Provided by: libpcp3-dev_6.2.0-1.1build4_amd64 bug

NAME

       pmCreateFetchGroup,           pmExtendFetchGroup_item,           pmExtendFetchGroup_indom,
       pmExtendFetchGroup_event,    pmExtendFetchGroup_timestamp,    pmExtendFetchGroup_timespec,
       pmExtendFetchGroup_timeval,   pmFetchGroup,   pmGetFetchGroupContext,   pmClearFetchGroup,
       pmDestroyFetchGroup - simplified performance metrics value fetch and conversion

C SYNOPSIS

       #include <pcp/pmapi.h>

       int pmCreateFetchGroup(pmFG *ptr, int type, const char *name);
       int pmExtendFetchGroup_item(pmFG pmfg, const char *metric, const char *instance, const
               char *scale, pmAtomValue *out_value, int out_type, int out_sts);
       int pmExtendFetchGroup_indom(pmFG pmfg, const char *metric, const char *scale, int
               out_inst_codes[], char *out_inst_names[], pmAtomValue out_values[], int out_type,
               int out_stss[], unsigned int out_maxnum, unsigned int *out_num, int *out_sts);
       int pmExtendFetchGroup_event(pmFG pmfg, const char *metric, const char *instance, const
               char *field, const char *scale, struct timespec out_times[], pmAtomValue
               out_values[], int out_type, int out_stss[], unsigned int out_maxnum, unsigned int
               *out_num, int *out_sts);
       int pmExtendFetchGroup_timestamp(pmFG pmfg, struct timeval *out_value);
       int pmExtendFetchGroup_timespec(pmFG pmfg, struct timespec *out_value);
       int pmExtendFetchGroup_timeval(pmFG pmfg, struct timeval *out_value);
       int pmGetFetchGroupContext(pmFG pmfg);
       int pmFetchGroup(pmFG pmfg);
       int pmClearFetchGroup(pmFG pmfg);
       int pmDestroyFetchGroup(pmFG pmfg);

       cc ... -lpcp

DESCRIPTION

       The fetchgroup functions implement a  registration-based  mechanism  to  fetch  groups  of
       performance  metrics,  including automation for general unit, rate and type conversions as
       well as convenient instance and value encodings.  They constitute a powerful  and  compact
       alternative   to   the  classic  Performance  Metrics  Application  Programming  Interface
       (PMAPI(3)) sequence of  separate  lookup,  check,  fetch,  iterate,  extract  and  convert
       functions.

       The  general  idea consists of two stages.  In the setup stage, the application identifies
       metrics of  interest  by  name  and  with  desired  conversions,  and  register  a  unique
       pmAtomValue  output  location  where the fetchgroup system is to later deposit the result.
       It is also possible to identify a metric with an instance domain, and  register  a  unique
       vector  of  pmAtomValue objects for them.  In the operation stage, one simple pmFetchGroup
       function fetches, decodes, converts, and stores all metrics to their  destinations,  where
       the  application can read them directly.  This function may be called repeatedly, and each
       time new pmAtomValue values will be stored in the  same  destinations.   Rate  conversions
       between consecutive samples may be requested.

       Each  fetchgroup is associated with a private PMAPI context, so it can manipulate instance
       profiles and other such state without disrupting other contexts.  The instance profile  is
       manipulated  to  optimize  fetches  of individual items, even if some are derived metrics.
       This private PMAPI context belongs to the fetchgroup, is used  for  all  of  its  internal
       operations, and will be destroyed.

       Multiple fetchgroups may be used concurrently, independently.  An opaque type pmFG is used
       to identify a fetchgroup, which is passed to all related function calls.

   Creating a fetchgroup
       int pmCreateFetchGroup(pmFG *ptr, int type, const char *name);

       This function creates a new fetchgroup, associated with a new PMAPI context.  The type and
       name  parameters  are  relayed  to  pmNewContext(3)  for  creation  of  the  context.  The
       fetchgroup identifier is returned upon success through the ptr pointer.   This  object  is
       later  used  as  a parameter to all other fetchgroup functions.  The private PMAPI context
       may be accessed with pmGetFetchGroupContext, if required.

       The normal function return code is zero, and ptr is set.  This function may fail  in  case
       of  pmNewContext  or memory allocation errors.  Those are indicated with a negative return
       code and a cleared ptr value.

