef, CORE::exit
283               void_context => 1,       # default undef
284               on_start => sub {
285                   my ( $pid, $ident ) = @_;
286                   ...
287               },
288               on_finish => sub {
289                   my ( $pid, $exit, $ident, $signal, $error, @ret ) = @_;
290                   ...
291               }
292           );
293
294           # Identification given as an option or the 1st argument.
295
296           for my $key ( 'aa' .. 'zz' ) {
297               MCE::Child->create( { ident => $key }, sub { ... } );
298               MCE::Child->create( $key, sub { ... } );
299           }
300
301           MCE::Child->wait_all;
302
303          Set "max_workers" if you want to limit the number of workers by
304          waiting automatically for an available slot. Specify "auto" to
305          obtain the number of logical cores via "MCE::Util::get_ncpu()".
306
307          Set "child_timeout", in number of seconds, if you want the child
308          process to terminate after some time. The default is 0 for no
309          timeout.
310
311          Set "posix_exit" to avoid all END and destructor processing.
312          Constructing MCE::Child inside a thread implies 1 or if present CGI,
313          FCGI, Coro, Curses, Gearman::Util, Gearman::XS, LWP::UserAgent,
314          Mojo::IOLoop, STFL, Tk, Wx, or Win32::GUI.
315
316          Set "void_context" to create the child process in void context for
317          the return value. Otherwise, the return context is wantarray-aware
318          for "join()" and "result()" and determined when retrieving the data.
319
320          The callback options "on_start" and "on_finish" are called in the
321          parent process after starting the worker and later when terminated.
322          The arguments for the subroutines were inspired by
323          Parallel::ForkManager.
324
325          The parameters for "on_start" are the following:
326
327           - pid of the child process
328           - identification (ident option or 1st arg to create)
329
330          The parameters for "on_finish" are the following:
331
332           - pid of the child process
333           - program exit code
334           - identification (ident option or 1st arg to create)
335           - exit signal id
336           - error message from eval inside MCE::Child
337           - returned data
338
339       $child->is_running()
340          Returns true if a child is still running.
341
342       $child->is_joinable()
343          Returns true if the child has finished running and not yet joined.
344
345       $child->kill( 'SIG...' )
346          Sends the specified signal to the child. Returns the child object to
347          allow for method chaining. As with "exit", it is important to join
348          eventually if not immediately to not leave a zombie or defunct
349          process.
350
351           $child->kill('SIG...')->join();
352
353          The following is a parallel demonstration comparing "MCE::Shared"
354          against "Redis" and "Redis::Fast" on a Fedora 23 VM. Joining begins
355          after all workers have been notified to quit.
356
357           use Time::HiRes qw(time);
358
359           use Redis;
360           use Redis::Fast;
361
362           use MCE::Child;
363           use MCE::Shared;
364
365           my $redis = Redis->new();
366           my $rfast = Redis::Fast->new();
367           my $array = MCE::Shared->array();
368
369           sub parallel_redis {
370               my ($_redis) = @_;
371               my ($count, $quit, $len) = (0, 0);
372
373               # instead, use a flag to exit loop
374               $SIG{'QUIT'} = sub { $quit = 1 };
375
376               while () {
377                   $len = $_redis->rpush('list', $count++);
378                   last if $quit;
379               }
380
381               $count;
382           }
383
384           sub parallel_array {
385               my ($count, $quit, $len) = (0, 0);
386
387               # do not exit from inside handler
388               $SIG{'QUIT'} = sub { $quit = 1 };
389
390               while () {
391                   $len = $array->push($count++);
392                   last if $quit;
393               }
394
395               $count;
396           }
397
398           sub benchmark_this {
399               my ($desc, $num_procs, $timeout, $code, @args) = @_;
400               my ($start, $total) = (time(), 0);
401
402               MCE::Child->new($code, @args) for 1..$num_procs;
403               sleep $timeout;
404
405               # joining is not immediate; ok
406               $_->kill('QUIT') for MCE::Child->list();
407
408               # joining later; ok
409               $total += $_->join() for MCE::Child->list();
410
411               printf "$desc <> duration: %0.03f secs, count: $total\n",
412                   time() - $start;
413
414               sleep 0.2;
415           }
416
417           benchmark_this('Redis      ', 8, 5.0, \&parallel_redis, $redis);
418           benchmark_this('Redis::Fast', 8, 5.0, \&parallel_redis, $rfast);
419           benchmark_this('MCE::Shared', 8, 5.0, \&parallel_array);
420
421       MCE::Child->list()
422          Returns a list of all child objects not yet joined.
423
424           @procs = MCE::Child->list();
425
426       MCE::Child->list_pids()
