NAME

Data::Tools provides set of basic functions for data manipulation.

SYNOPSIS

use Data::Tools qw( :all );  # import all functions
use Data::Tools;             # the same as :all :)
use Data::Tools qw( :none ); # do not import anything, use full package names

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

# these set the encoding used by the file_text_* functions only:

data_tools_set_text_io_encoding( 'UTF-8' ); # file_text_* io will use UTF-8
data_tools_set_text_io_utf8();              # the same, shortcut
data_tools_set_text_io_bin();               # file_text_* io will use binary data

my $res  = file_save( $file_name, 'file content here' );
my $data = file_load( $file_name );

my $data_arrayref = file_load_ar( $file_name );

# for specific charset encoding and because of backward compatibility:

my $res  = file_save( { FILE_NAME => $file_name, ENCODING => 'UTF-8' }, 'data' );
my $data = file_load( { FILE_NAME => $file_name, ENCODING => 'UTF-8' } );

my $data_arrayref = file_load_ar( { FILE_NAME => $fname, ENCODING => 'UTF-8' } );

# ':RAW' => 1 reads/writes binary data:

my $res  = file_save( { FILE_NAME => $file_name, ':RAW' => 1 }, $binary_data );
my $data = file_load( { FILE_NAME => $file_name, ':RAW' => 1 } );

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

my $file_modification_time_in_seconds = file_mtime( $file_name );
my $file_change_time_in_seconds       = file_ctime( $file_name );
my $file_last_access_time_in_seconds  = file_atime( $file_name );
my $file_size                         = file_size(  $file_name );

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

my $res  = dir_path_make( '/path/to/somewhere' ); # create full path with 0700
my $res  = dir_path_make( '/new/path', MASK => 0755 ); # ...with mask 0755
my $path = dir_path_ensure( '/path/s/t/h' ); # ensure path exists, check+make

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

my $path_with_trailing_slash = file_path( $full_path_or_file_name );

# file_name() and file_name_ext() return full name with leadeing
# dot for dot-files ( .filename )
my $file_name_including_ext  = file_name_ext( $full_path_or_file_name );
my $file_name_only_no_ext    = file_name( $full_path_or_file_name );

# file_ext() returns undef for dot-files ( .filename )
my $file_ext_only            = file_ext( $full_path_or_file_name );

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

# uses simple backslash escaping of \n, = and \ itself
my $data_str = hash2str( $hash_ref ); # convert hash to string "key=value\n"
my $hash_ref = str2hash( $hash_str ); # convert str "key-value\n" to hash

# same as hash2str() but uses keys in certain order
my $data_str = hash2str_keys( \%hash, sort keys %hash );
my $data_str = hash2str_keys( \%hash, sort { $a <=> $b } keys %hash );

# same as hash2str() and str2hash() but uses URL-style escaping
my $data_str = hash2str_url( $hash_ref ); # convert hash to string "key=value\n"
my $hash_ref = str2hash_url( $hash_str ); # convert str "key-value\n" to hash

my $hash_ref = url2hash( 'key1=val1&key2=val2&testing=tralala);
# $hash_ref will be { key1 => 'val1', key2 => 'val2', testing => 'tralala' }

my $hash_ref_with_upper_case_keys = hash_uc( $hash_ref_with_lower_case_keys );
my $hash_ref_with_lower_case_keys = hash_lc( $hash_ref_with_upper_case_keys );

hash_uc_ipl( $hash_ref_to_be_converted_to_upper_case_keys );
hash_lc_ipl( $hash_ref_to_be_converted_to_lower_case_keys );

# save/load hash in str_url_escaped form to/from a file
my $res      = hash_save( $file_name, $hash_ref );
my $hash_ref = hash_load( $file_name );

# save hash with certain keys order, uses hash2str_keys()
my $res      = hash_save( $file_name, \%hash, sort keys %hash );

# same as hash_save() and hash_load() but uses hash2str_url() and str2hash_url()
my $res      = hash_save_url( $file_name, $hash_ref );
my $hash_ref = hash_load_url( $file_name );