   Getting the private PMAPI context
       int pmGetFetchGroupContext(pmFG pmfg);

       This function returns the private PMAPI context used by the given fetchgroup.  It  may  be
       safely  used  to  adjust  some  configuration  parameters  of  the  context,  such  as via
       pmSetMode(3), before fetchgroup extension and fetching begins.

       However, mutation of  this  context  by  PMAPI  functions  after  this  time  may  disrupt
       fetchgroup  functionality.   For  example,  a  pmSetMode  call  could invalidate one rate-
       conversion time-step.

       The normal function return code is the context number.

   Extending a fetchgroup with a metric instance of interest
       int pmExtendFetchGroup_item(pmFG pmfg, const char *metric, const char *instance, const
               char *scale, pmAtomValue *out_value, int out_type, int *out_sts);

       This  function  registers  interest  in a single metric and optional instance.  The metric
       name is given in  the  mandatory  metric  parameter,  which  is  checked  immediately  via
       pmLookupName(3)  and  other  calls.  If and only if the metric has an instance domain, the
       specific instance of interest may be named by the instance  parameter,  which  is  checked
       immediately  via  pmNameInDom(3); otherwise pass NULL.  If the fetchgroup context is a set
       of archives, it is possible that the metric / instance pair is  not  yet  defined  at  the
       current  time  origin.   Therefore,  this  function  may attempt to seek to the end of the
       current set of archives temporarily to retry the metric / instance lookup.

       The optional scale parameter specifies desired unit/scale/rate conversions for the  metric
       value.  It can take the following values:

       NULL
           No  unit/scale  conversion.   If  metric  has  PM_SEM_COUNTER  semantics, perform rate
           conversion.

       rate
           Perform rate conversion regardless of semantics, and no unit/scale conversion.

       instant
           Perform no rate conversion regardless of semantics, and no unit/scale conversion.

       EXPRESSION
           Perform unit/scale/rate conversion as specified by the EXPRESSION, which is parsed  by
           pmParseUnitsStr(3).   This  may  be  useful  to  assert  a  canonical  scaling for the
           resulting metric value, independent of PCP version or  configuration.   Dimensionality
           must  match the metric, except if rate conversion is requested, in which case the time
           dimension must be one smaller than the metric's time dimension.  Note that the type of
           rate  conversion  performed  here  matches  the  rate(x)  function  in  derived metric
           expressions, in that it is calculated as the naive  difference  between  previous  and
           current  values of a metric, divided by elapsed time.  For example, if a counter wraps
           around, or a non-counter value decreases, a negative output rate may be computed.

       The optional but usual out_value parameter specifies the pmAtomValue where  the  converted
       result  should  later  be  stored.  If the value is NULL, fetching and conversions will be
       attempted, and possible errors reported,  but  the  result  tossed  away.   The  mandatory
       out_type  parameter  specifes  the  PM_TYPE_* requested for the output value.  It need not
       match the metric's native type, as the fetchgroup facility is capable of  casting  between
       all supported types (including to and from strings).

       Any  errors  subsequently  encountered  during  fetching,  unit/scale/rate  conversion, or
       casting, will result in the assignment of a sentinel value to the output pmAtomValue  (see
       the ``UNUSUAL SITUATIONS'' section below).  In addition, if the optional out_sts parameter
       is specified, an appropriate PMAPI error code will be stored there.

       As a review, only the pmfg, metric, and out_type parameters are mandatory.  Others may  be
       NULL to indicate applicaton disinterest.

       The  normal  function  return  code  is  zero.   This function may fail in case of various
       lookup, type- and conversion- checking errors.  Those are indicated with a negative return
       code.

   Extending a fetchgroup with a metric instance domain of interest
       int pmExtendFetchGroup_indom(pmFG pmfg, const char* metric, const char *scale, int
               out_inst_codes[], char *out_inst_names[], pmAtomValue out_values[], int out_type,
               int out_stss[], unsigned int out_maxnum, unsigned int *out_num, int *out_sts);

       This  function generalizes the pmExtendFetchGroup_item function by registering interest in
       a whole instance domain.  Therefore,  the  function  registers  preallocated  vectors  for
       output  variables  (instead  of a singleton).  Instances will be stored in sorted order in
       elements of those vectors.  The concepts are otherwise the same.