427          Returns a list of all child pids not yet joined (available since
428          1.849).
429
430           @pids = MCE::Child->list_pids();
431
432           $SIG{INT} = $SIG{HUP} = $SIG{TERM} = sub {
433               # Signal workers all at once
434               CORE::kill('KILL', MCE::Child->list_pids());
435               exec('reset');
436           };
437
438       MCE::Child->list_running()
439          Returns a list of all child objects that are still running.
440
441           @procs = MCE::Child->list_running();
442
443       MCE::Child->list_joinable()
444          Returns a list of all child objects that have completed running.
445          Thus, ready to be joined without blocking.
446
447           @procs = MCE::Child->list_joinable();
448
449       MCE::Child->max_workers([ N ])
450          Getter and setter for max_workers. Specify a number or 'auto' to
451          acquire the total number of cores via MCE::Util::get_ncpu. Specify a
452          false value to set back to no limit.
453
454       MCE::Child->pending()
455          Returns a count of all child objects not yet joined.
456
457           $count = MCE::Child->pending();
458
459       $child->result()
460          Returns the result obtained by "join", "wait_one", or "wait_all". If
461          the process has not yet exited, waits for the corresponding child to
462          complete its execution.
463
464           use MCE::Child;
465           use Time::HiRes qw(sleep);
466
467           sub task {
468               my ($id) = @_;
469               sleep $id * 0.333;
470               return $id;
471           }
472
473           MCE::Child->create('task', $_) for ( reverse 1 .. 3 );
474
475           # 1 while MCE::Child->wait_one();
476
477           while ( my $child = MCE::Child->wait_one() ) {
478               my $err = $child->error() || 'no error';
479               my $res = $child->result();
480               my $pid = $child->pid();
481
482               print "[$pid] $err : $res\n";
483           }
484
485          Like "join" described above, the context (void, scalar or list) for
486          the return value(s) is determined at the time "result" is called and
487          mostly "wantarray" aware.
488
489           my $child1 = MCE::Child->create( sub {
490               my @res = qw(foo bar baz);
491               return (@res);
492           });
493
494           my @res1 = $child1->result();  # ( foo, bar, baz )
495           my $res1 = $child1->result();  #   baz
496
497           my $child2 = MCE::Child->create( sub {
498               return 'foo';
499           });
500
501           my @res2 = $child2->result();  # ( foo )
502           my $res2 = $child2->result();  #   foo
503
504       MCE::Child->self()
505          Class method that allows a child to obtain it's own MCE::Child
506          object.
507
508       $child->pid()
509       $child->tid()
510          Returns the ID of the child.
511
512           pid: $$  process id
513           tid: $$  alias for pid
514
515       MCE::Child->pid()
516       MCE::Child->tid()
517          Class methods that allows a child to obtain its own ID.
518
519           pid: $$  process id
520           tid: $$  alias for pid
521
522       MCE::Child->wait_one()
523       MCE::Child->waitone()
524       MCE::Child->wait_all()
525       MCE::Child->waitall()
526          Meaningful for the manager process only, waits for one or all child
527          processes to complete execution. Afterwards, returns the
528          corresponding child objects.  If a child doesn't exist, returns the
529          "undef" value or an empty list for "wait_one" and "wait_all"
530          respectively.
531
532          The "waitone" and "waitall" methods are aliases for compatibility
533          with "MCE::Hobo".
534
535           use MCE::Child;
536           use Time::HiRes qw(sleep);
537
538           sub task {
539               my $id = shift;
540               sleep $id * 0.333;
541               return $id;
542           }
543
544           MCE::Child->create('task', $_) for ( reverse 1 .. 3 );
545
546           # join, traditional use case
547           $_->join() for MCE::Child->list();
548
549           # wait_one, simplistic use case
550           1 while MCE::Child->wait_one();
551
552           # wait_one
553           while ( my $child = MCE::Child->wait_one() ) {
554               my $err = $child->error() || 'no error';
555               my $res = $child->result();
556               my $pid = $child->pid();
557
558               print "[$pid] $err : $res\n";
559           }
560
561           # wait_all
562           my @procs = MCE::Child->wait_all();
563
564           for ( @procs ) {
565               my $err = $_->error() || 'no error';
566               my $res = $_->result();
567               my $pid = $_->pid();
568
569               print "[$pid] $err : $res\n";
570           }
571
572       MCE::Child->yield( [ floating_seconds ] )
573          Give other workers a chance to run, optionally for given time. Yield
574          behaves similarly to MCE's interval option. It throttles workers
575          from running too fast.  A demonstration is provided in the next
576          section for fetching URLs in parallel.
577
578           # total run time: 1.00 second
579
580           MCE::Child->create( sub { MCE::Child->yield(0.25) } ) for 1 .. 4;
581           MCE::Child->wait_all();
582

