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NAME

       disk_log - A disk based term logging facility

DESCRIPTION

       disk_log  is  a disk based term logger which makes it possible to efficiently log items on
       files. Two types of logs are supported, halt logs and wrap logs. A halt log appends  items
       to  a  single  file,  the  size of which may or may not be limited by the disk log module,
       whereas a wrap log utilizes a sequence of wrap log files of limited size. As  a  wrap  log
       file  has  been filled up, further items are logged onto to the next file in the sequence,
       starting all over with the first file when the last file has been filled up. For the  sake
       of efficiency, items are always written to files as binaries.

       Two  formats  of the log files are supported, the internal format and the external format.
       The internal format supports automatic repair of log files that  have  not  been  properly
       closed,  and  makes  it possible to efficiently read logged items in chunks using a set of
       functions defined in this module. In fact,  this  is  the  only  way  to  read  internally
       formatted  logs. The external format leaves it up to the user to read the logged deep byte
       lists. The disk log module cannot repair externally formatted logs. An item logged  to  an
       internally  formatted  log must not occupy more than 4 GB of disk space (the size must fit
       in 4 bytes).

       For each open disk log there is one process that handles requests made to  the  disk  log;
       the  disk  log  process is created when open/1 is called, provided there exists no process
       handling the disk log. A process that opens a disk log  can  either  be  an  owner  or  an
       anonymous user of the disk log. Each owner is linked to the disk log process, and the disk
       log is  closed  by  the  owner  should  the  owner  terminate.  Owners  can  subscribe  to
       notifications,  messages  of  the  form {disk_log, Node, Log, Info} that are sent from the
       disk log process when certain events occur, see the commands below and in  particular  the
       open/1 option notify. There can be several owners of a log, but a process cannot own a log
       more than once. One and the same process may, however, open the log as a  user  more  than
       once.  For  a disk log process to properly close its file and terminate, it must be closed
       by its owners and once  by  some  non-owner  process  for  each  time  the  log  was  used
       anonymously; the users are counted, and there must not be any users left when the disk log
       process terminates.

       Items can be logged synchronously by using the functions log/2,  blog/2,  log_terms/2  and
       blog_terms/2.  For each of these functions, the caller is put on hold until the items have
       been logged (but not necessarily written, use sync/1 to ensure that). By adding  an  a  to
       each  of  the  mentioned  function  names  we get functions that log items asynchronously.
       Asynchronous functions do not wait for the disk log process to actually write the items to
       the file, but return the control to the caller more or less immediately.

       When  using  the  internal  format for logs, the functions log/2, log_terms/2, alog/2, and
       alog_terms/2 should be used. These functions log one or more Erlang  terms.  By  prefixing
       each  of the functions with a b (for "binary") we get the corresponding blog functions for
       the  external  format.  These  functions  log  one  or  more  deep  lists  of  bytes   or,
       alternatively,  binaries of deep lists of bytes. For example, to log the string "hello" in
       ASCII  format,   we   can   use   disk_log:blog(Log,   "hello"),   or   disk_log:blog(Log,
       list_to_binary("hello")).  The  two alternatives are equally efficient. The blog functions
       can be used for internally formatted logs as well, but in this case they  must  be  called
       with  binaries  constructed  with  calls  to term_to_binary/1. There is no check to ensure
       this, it is entirely the responsibility of the caller. If these functions are called  with
       binaries  that  do  not  correspond  to  Erlang  terms, the chunk/2,3 and automatic repair
       functions will fail. The corresponding terms (not the  binaries)  will  be  returned  when
       chunk/2,3 is called.

       A collection of open disk logs with the same name running on different nodes is said to be
       a a distributed disk log if requests made to any one of the logs are automatically made to
       the  other  logs  as  well.  The  members  of  such a collection will be called individual
       distributed disk logs, or just distributed disk logs if there is  no  risk  of  confusion.
       There is no order between the members of such a collection. For instance, logged terms are
       not necessarily written onto the node where the request was made before written  onto  the
       other  nodes. One could note here that there are a few functions that do not make requests
       to all members of distributed disk  logs,  namely  info,  chunk,  bchunk,  chunk_step  and
       lclose.  An  open  disk  log that is not a distributed disk log is said to be a local disk
       log. A local disk log is accessible only from the node where the disk  log  process  runs,
       whereas  a  distributed  disk  log is accessible from all nodes in the Erlang system, with
       exception for those nodes where a local disk log with the same  name  as  the  distributed
       disk  log  exists.  All processes on nodes that have access to a local or distributed disk
       log can log items or otherwise change, inspect or close the log.