       The metric name is specified by the mandatory metric parameter.  Note that it may refer to
       a  metric without an instance domain, in which case the single output value will appear as
       one unnamed instance.

       The optional scale parameter specifies desired unit/scale/rate conversions for the  metric
       value, same as above.

       The  optional  out_inst_codes  parameter  specifies  a  vector  of integers, where the raw
       instance number of the fetched metrics should later be stored.

       The optional out_inst_names parameter specifies a vector of strings,  where  the  instance
       names  of  the  fetched  metrics  should  later be stored.  If an instance does not have a
       corresponding name, a NULL pointer is stored instead.  The application must not modify  or
       free(3) strings in that vector.

       The  optional  out_values  parameter  specifies  a vector of pmAtomValue objects where the
       converted result should later be stored.  The mandatory out_type parameter  specifies  the
       PM_TYPE_* requested for the all output values, same as above.

       The  optional  out_stss  parameter specifies a vector of integers where per-instance error
       codes should be stored.

       The mandatory out_maxnum parameter specifies the number of elements of the vectors  above.
       In  other  words,  it  tells  the  fetchgroup  the  maximum  number of instances which are
       expected.  The optional out_num parameter specifies an integer where the actual number  of
       instances  should  later  be  stored.   It  will  range  between  0 and out_maxnum.  It is
       initialized to 0 by this function.

       Finally, the optional out_sts parameter specifies  a  single  location  where  an  integer
       status  code  for the overall fetch for this metric should be stored.  Normally, this will
       be zero.  Other than a severe fetch error, one may see a PM_ERR_TOOBIG here if the  number
       of instances actually encountered was larger than out_maxnum.

       Any  errors  subsequently  encountered  during  fetching,  unit/scale/rate  conversion, or
       casting, will result in the assignment of a  sentinel  value  to  the  appropriate  output
       pmAtomValue  (see the ``UNUSUAL SITUATIONS'' section below).  In addition, if the optional
       out_stss parameter was specified, a PMAPI error code will be  stored  in  the  appropriate
       position.

       As  a  review,  only  the pmfg, metric, out_type, and out_maxnum parameters are mandatory.
       Others may be NULL to indicate applicaton disinterest.

       The normal function return code is zero.  This  function  may  fail  in  case  of  various
       lookup, type- and conversion- checking errors.  Those are indicated with a negative return
       code.

   Extending a fetchgroup with an event field
       int pmExtendFetchGroup_event(pmFG pmfg, const char *metric, const char *instance, const
               char *field, const char *scale, struct timespec out_times[], pmAtomValue
               out_values[], int out_type, int out_stss[], unsigned int out_maxnum, unsigned int
               *out_num, int *out_sts);

       This  function registers interest in all instances of one field of all records of an event
       metric.  Since event metrics may return multiple records per fetch, and  each  record  may
       have  multiple  fields  of a given field metric type, this function registers preallocated
       vectors for output variables, similarly to pmExtendFetchGroup_indom.  They are  filled  in
       temporal/sequential order.

       The  metric  name  is  specified  by  the  mandatory  metric  parameter.   It  must  be of
       PM_TYPE_EVENT.  If the metric has an instance domain, the instance parameter is  mandatory
       to identify the instance of interest.

       The  field  to  extract  from event records is specified by the mandatory field parameter,
       which is a metric name of normal scalar type.  As is typical for event field  metrics,  it
       should  not  have  an  instance  domain.   The  optional scale parameter specifies desired
       unit/scale conversions on this metric value.  Rate conversions are not available,  because
       of ambiguity about which previous value to compute rates from.

       The  optional  out_times  parameter  specifies  a  vector  of timespec structs, which will
       receive a copy of the timestamp of the event record where each particular field was found.

       The optional out_values parameter specifies a vector  of  pmAtomValue  objects  where  the
       converted  result  should later be stored.  The mandatory out_type parameter specifies the
       PM_TYPE_* requested for the output values.

       The optional out_stss parameter specifies a vector of integers where per-field error codes
       should be stored.

       The  mandatory out_maxnum parameter specifies the number of elements of the vectors above.
       In other words, it tells  the  fetchgroup  the  maximum  number  of  instances  which  are
       expected.  The optional out_num parameter specifies an integer where the the actual number
       of instances should later be stored.  It will range between zero and  out_maxnum.   It  is
       initialized to zero by this function.