PARALLEL::FORKMANAGER-like DEMONSTRATION

584       MCE::Child behaves similarly to threads for the most part. It also
585       provides Parallel::ForkManager-like capabilities. The
586       "Parallel::ForkManager" example is shown first followed by a version
587       using "MCE::Child".
588
589       Parallel::ForkManager
590           use strict;
591           use warnings;
592
593           use Parallel::ForkManager;
594           use Time::HiRes 'time';
595
596           my $start = time;
597
598           my $pm = Parallel::ForkManager->new(10);
599           $pm->set_waitpid_blocking_sleep(0);
600
601           $pm->run_on_finish( sub {
602               my ($pid, $exit_code, $ident, $exit_signal, $core_dumped, $resp) = @_;
603               print "child $pid completed: $ident => ", $resp->[0], "\n";
604           });
605
606           DATA_LOOP:
607           foreach my $data ( 1..2000 ) {
608               # forks and returns the pid for the child
609               my $pid = $pm->start($data) and next DATA_LOOP;
610               my $ret = [ $data * 2 ];
611
612               $pm->finish(0, $ret);
613           }
614
615           $pm->wait_all_children;
616
617           printf STDERR "duration: %0.03f seconds\n", time - $start;
618
619       MCE::Child
620           use strict;
621           use warnings;
622
623           use MCE::Child 1.843;
624           use Time::HiRes 'time';
625
626           my $start = time;
627
628           MCE::Child->init(
629               max_workers => 10,
630               on_finish   => sub {
631                   my ($pid, $exit_code, $ident, $exit_signal, $error, $resp) = @_;
632                   print "child $pid completed: $ident => ", $resp->[0], "\n";
633               }
634           );
635
636           foreach my $data ( 1..2000 ) {
637               MCE::Child->create( $data, sub {
638                   [ $data * 2 ];
639               });
640           }
641
642           MCE::Child->wait_all;
643
644           printf STDERR "duration: %0.03f seconds\n", time - $start;
645
646       Time to spin 2,000 workers and obtain results (in seconds).
647          Results were obtained on a Macbook Pro (2.6 GHz ~ 3.6 GHz with Turbo
648          Boost).  Parallel::ForkManager 2.02 uses Moo. Therefore, I ran again
649          with Moo loaded at the top of the script.
650
651           MCE::Hobo uses MCE::Shared to retrieve data during reaping.
652           MCE::Child uses MCE::Channel, no shared-manager.
653
654                    Version  Cygwin   Windows  Linux   macOS  FreeBSD
655
656           MCE::Child 1.843  19.099s  17.091s  0.965s  1.534s  1.229s
657            MCE::Hobo 1.843  20.514s  19.594s  1.246s  1.629s  1.613s
658                P::FM 1.20   19.703s  19.235s  0.875s  1.445s  1.346s
659
660           MCE::Child 1.843  20.426s  18.417s  1.116s  1.632s  1.338s  Moo loaded
661            MCE::Hobo 1.843  21.809s  20.810s  1.407s  1.759s  1.722s  Moo loaded
662                P::FM 2.02   21.668s  25.927s  1.882s  2.612s  2.483s  Moo used
663
664       Set posix_exit to avoid all END and destructor processing.
665          This is helpful for reducing overhead when workers exit. Ditto if
666          using a Perl module not parallel safe. The option is ignored on
667          Windows "$^O eq 'MSWin32'".
668
669           MCE::Child->init( posix_exit => 1, ... );
670            MCE::Hobo->init( posix_exit => 1, ... );
671
672                    Version  Cygwin   Windows  Linux   macOS  FreeBSD
673
674           MCE::Child 1.843  19.815s  ignored  0.824s  1.284s  1.245s  Moo loaded
675            MCE::Hobo 1.843  21.029s  ignored  0.953s  1.335s  1.439s  Moo loaded
676