# validate (nested) hash by example

# validation example nested hash
my $validate_hr = {
                  A => 'INT',
                  B => 'INT(-5,10)',
                  C => 'REAL',
                  D => {
                       E => 'RE:\d+[a-f]*',  # regexp match
                       F => 'REI:\d+[a-f]*', # case insensitive regexp match
                       },
                  DIR1  => '-d',   # must be existing directory
                  DIR2  => 'dir',  # must be existing directory
                  FILE1 => '-f',   # must be existing file
                  FILE2 => 'file', # must be existing file
                  };
# actual nested hash to be verified if looks like the example
my $data_hr     = {
                  A => '123',
                  B =>  '-1',
                  C =>  '1 234 567.89',
                  D => {
                       E => '123abc',
                       F => '456FFF',
                       },
                  }

my @invalid_keys = hash_validate( $data_hr, $validate_hr );
print "YES!" if hash_validate( $data_hr, $validate_hr );

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

my $escaped   = str_url_escape( $plain_str ); # URL-style %XX escaping
my $plain_str = str_url_unescape( $escaped );

my $escaped   = str_html_escape( $plain_str ); # HTML-style &name; escaping
my $plain_str = str_html_unescape( $escaped );

my $hex_str   = str_hex( $plain_str ); # HEX-style XX string escaping
my $plain_str = str_unhex( $hex_str );

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

# converts perl package names to file names, f.e: returns "Data/Tools.pm"
my $perl_pkg_fn = perl_package_to_file( 'Data::Tools' );

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

# calculating hex digests
my $whirlpool_hex = wp_hex( $data );
my $sha1_hex      = sha1_hex( $data );
my $md5_hex       = md5_hex( $data );

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

my $formatted_str = str_num_comma( 1234567.89 );   # returns "1'234'567.89"
my $formatted_str = str_num_comma( 4325678, '_' ); # returns "4_325_678"
my $padded_str    = str_pad( 'right', -12, '*' ); # returns "right*******"
my $str_c         = str_countable( $dc, 'day', 'days' );
                    # returns 'days' for $dc == 0
                    # returns 'day'  for $dc == 1
                    # returns 'days' for $dc >  1

my $num = str_kmg_to_num(   '1K' ); # returns 1024
my $num = str_kmg_to_num( '2.5M' ); # returns 2621440
my $num = str_kmg_to_num(   '1T' ); # returns 1099511627776

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

# find all *.txt files in all subdirectories starting from /usr/local
# returned files are with full path names
my @files = glob_tree( '/usr/local/*.txt' );

# read directory entries names (without full paths)
my @files_and_dirs = read_dir_entries( '/tmp/secret/dir' );

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

my $int   = bcd2int( $bcd_bytes ); # convert BCD byte data to integer
my $bytes = int2bcd( $int );       # convert integer to BCD bytes
my $str   = bcd2str( $bcd_bytes ); # convert BCD byte data to string

FUNCTIONS

hash_validate( $data_hr, $validate_hr );

Return value can be either scalar or array context. In scalar context return value is true (1) or false (0). In array context it returns list of the invalid keys (possibly key paths like 'KEY1/KEY2/KEY3'):

# array context
my @invalid_keys = hash_validate( $data_hr, $validate_hr );

# scalar context
print "YES!" if hash_validate( $data_hr, $validate_hr );

TODO

(more docs)

DATA::TOOLS SUB-MODULES

Data::Tools package includes several sub-modules:

* Data::Tools::Socket (socket I/O processing, TODO: docs)
* Data::Tools::Time   (time processing)

REQUIRED MODULES

Data::Tools is designed to be simple, compact and self sufficient. However it uses some 3rd party modules:

* Digest::Whirlpool
* Digest::MD5
* Digest::SHA1
* JSON

SEE ALSO

For more complex cases of nested hash validation, check Data::Validate::Struct module by Thomas Linden, cheers :)

GITHUB REPOSITORY

git@github.com:cade-vs/perl-data-tools.git

git clone git://github.com/cade-vs/perl-data-tools.git

AUTHOR

Vladi Belperchinov-Shabanski "Cade"
      <cade@noxrun.com> <cade@bis.bg> <cade@cpan.org>
http://cade.noxrun.com/

NAME

Data::Tools::Socket provides set of socket I/O functions.

SYNOPSIS

use Data::Tools::Socket qw( :all );  # import all functions
use Data::Tools::Socket;             # the same as :all :)
use Data::Tools::Socket qw( :none ); # do not import anything, use full package names

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

my $read_res_len  = socket_read(  $socket, $data_ref, $length, $timeout );
my $write_res_len = socket_write( $socket, $data,     $length, $timeout );
my $write_res_len = socket_print( $socket, $data, $timeout );

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

my $read_data = socket_read_message(  $socket, $timeout );
my $write_res = socket_write_message( $socket, $data, $timeout );

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

FUNCTIONS

socket_read( $socket, $data_ref, $length, $timeout )

Reads $length sized data from the $socket and store it to $data_ref scalar reference.