       Finally,  the  optional  out_sts  parameter  specifies  a single location where an integer
       status code for the overall fetch for this metric should be stored.  Normally,  this  will
       be  zero,  even  if  no event field values were found (out_num would then be zero).  Other
       than a severe fetch error, one may see a  PM_ERR_TOOBIG  here  if  the  number  of  fields
       actually encountered was larger than out_maxnum.

       Any  errors  subsequently  encountered during fetching, unit/scale conversion, or casting,
       will result in the assignment of a sentinel value to the  appropriate  output  pmAtomValue
       (see  the  ``UNUSUAL  SITUATIONS''  section below).  In addition, if the optional out_stss
       parameter was specified, a PMAPI error code will be stored in the appropriate position.

       As a review, only the  pmfg,  metric,  field,  out_type,  and  out_maxnum  parameters  are
       mandatory.  Others may be NULL to indicate applicaton disinterest.

       The  normal  function  return  code  is  zero.   This function may fail in case of various
       lookup, type- and conversion- checking errors.  Those are indicated with a negative return
       code.

   Extending a fetchgroup with the fetch timestamp
       int pmExtendFetchGroup_timestamp(pmFG pmfg, struct timeval *out_value);
       int pmExtendFetchGroup_timespec(pmFG pmfg, struct timespec *out_value);
       int pmExtendFetchGroup_timeval(pmFG pmfg, struct timeval *out_value);

       These  functions  register  interest  in  the pmHighResResult timestamp.  If the out_value
       pointer is non-NULL, at every future pmFetchGroup call, the corresponding result timestamp
       will be copied there.

   Fetching all metrics in a fetchgroup
       int pmFetchGroup(pmFG pmfg);

       This function performs one pmFetch on its private PMAPI context, including all the metrics
       that were  registered  via  prior  pmExtendFetchGroup_*  calls.   It  runs  all  the  data
       extraction  and  conversion  operations  necessary  to  populate  all the requested output
       variables.

       The normal function return code is  zero  or  positive,  as  per  the  underlying  pmFetch
       function.  This function may fail in case of severe fetch errors, which are indicated with
       a negative return code.

       In the case of per-metric availability or  conversion  errors,  or  severe  fetch  errors,
       output  variables  are  reset  to  sentinel  values  and  individual  error codes are set.
       PM_ERR_AGAIN signals rate-conversion failure due to lack of a previous value.

       However,  temporarily  absent  metrics  with  discrete  semantics  are  exempt  from  some
       sentinel/error  processing:  if  a  pmFetchGroup  fails to collect a result for a discrete
       metric (pmHighResResult pmValueSet.numval==0), then the last seen valid value (if any)  is
       retained.   This  is intended to ease the processing of sets of archives with a mixture of
       once- and repeatedly-sampled metrics.

   Clearing a fetchgroup
       int pmClearFetchGroup(pmFG pmfg);

       When the current fetch state of a fetchgroup is no longer needed,  it  may  be  explicitly
       reset  with this function.  It releases any dynamically stored state but keeps the private
       PMAPI context intact for subsequent use (i.e. no change to the context is made at all  and
       the  context  remains  at  the current fetch offset).  It frees any pointers such as indom
       instance names or strings that may have been stored in output variables.

   Destroying a fetchgroup
       int pmDestroyFetchGroup(pmFG pmfg);

       When the fetchgroup is no longer needed, it may be explicitly freed  with  this  function.
       It releases any dynamically stored state, as well as the private PMAPI context.  It clears
       frees any pointers such as indom instance names or strings that may have  been  stored  in
       output variables.

EXAMPLE

       The   following   program   demonstrates   fetchgroup   usage.    Run  it  with  different
       $PCP_DISK_UNITS environment variables to see different unit/rate conversion in effect.