PARALLEL HTTP GET DEMONSTRATION USING ANYEVENT

678       This demonstration constructs two queues, two handles, starts the
679       shared-manager process if needed, and spawns four workers.  For this
680       demonstration, am chunking 64 URLs per job. In reality, one may run
681       with 200 workers and chunk 300 URLs on a 24-way box.
682
683        # ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
684        # perl demo.pl              -- all output
685        # perl demo.pl  >/dev/null  -- mngr/child output
686        # perl demo.pl 2>/dev/null  -- show results only
687        #
688        # ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
689
690        use strict;
691        use warnings;
692
693        use AnyEvent;
694        use AnyEvent::HTTP;
695        use Time::HiRes qw( time );
696
697        use MCE::Child;
698        use MCE::Shared;
699
700        # Construct two queues, input and return.
701
702        my $que = MCE::Shared->queue();
703        my $ret = MCE::Shared->queue();
704
705        # Construct shared handles for serializing output from many workers
706        # writing simultaneously. This prevents garbled output.
707
708        mce_open my $OUT, ">>", \*STDOUT or die "open error: $!";
709        mce_open my $ERR, ">>", \*STDERR or die "open error: $!";
710
711        # Spawn workers early for minimum memory consumption.
712
713        MCE::Child->create({ posix_exit => 1 }, 'task', $_) for 1 .. 4;
714
715        # Obtain or generate input data for workers to process.
716
717        my ( $count, @urls ) = ( 0 );
718
719        push @urls, map { "http://127.0.0.$_/"   } 1..254;
720        push @urls, map { "http://192.168.0.$_/" } 1..254; # 508 URLs total
721
722        while ( @urls ) {
723            my @chunk = splice(@urls, 0, 64);
724            $que->enqueue( { ID => ++$count, INPUT => \@chunk } );
725        }
726
727        # So that workers leave the loop after consuming the queue.
728
729        $que->end();
730
731        # ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
732        # Loop for the manager process. The manager may do other work if
733        # need be and periodically check $ret->pending() not shown here.
734        #
735        # ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
736
737        my $start = time;
738
739        printf {$ERR} "Mngr  - entering loop\n";
740
741        while ( $count ) {
742            my ( $result, $failed ) = $ret->dequeue( 2 );
743
744            # Remove ID from result, so not treated as a URL item.
745
746            printf {$ERR} "Mngr  - received job %s\n", delete $result->{ID};
747
748            # Display the URL and the size captured.
749
750            foreach my $url ( keys %{ $result } ) {
751                printf {$OUT} "%s: %d\n", $url, length($result->{$url})
752                    if $result->{$url};  # url has content
753            }
754
755            # Display URLs could not reach.
756
757            if ( @{ $failed } ) {
758                foreach my $url ( @{ $failed } ) {
759                    print {$OUT} "Failed: $url\n";
760                }
761            }
762
763            # Decrement the count.
764
765            $count--;
766        }
767
768        MCE::Child->wait_all();
769
770        printf {$ERR} "Mngr  - exiting loop\n\n";
771        printf {$ERR} "Duration: %0.3f seconds\n\n", time - $start;
772
773        exit;
774
775        # ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