Returns read length (can be shorter than requested $length);

$timeout is optional, it is in seconds and can be less than 1 second.

socket_write( $socket, $data, $length, $timeout )

Writes $length sized data from $data scalar to the $socket.

Returns write length (can be shorter than requested $length);

$timeout is optional, it is in seconds and can be less than 1 second.

socket_print( $socket, $data, $timeout )

Same as socket_write() but calculates requested length from the $data scalar.

$timeout is optional, it is in seconds and can be less than 1 second.

socket_read_message( $socket, $timeout )

Reads 32bit network-order integer, which then is used as data size to be read from the socket (i.e. message = 32bit-integer + data ).

Returns read data or undef for message or network error.

$timeout is optional, it is in seconds and can be less than 1 second.

socket_write_message( $socket, $data, $timeout )

Writes 32bit network-order integer, which is the size of the given $data to be written to the $socket and then writes the data (i.e. message = 32bit-integer + data ).

Returns 1 on success or undef for message or network error.

$timeout is optional, it is in seconds and can be less than 1 second.

TODO

* more docs

REQUIRED MODULES

Data::Tools::Socket uses:

* Time::HiRes

GITHUB REPOSITORY

git@github.com:cade-vs/perl-data-tools.git

git clone git://github.com/cade-vs/perl-data-tools.git

AUTHOR

Vladi Belperchinov-Shabanski "Cade"
      <cade@noxrun.com> <cade@bis.bg> <cade@cpan.org>
http://cade.noxrun.com/

NAME

Data::Tools::Time provides set of basic functions for time processing.

SYNOPSIS

use Data::Tools::Time qw( :all );  # import all functions
use Data::Tools::Time;             # the same as :all :) 
use Data::Tools::Time qw( :none ); # do not import anything

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

my $time_diff_str     = unix_time_diff_in_words( $time1 - $time2 );
my $time_diff_str_rel = unix_time_diff_in_words_relative( $time1 - $time2 );

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------
  
my $date_diff_str     = julian_date_diff_in_words( $date1 - $date2 );
my $date_diff_str_rel = julian_date_diff_in_words_relative( $date1 - $date2 );

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

# return seconds after last midnight, i.e. current day time
my $seconds_in_the_current_day = get_local_time_only()

# returns current julian day
my $jd = get_local_julian_day()

# returns current year
my $year = get_local_year()

# gets current julian date, needs Time::JulianDay
my $jd = local_julian_day( time() );
# or
my $jd = get_local_julian_day();

# move current julian date to year ago, one month ahead and 2 days ahead
$jd = julian_date_add_ymd( $jd, -1, 1, 2 );

# get year, month and day from julian date
my ( $y, $m, $d ) = julian_date_to_ymd( $jd );

# get julian date from year, month and day
$jd = julian_date_from_ymd( $y, $m, $d );

# move julian date ($jd) to the first day of its current month
$jd = julian_date_goto_first_dom( $jd );

# move julian date ($jd) to the last day of its current month
$jd = julian_date_goto_last_dom( $jd );

# get day of week for given julian date ( 0 => Mon .. 6 => Sun )
my $dow = julian_date_get_dow( $jd );
print( ( qw( Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun ) )[ $dow ] . "\n" );

# get month days count for the given julian date's month
my $mdays = julian_date_month_days( $jd );

# get month days count for the given year and month
my $mdays = julian_date_month_days_ym( $y, $m );

FUNCTIONS

unix_time_diff_in_words( $unix_time_diff )

Returns human-friendly text for the given time difference (in seconds). This function returns absolute difference text, for relative (before/after/ago/in) see unix_time_diff_in_words_relative().

unix_time_diff_in_words_relative( $unix_time_diff )

Same as unix_time_diff_in_words() but returns relative text (i.e. with before/after/ago/in)

julian_date_diff_in_words( $julian_date_diff );

Returns human-friendly text for the given date difference (in days). This function returns absolute difference text, for relative (before/after/ago/in) see julian_date_diff_in_words_relative().

julian_date_diff_in_words_relative( $julian_date_diff );

Same as julian_date_diff_in_words() but returns relative text (i.e. with before/after/ago/in)

TODO

* support for language-dependent wording (before/ago)
* support for user-defined thresholds (48 hours, 2 months, etc.)