       #include <pcp/pmapi.h>
       #include <stdio.h>

       #define pcpassert(sts) \
           while (sts<0) { fprintf(stderr, "%s\n", pmErrStr(sts)); exit(42); }

       int main()
       {
           pmFG fg;
           pmAtomValue v, v2;
           enum { v3_maxnum = 100 };
           pmAtomValue v3_values[v3_maxnum];
           char *v3_names[v3_maxnum];
           int v3_stss[v3_maxnum];
           unsigned int v3_num;
           int sts, i;
           char *diskunits = getenv("PCP_DISK_UNITS");
           struct timeval t;

           sts = pmCreateFetchGroup(&fg, PM_CONTEXT_HOST, "local:");
           pcpassert(sts);
           sts = pmExtendFetchGroup_item(fg, "kernel.all.load", "1 minute",
                                         NULL, &v, PM_TYPE_FLOAT, NULL);
           pcpassert(sts);
           sts = pmExtendFetchGroup_item(fg, "kernel.all.idletime", NULL,
                                         "hour", &v2, PM_TYPE_DOUBLE, NULL);
           pcpassert(sts);
           sts = pmExtendFetchGroup_indom(fg, "disk.dev.total", diskunits,
                                          NULL, v3_names,
                                          v3_values, PM_TYPE_STRING,
                                          v3_stss, v3_maxnum, &v3_num, NULL);
           pcpassert(sts);
           sts = pmExtendFetchGroup_timestamp(fg, &t);
           pcpassert(sts);

           for (i=0; i < 10; i++) {
               unsigned int j;
               char stamp[28];

               sts = pmFetchGroup(fg);
               pcpassert(sts);
               printf("%s", pmCtime(&t.tv_sec, stamp));
               printf("1-minute load: %f; idletime: %f h\n", v.f, v2.d);
               for (j=0; j < v3_num; j++) {
                   if (v3_stss[j] == 0)
                        printf("disk %s i/o operations (%s): %s\n",
                               v3_names[j] ? v3_names[j] : "?",
                               diskunits ? diskunits : "-",
                               v3_values[j].cp);
               }
               sleep(1);
           }

           sts = pmDestroyFetchGroup(fg);
           pcpassert(sts);
           return 0;
       }

UNUSUAL SITUATIONS

       The fetchgroup API supports only the numeric, string and event metric  types.   Aggregates
       are rejected during pmExtendFetchGroup_*.

       Any strings supplied by the fetchgroup API to the application are "owned" by the API.  The
       application should consider them read-only, so it should not modify them nor free them.

       Error codes are always negative integers, whether returned from  fetchgroup  functions  as
       return value, or stored in out_sts type variables.  Normal result codes are always zero.

       Because of the unique ways in which extracted data is shared between the application and a
       fetchgroup, the functions in this API are not protected  by  the  multi-threading  mutexes
       conventional in other parts of PMAPI.  Specifically, for any given pmFG, it is not safe to
       concurrently call two or more fetchgroup API functions, nor  to  traverse  the  registered
       output  variables  while  calling  one of the functions.  Instead, the calling application
       must ensure that only one thread at a time uses these  calls  and  the  registered  output
       variables.    On   the  other  hand,  concurrency  between  different  pmFG  instances  is
       unrestricted, because they share no global data.

       Any pointers passed to a successful pmFetchGroupExtent_* call must stay  valid  throughout
       the lifetime of the fetchgroup, since future pmFetchGroup calls may write into them.

DIAGNOSTICS

       The  fetchgroup  API  offers several options for collecting diagnostics.  Negative integer
       error codes may be returned from each function for serious conditions.

       In addition, each output pmAtomValue may have  a  corresponding  integer  variable,  where
       pmFetchGroup can store per-metric per-instance error codes.

       As  an alternative, per-metric per-instance error conditions are also signalled by setting
       the corresponding pmAtomValue to a sentinel  value.   If  unambiguous  and  precise  error
       detection is not required, this may be sufficient.  The sentinel value is negative one for
       all integers (including unsigned integers - i.e. all bits are set), NaN for floating point
       types,  a  NULL  pointer  for  strings,  and  0.0s  for the timestamp.  The fetchgroup API
       guarantees  that  once  an  output  pmAtomValue  is  registered   (during   a   successful
       pmExtendFetchGroup_*  call),  it  will  be  cleared  to  the  sentinel value or to a valid
       converted metric value, from the time of registration until the pmDestroyFetchGroup call.

SEE ALSO

       PMAPI(3),   pmLookupName(3),   pmFetchHighRes(3),   pmParseUnitsStr(3),   pmUseContext(3),
       pmRegisterDerived(3) and pmExtractValue(3).