776        # Child processes enqueue two items ( $result and $failed ) per each
777        # job for the manager process. Likewise, the manager process dequeues
778        # two items above. Optionally, child processes may include the ID in
779        # the result.
780        #
781        # ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
782
783        sub task {
784            my ( $id ) = @_;
785            printf {$ERR} "Child $id entering loop\n";
786
787            while ( my $job = $que->dequeue() ) {
788                my ( $result, $failed ) = ( { ID => $job->{ID} }, [ ] );
789
790                # Walk URLs, provide a hash and array refs for data.
791
792                printf {$ERR} "Child $id running  job $job->{ID}\n";
793                walk( $job, $result, $failed );
794
795                # Send results to the manager process.
796
797                $ret->enqueue( $result, $failed );
798            }
799
800            printf {$ERR} "Child $id exiting loop\n";
801        }
802
803        sub walk {
804            my ( $job, $result, $failed ) = @_;
805
806            # Yielding is critical when running an event loop in parallel.
807            # Not doing so means that the app may reach contention points
808            # with the firewall and likely impose unnecessary hardship at
809            # the OS level. The idea here is not to have multiple workers
810            # initiate HTTP requests to a batch of URLs at the same time.
811            # Yielding behaves similarly like scatter to have the child
812            # process run solo for a fraction of time.
813
814            MCE::Child->yield( 0.03 );
815
816            my $cv = AnyEvent->condvar();
817
818            # Populate the hash ref for the URLs it could reach.
819            # Do not mix AnyEvent timeout with child timeout.
820            # Therefore, choose event timeout when available.
821
822            foreach my $url ( @{ $job->{INPUT} } ) {
823                $cv->begin();
824                http_get $url, timeout => 2, sub {
825                    my ( $data, $headers ) = @_;
826                    $result->{$url} = $data;
827                    $cv->end();
828                };
829            }
830
831            $cv->recv();
832
833            # Populate the array ref for URLs it could not reach.
834
835            foreach my $url ( @{ $job->{INPUT} } ) {
836                push @{ $failed }, $url unless (exists $result->{ $url });
837            }
838
839            return;
840        }
841
842        __END__
843
844        $ perl demo.pl
845
846        Child 1 entering loop
847        Child 2 entering loop
848        Child 3 entering loop
849        Mngr  - entering loop
850        Child 2 running  job 2
851        Child 3 running  job 3
852        Child 1 running  job 1
853        Child 4 entering loop
854        Child 4 running  job 4
855        Child 2 running  job 5
856        Mngr  - received job 2
857        Child 3 running  job 6
858        Mngr  - received job 3
859        Child 1 running  job 7
860        Mngr  - received job 1
861        Child 4 running  job 8
862        Mngr  - received job 4
863        http://192.168.0.1/: 3729
864        Child 2 exiting loop
865        Mngr  - received job 5
866        Child 3 exiting loop
867        Mngr  - received job 6
868        Child 1 exiting loop
869        Mngr  - received job 7
870        Child 4 exiting loop
871        Mngr  - received job 8
872        Mngr  - exiting loop
873
874        Duration: 4.131 seconds
875