REQUIRED MODULES

Data::Tools::Time uses:

* Data::Tools (from the same package)
* Date::Calc
* Time::JulianDay

TEXT TRANSLATION NOTES

time/date difference wording functions does not have translation functions and return only english text. This is intentional since the goal is to keep the translation mess away but still allow simple (yet bit strange) way to translate the result strings with regexp and language hash:

my $time_diff_str_rel = unix_time_diff_in_words_relative( $time1 - $time2 );

my %TRANS = (
            'now'       => 'sega',
            'today'     => 'dnes',
            'tomorrow'  => 'utre',
            'yesterday' => 'vchera',
            'in'        => 'sled',
            'before'    => 'predi',
            'year'      => 'godina',
            'years'     => 'godini',
            'month'     => 'mesec',
            'months'    => 'meseca',
            'day'       => 'den',
            'days'      => 'dni',
            'hour'      => 'chas',
            'hours'     => 'chasa',
            'minute'    => 'minuta',
            'minutes'   => 'minuti',
            'second'    => 'sekunda',
            'seconds'   => 'sekundi',
            );
            
$time_diff_str_rel =~ s/([a-z]+)/$TRANS{ lc $1 } || $1/ge;

I know this is no good for longer sentences but works fine in this case.

GITHUB REPOSITORY

git@github.com:cade-vs/perl-data-tools.git

git clone git://github.com/cade-vs/perl-data-tools.git

AUTHOR

Vladi Belperchinov-Shabanski "Cade"
      <cade@noxrun.com> <cade@bis.bg> <cade@cpan.org>
http://cade.noxrun.com/  

NAME

Data::Tools::Math provides set of basic functions for mathematics.

SYNOPSIS

use Data::Tools::Math qw( :all );  # import all functions
use Data::Tools::Math;             # the same as :all :) 
use Data::Tools::Math qw( :none ); # do not import anything

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------


# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

FUNCTIONS

num_round( $number, $precision )

Rounds $number to $precisioun places after the decimal point.

num_round_trunc( $number, $precision )

Same as num_round() but just truncates after the $precision places.

num_pow( $number, $exponent )

Returns power of $number by $exponent ( $num ** $exp )

REQUIRED MODULES

Data::Tools::Time uses:

* Math::BigFloat

GITHUB REPOSITORY

git@github.com:cade-vs/perl-data-tools.git

git clone git://github.com/cade-vs/perl-data-tools.git

AUTHOR

Vladi Belperchinov-Shabanski "Cade"
      <cade@noxrun.com> <cade@bis.bg> <cade@cpan.org>
http://cade.noxrun.com/  

NAME

Data::Tools::CSV -- compact, pure-perl CSV parsing

SYNOPSIS

use Data::Tools::CSV qw( :all );  # import all functions
use Data::Tools::CSV;             # the same as :all :)
use Data::Tools::CSV qw( :none ); # do not import anything

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

my $array_of_arrays = parse_csv( $csv_data_string );
my @single_line     = parse_csv_line( $single_csv_line );

while( <$fh> )
  {
  parse_csv_line( $_ );
  ...
  }

# hash keys names are mapped from the first line of $csv_data (head)
my @array_of_hashes = parse_csv_to_hash_array( $csv_data );

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

FUNCTIONS

In all functions the '$delim' argument is optional and sets the delimiter to be used. Default one is comma ',' (accordingly to RFC4180, see below).

In all functions the '$strip' argument should be true ("1" or non-zero string) to strip data from leading and trailing whitespace. If leading or trailing whitespace is required but stripping is needed to pad visually the data then actual data must be quoted:

NAME,   TEL
jim,    123
boo,    "  413  "

second field will be [TEL] and data will be [123] and [ 413 ].

Unfortunately, for keeping API simple, using stripping will require $delim. However $delim may be undef to use default delimiter.

parse_csv( $csv_data_string, $delim, $strip )

Parses multi-line CSV text and returnsh hashref to array of arrays.

parse_csv_line( $single_csv_line, $delim, $strip )

Parses single line CSV data and returns list of parsed fields' data. This function will NOT strip trailing CR/LFs. However, parse_csv() and parse_csv_to_hash_array() will strip CR/LFs.

parse_csv_to_hash_array( $csv_data, $delim, $strip )

This function uses first line as hash key names to produce array of hashes for the rest of the data.

NOTE: Lines with more data fields than header will discard extra data fields.
NOTE: Lines with less data fields than header will produce keys with undef values.

IMPLEMENTATION DETAILS

Data::Tools::CSV is compact, pure-perl implementation of a CSV parser of RFC4180 style CSV files:

https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc4180.txt

RFC4180 says:

* lines are CRLF delimited, however CR or LF-only are accepted as well.
* whitespace is data, will not be stripped (2.4).
* whitespace and delimiters can be quoted with double quotes (").
* quotes in quoted text should be doubled ("") as escaping.

Any empty data (i.e. two delimiters without data between) will produce undef value. However there are quotes with nothing inside the result will be empty string (not undef!).

KNOWN ISSUES

This implementation does not support multiline fields (lines split), as described in RFC4180, (2.6).

Delimiter of "0" is silently converted to ",".

There is no much error handling. However the code makes reasonable effort to handle properly all the data provided. This may seem vague but the CSV format itself is vague :)

FEEDBACK

Please, report any bugs or missing features as long as they follow RFC4180.

GITHUB REPOSITORY

git@github.com:cade-vs/perl-data-tools.git

git clone git://github.com/cade-vs/perl-data-tools.git

AUTHOR

Vladi Belperchinov-Shabanski "Cade"
      <cade@noxrun.com> <cade@bis.bg> <cade@cpan.org>
http://cade.noxrun.com/

NAME

Data::Tools::Process provides set of functions for process control,
forking, daemonizing and pid files handling.

SYNOPSIS

use Data::Tools::Process qw( :all );  # import all functions
use Data::Tools::Process;             # the same as :all :)
use Data::Tools::Process qw( :none ); # do not import anything

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

# fork and exec a command, returns the child pid to the parent
my $pid = fork_exec_cmd( "/usr/bin/somecmd --with args" );
waitpid( $pid, 0 );

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

# detach from the controlling terminal and become a daemon
daemonize();
daemonize( CHDIR => '/var/lib/myapp', UMASK => 0022 );

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

# create a pid file, holding the pid of the current process
my $res = pidfile_create( '/var/run/myapp.pid' );
die "already running with pid [$res]" if $res;

# ...and take over the pid file if the process in it is gone
my $res = pidfile_create( '/var/run/myapp.pid', STALE_CHECK => 1 );

# signal the process named in a pid file and remove the file
pidfile_kill_and_remove( '/var/run/myapp.pid' );          # sends TERM
pidfile_kill_and_remove( '/var/run/myapp.pid', 15, '5s', 9 );

# just remove the pid file
pidfile_remove( '/var/run/myapp.pid' );

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

FUNCTIONS

fork_exec_cmd( $command )

Forks and exec()s $command in the child process.

Returns:

* the child process pid in the parent process
* undef if fork() failed

The child never returns. $command is passed to exec() as a single string, so it is subject to the usual shell handling of exec().

daemonize( %options )

Detaches the current process from the controlling terminal and turns it into a daemon: forks, calls POSIX::setsid(), forks again (SVR4 second fork policy), changes the current directory, closes all open file descriptors and reopens STDIN, STDOUT and STDERR to /dev/null.

Options are:

CHDIR => $path   # directory to change to, default is '/'
UMASK => $umask  # umask to set, default is 0077

Returns 1 in the resulting daemon process. The original process and the intermediate one exit() and never return. Dies on any of the steps failing.

NOTE: all open file descriptors are closed, including any files, sockets
      or database handles opened before the call.

pidfile_create( $pid_file_name, %options )

Creates $pid_file_name and writes the pid of the current process in it. The file is created with O_EXCL, so two processes racing for the same pid file cannot both succeed. Missing directories on the way are created.

Options are:

STALE_CHECK => 1  # take over the pid file if its process is not running

Returns:

* undef on success, the pid file now holds our pid
* a positive pid if the pid file exists and holds a running process
* -1 if the pid file cannot be created

A pid file which does not hold a valid (positive) pid is always considered stale and is replaced, regardless of STALE_CHECK.

pidfile_kill_and_remove( $pid_file_name, @signal_list )

Sends the given signals to the pid found in $pid_file_name and then removes the file. @signal_list defaults to a single TERM (15).