CROSS-PLATFORM TEMPLATE FOR BINARY EXECUTABLE

877       Making an executable is possible with the PAR::Packer module.  On the
878       Windows platform, threads, threads::shared, and exiting via threads are
879       necessary for the binary to exit successfully.
880
881        # https://metacpan.org/pod/PAR::Packer
882        # https://metacpan.org/pod/pp
883        #
884        #   pp -o demo.exe demo.pl
885        #   ./demo.exe
886
887        use strict;
888        use warnings;
889
890        use if $^O eq "MSWin32", "threads";
891        use if $^O eq "MSWin32", "threads::shared";
892
893        # Include minimum dependencies for MCE::Child.
894        # Add other modules required by your application here.
895
896        use Storable ();
897        use Time::HiRes ();
898
899        # use IO::FDPass ();  # optional: for condvar, handle, queue
900        # use Sereal ();      # optional: for faster serialization
901
902        use MCE::Child;
903        use MCE::Shared;
904
905        # For PAR to work on the Windows platform, one must include manually
906        # any shared modules used by the application.
907
908        # use MCE::Shared::Array;    # if using MCE::Shared->array
909        # use MCE::Shared::Cache;    # if using MCE::Shared->cache
910        # use MCE::Shared::Condvar;  # if using MCE::Shared->condvar
911        # use MCE::Shared::Handle;   # if using MCE::Shared->handle, mce_open
912        # use MCE::Shared::Hash;     # if using MCE::Shared->hash
913        # use MCE::Shared::Minidb;   # if using MCE::Shared->minidb
914        # use MCE::Shared::Ordhash;  # if using MCE::Shared->ordhash
915        # use MCE::Shared::Queue;    # if using MCE::Shared->queue
916        # use MCE::Shared::Scalar;   # if using MCE::Shared->scalar
917
918        # Et cetera. Only load modules needed for your application.
919
920        use MCE::Shared::Sequence;   # if using MCE::Shared->sequence
921
922        my $seq = MCE::Shared->sequence( 1, 9 );
923
924        sub task {
925            my ( $id ) = @_;
926            while ( defined ( my $num = $seq->next() ) ) {
927                print "$id: $num\n";
928                sleep 1;
929            }
930        }
931
932        sub main {
933            MCE::Child->new( \&task, $_ ) for 1 .. 3;
934            MCE::Child->wait_all();
935        }
936
937        # Main must run inside a thread on the Windows platform or workers
938        # will fail duing exiting, causing the exe to crash. The reason is
939        # that PAR or a dependency isn't multi-process safe.
940
941        ( $^O eq "MSWin32" ) ? threads->create(\&main)->join() : main();
942
943        threads->exit(0) if $INC{"threads.pm"};
944

LIMITATION

946       MCE::Child emits an error when "is_joinable", "is_running", and "join"
947       isn't called by the managed process, where the child was spawned. This
948       is a limitation in MCE::Child only due to not involving a shared-
949       manager process for IPC.
950
951       This use-case is not typical.
952

CREDITS

954       The inspiration for "MCE::Child" comes from wanting "threads"-like
955       behavior for processes compatible with Perl 5.8. Both can run side-by-
956       side including safe-use by MCE workers. Likewise, the documentation
957       resembles "threads".
958
959       The inspiration for "wait_all" and "wait_one" comes from the
960       "Parallel::WorkUnit" module.
961

SEE ALSO

963       ·  forks
964
965       ·  forks::BerkeleyDB
966
967       ·  MCE::Hobo
968
969       ·  Parallel::ForkManager
970
971       ·  Parallel::Loops
972
973       ·  Parallel::Prefork
974
975       ·  Parallel::WorkUnit
976
977       ·  Proc::Fork
978
979       ·  Thread::Tie
980
981       ·  threads
982

INDEX

984       MCE, MCE::Channel, MCE::Shared
985

AUTHOR

987       Mario E. Roy, <marioeroy AT gmail DOT com>
988
989
990
991perl v5.30.0                      2019-09-19                     MCE::Child(3)
Impressum