A list item ending with 's' is not a signal but a sleep time in seconds. All items are processed in the given order, so:

pidfile_kill_and_remove( $fname, 15, '5s', 15, '2s', 9 );

sends TERM, waits 5 seconds, sends TERM again, waits 2 seconds, sends KILL.

Returns:

* undef if $pid_file_name does not exist
* 1 if the signals have been sent and the pid file removed

pidfile_remove( $pid_file_name )

Removes $pid_file_name. Returns undef.

REQUIRED MODULES

Data::Tools::Process uses:

* POSIX
* Data::Tools

GITHUB REPOSITORY

git@github.com:cade-vs/perl-data-tools.git

git clone git://github.com/cade-vs/perl-data-tools.git

AUTHOR

Vladi Belperchinov-Shabanski "Cade"
      <cade@noxrun.com> <cade@bis.bg> <cade@cpan.org>
http://cade.noxrun.com/

NAME

Data::Tools::Process::Forks - Fork process creation and control

SYNOPSIS

use Data::Tools::Process::Forks;

# set up signal handlers for graceful shutdown (optional)
forks_setup_signals();

# configure maximum concurrent forks (default is 8)
forks_set_max( 18 );

# case A: start simple worker processes
for my $task ( @tasks )
  {
  # this is the parent process, fork and continue
  forks_start_one( 'THINKER' ) and next; 
  
  # here is the forked child process, do some work and exit:
  # ...
  exit 111;
  # exit here is mandatory and omitting it would be a problem, 
  # since it will start forking more processes from the child one!
  # however it is the most simple use case.
  }

# wait for all children to finish
forks_wait_all();



# case B: start worker processes with sub reference or closure
for my $task ( @tasks )
  {
  forks_start_one( 'GOPHER', \&fetch_things ); 
  forks_start_one( 'PARSER', sub { call_parser(); cleanup(); } ); 
  forks_start_one( undef, sub { print "Testing :)\n; return 222 " } ); 
  }

# wait for all children to finish
forks_wait_all();

DESCRIPTION

Data::Tools::Process::Forks provides a simple interface for managing multiple forked child processes. It handles the common patterns of limiting concurrent processes, tracking active children by name, and graceful shutdown via signals.

The module keeps track of running and completed children when the maximum fork count is reached, allowing new processes to start or wait for new open slot.

FUNCTIONS

All functions are exported by default.

Signal Handling

forks_setup_signals()

Installs signal handlers for INT and TERM signals. When either signal is received, the handler will send TERM to all child processes, wait for them to exit, then terminate the parent process with exit code 111.

forks_setup_signals();

This is optional and should typically be called early in the parent process before forking any children.

Process Creation and Waiting

forks_start_one( $name, $coderef, @args )

Forks a new child process to execute the given subroutine.

my $pid = forks_start_one( 'worker', \&do_work, @work_args );

Parameters:

Returns:

Note: If the current number of active forks equals or exceeds the maximum (see forks_set_max()), this function blocks until a child exits before forking the new process.

forks_wait_one( $non_blocking )

Waits for one child process to exit.

# blocking, return all child attributes (list context)
my ( $pid, $exit_code, $signal, $name ) = forks_wait_one();

# Non-blocking check, got pid only (scalar context)
my $pid = forks_wait_one( 1 );

Parameters:

Returns:

In list context: ( $pid, $exit_code, $signal, $name )

In scalar context: returns only $pid.

Returns an empty list if no children have exited (non-blocking mode) or if there are no active children.

forks_wait_all( $timeout )

Blocks until all active child processes have exited. Optional timeout in seconds can be specified to avoid blocking. Avoiding blocking may give control to the parent process when forked one has blocked for some reason.

# block until all forks finished
forks_wait_all(); 

# or

# wait 4 seconds for finished forks and return finished count
my $c = forks_wait_all( 4 ); 

internally it calls forks_wait_one() until internal forked processes count reached 0 or timeout reached.

Process Signalling

forks_signal_all( $signal )

Sends the specified signal to all active child processes.

forks_signal_all( 'HUP' );
forks_signal_all( 15 );      # SIGTERM by number

if signal is undef or empty parameter list, will do nothing and exit.

Parameters:

Returns: undef if no signal specified, otherwise the result of kill().

forks_stop_all()

Sends TERM signal to all active child processes.

forks_stop_all();

Equivalent to forks_signal_all( 'TERM' ).

forks_kill_all()

Sends KILL signal to all active child processes.

forks_kill_all();

Equivalent to forks_signal_all( 'KILL' ). Use this for forceful termination when children do not respond to TERM.

Configuration

forks_set_max( $max )

Sets the maximum number of concurrent child processes (slots).

forks_set_max( 16 );

Parameters:

When forks_start_one() is called and the current fork count (slots) equals or exceeds this maximum, it will wait until a child exits before forking.

Default value is 4.

If called without parameters, will try to figure machine core count and set it the same. Note that this works only on machines with /proc file system (i.e. Linux). if not Linux, /proc not mounted or other error will set to 8.

forks_get_max()

Returns the current maximum fork limit.

my $max = forks_get_max();

Inspection

forks_count()

Returns the number of currently active child processes.

my $active = forks_count();
print "Running $active workers\n";

forks_pids()

Returns a list of PIDs for all active child processes.

my @pids = forks_pids();

forks_names()

Returns a list of unique names assigned to active child processes.

my @names = forks_names();

Note that multiple processes may share the same name; this returns only unique names in use.

forks_set_start_wait_to( $timeout )

This sets timeout for waiting for free slot when trying to start new fork but maximum count has been reached. Setting $timeout to 0 will enable blocking, i.e. forks_start_one() will wait until slot freed. If timeout reached forks_start_one() will return '0E0' (zero but true) which is same as fork error.

EXAMPLES

Parallel Task Processing

use Data::Tools::Process::Forks;

forks_setup_signals();
forks_set_max( 6 );

my @files = glob( '*.dat' );

for my $file ( @files )
  {
  forks_start_one( 
                   'processor', 
                   sub 
                      {
                      process_file( $file );
                      return 0;
                      }
                 );
  }

forks_wait_all();
print "All files processed\n";

Worker Pool with Status Monitoring

use Data::Tools::Process::Forks;

forks_setup_signals();
forks_set_max( 11 );

# Start workers
for my $id ( 1 .. 20 )
  {
  forks_start_one( "worker-$id", \&worker_task, $id );
  }

# Monitor progress
while( forks_count() > 0 )
  {
  my ( $pid, $exit, $sig, $name ) = forks_wait_one();
  if( $exit == 0 )
    {
    print "$name completed successfully\n";
    }
  else
    {
    print "$name failed with exit code $exit\n";
    }
  }

Graceful Shutdown

use Data::Tools::Process::Forks;

forks_setup_signals();  # Handles INT/TERM automatically

# Or manual shutdown:
END
  {
  if( forks_count() > 0 )
    {
    print "Shutting down workers...\n";
    forks_stop_all();
    forks_wait_all();
    }
  }

NOTES

SEE ALSO

Parallel::ForkManager, fork(2), waitpid(2), POSIX

AUTHOR

Vladi Belperchinov-Shabanski "Cade"
      <cade@noxrun.com> <cade@bis.bg> <cade@cpan.org>
http://cade.noxrun.com/  

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

Copyright (c) 2013-2026 Vladi Belperchinov-Shabanski "Cade"

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

NAME

Data::Tools::Serialization provides set of high-level serialization
and deserialization wrapper functions.

SYNOPSIS

use Data::Tools::Serialization qw( :all );  # import all functions
use Data::Tools::Serialization;             # the same as :all :)
use Data::Tools::Serialization qw( :none ); # do not import anything

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

my $perl_hoh = xml2perl( $xml_text );
my $xml_text = perl2xml( $perl_hoh );

my $perl_hoh  = json2perl( $json_text );
my $json_text = perl2json( $perl_hoh  );

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

FUNCTIONS

xml2perl( $xml_text )

Returns perl hash of hashes reference representing the XML data text.

perl2xml( $perl_hoh )

Returns xml text representing the in-memory perl hash of hashes structure.

json2perl( $xml_text )

Returns perl hash of hashes reference representing the JSON data text.

perl2json( $perl_hoh )

Returns JSON text representing the in-memory perl hash of hashes structure.

REQUIRED MODULES

Data::Tools::Serialization uses:

* XML::Bare
* JSON

all are loaded on demand and are not initial requirement nor if just other parts of the Data::Tools are used.

GITHUB REPOSITORY

git@github.com:cade-vs/perl-data-tools.git

git clone git://github.com/cade-vs/perl-data-tools.git

AUTHOR

Vladi Belperchinov-Shabanski "Cade"
      <cade@noxrun.com> <cade@bis.bg> <cade@cpan.org>
http://cade.noxrun.com/

NAME

Data::Tools::Socket::Protocols provides transparent serialization on top
of the Data::Tools::Socket message functions.

SYNOPSIS

use Data::Tools::Socket::Protocols qw( :all );  # import all functions
use Data::Tools::Socket::Protocols;             # the same as :all :)
use Data::Tools::Socket::Protocols qw( :none ); # do not import anything

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

# send a hash reference, serialized with the 'j'son protocol
socket_protocol_write_message( $socket, 'j', $hash_ref, $timeout );

# read it back, the protocol type is taken from the message itself
my $hash_ref = socket_protocol_read_message( $socket, $timeout );

# in list context the protocol type and an error string are returned too
my ( $hash_ref, $ptype, $error ) =
    socket_protocol_read_message( $socket, $timeout );

# the 'b'inary protocol carries plain data instead of a hash reference
socket_protocol_write_message( $socket, 'b', $raw_data, $timeout );

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

# restrict which protocol types will be accepted and sent
socket_protocols_allow( 'bjh' );      # only binary, json and hash
socket_protocols_allow( 'b', 'jh' );  # the same, arguments are concatenated
socket_protocols_allow( '*' );        # allow all of them again

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------

PROTOCOL TYPES

A protocol type is a single character, sent as the first byte of every message. The rest of the message is the payload, serialized accordingly:

'b'  binary,        payload is plain data, not a hash reference
'p'  Storable       (nfreeze/thaw)
'e'  Sereal
's'  Data::Stacker
'j'  JSON
'x'  XML::Simple
'h'  hash2str()     from Data::Tools, needs no extra module
'H'  hash2str_url() from Data::Tools, needs no extra module

Except for 'b', the payload is always a hash reference.

The module needed by a protocol type is loaded on demand, the first time that type is actually used, so a missing module is only a problem if the corresponding protocol type is used. 'b', 'h' and 'H' need no extra module.

NOTE: Storable is a core module and JSON is already required by
      Data::Tools, so those types work out of the box. Sereal,
      Data::Stacker and XML::Simple are not required by this
      distribution and may need to be installed separately.

FUNCTIONS

socket_protocol_write_message( $socket, $ptype, $data, $timeout )

Serializes $data according to the $ptype protocol type, prefixes it with the protocol type character and sends it with socket_write_message().

$data must be a hash reference, unless $ptype is 'b', in which case it is plain data.

Returns 1 on success or undef if the message could not be sent.

Confesses if $ptype is not a known or currently allowed protocol type, or if $data is not a hash reference for a non-binary protocol type.

socket_protocol_read_message( $socket, $timeout, $opt )

Reads a message with socket_read_message(), takes the protocol type from its first byte and deserializes the rest accordingly.

In scalar context returns the deserialized data, or undef on error.

In list context returns:

( $data, $ptype, $error )

$error is undef when everything went fine, otherwise it is one of the error strings of socket_read_message(), or 'E_EMPTY' if the message carries no protocol type byte or no payload after it.

Confesses if the incoming protocol type is not known or not currently allowed, or if a non-binary protocol type does not deserialize into a hash reference.

socket_protocols_allow( @protocol_types )

Restricts which protocol types will be accepted and sent. The arguments are concatenated and then split into single characters, so these are the same:

socket_protocols_allow( 'bjh' );
socket_protocols_allow( 'b', 'j', 'h' );

A single '*' allows all known protocol types again.

By default all protocol types are allowed. Confesses if an unknown protocol type is given, in which case the allowed set is left incomplete, so pass all wanted types in one call.

REQUIRED MODULES

Data::Tools::Socket::Protocols uses:

* Data::Tools
* Data::Tools::Socket

and, on demand and only for the corresponding protocol types:

* Storable, Sereal, Data::Stacker, JSON, XML::Simple

GITHUB REPOSITORY

git@github.com:cade-vs/perl-data-tools.git

git clone git://github.com/cade-vs/perl-data-tools.git

AUTHOR

Vladi Belperchinov-Shabanski "Cade"
      <cade@noxrun.com> <cade@bis.bg> <cade@cpan.org>
http://cade.noxrun.com/