       It is not guaranteed that all log files of a distributed disk log  contain  the  same  log
       items; there is no attempt made to synchronize the contents of the files. However, as long
       as at least one of the involved nodes is alive at each time, all  items  will  be  logged.
       When  logging  items  to  a  distributed  log,  or otherwise trying to change the log, the
       replies from individual logs are ignored. If all nodes are down, the  disk  log  functions
       reply with a nonode error.

   Note:
       In  some  applications  it  may  not  be  acceptable that replies from individual logs are
       ignored. An alternative in such situations is to use several local disk  logs  instead  of
       one  distributed  disk  log,  and  implement  the distribution without use of the disk log
       module.

       Errors are reported differently for asynchronous log attempts and other uses of  the  disk
       log module. When used synchronously the disk log module replies with an error message, but
       when called asynchronously, the disk log module does not know  where  to  send  the  error
       message. Instead owners subscribing to notifications will receive an error_status message.

       The  disk log module itself does not report errors to the error_logger module; it is up to
       the caller to decide whether the error logger should be  employed  or  not.  The  function
       format_error/1  can  be  used to produce readable messages from error replies. Information
       events are however sent to the error logger in  two  situations,  namely  when  a  log  is
       repaired, or when a file is missing while reading chunks.

       The error message no_such_log means that the given disk log is not currently open. Nothing
       is said about whether the disk log files exist or not.

   Note:
       If an attempt to reopen or truncate a log fails (see reopen and  truncate)  the  disk  log
       process  immediately  terminates.  Before  the  process  terminates links to to owners and
       blocking processes (see block) are removed. The effect is  that  the  links  work  in  one
       direction  only;  any  process  using  a  disk  log  has  to  check  for the error message
       no_such_log if some other process might truncate or reopen the log simultaneously.

DATA TYPES

       log() = term()

       dlog_size() = infinity
                   | integer() >= 1
                   | {MaxNoBytes :: integer() >= 1,
                      MaxNoFiles :: integer() >= 1}

       dlog_format() = external | internal

       dlog_head_opt() = none | term() | binary() | [dlog_byte()]

       dlog_byte() = [dlog_byte()] | byte()

       dlog_mode() = read_only | read_write

       dlog_type() = halt | wrap

       continuation()

              Chunk continuation returned by chunk/2,3, bchunk/2,3, or chunk_step/3.

       bytes() = binary() | [byte()]

       invalid_header() = term()

       file_error() = term()

EXPORTS

       accessible_logs() -> {[LocalLog], [DistributedLog]}

              Types:

                 LocalLog = DistributedLog = log()

              The accessible_logs/0 function returns the names of the disk logs accessible on the
              current node. The first list contains local disk logs, and the second list contains
              distributed disk logs.

       alog(Log, Term) -> notify_ret()

       balog(Log, Bytes) -> notify_ret()

              Types:

                 Log = log()
                 Term = term()
                 Bytes = bytes()
                 notify_ret() = ok | {error, no_such_log}

              The alog/2 and balog/2 functions asynchronously append an item to a disk  log.  The
              function alog/2 is used for internally formatted logs, and the function balog/2 for
              externally formatted logs. balog/2 can be used for  internally  formatted  logs  as
              well provided the binary was constructed with a call to term_to_binary/1.

              The  owners  that  subscribe  to  notifications will receive the message read_only,
              blocked_log or format_external in case the item cannot be written on the  log,  and
              possibly  one of the messages wrap, full and error_status if an item was written on
              the log. The message error_status is sent if there  is  something  wrong  with  the
              header function or a file error occurred.

       alog_terms(Log, TermList) -> notify_ret()

       balog_terms(Log, ByteList) -> notify_ret()

              Types:

                 Log = log()
                 TermList = [term()]
                 ByteList = [bytes()]
                 notify_ret() = ok | {error, no_such_log}

              The  alog_terms/2 and balog_terms/2 functions asynchronously append a list of items
              to a disk log. The function alog_terms/2 is used for internally formatted logs, and
              the function balog_terms/2 for externally formatted logs. balog_terms/2 can be used
              for internally formatted logs as well provided the binaries were  constructed  with
              calls to term_to_binary/1.

              The  owners  that  subscribe  to  notifications will receive the message read_only,
              blocked_log or format_external in case the items cannot be written on the log,  and
              possibly  one  or  more  of  the messages wrap, full and error_status if items were
              written on the log. The message error_status is sent if there  is  something  wrong
              with the header function or a file error occurred.

       block(Log) -> ok | {error, block_error_rsn()}

       block(Log, QueueLogRecords) -> ok | {error, block_error_rsn()}

              Types:

                 Log = log()
                 QueueLogRecords = boolean()
                 block_error_rsn() = no_such_log | nonode | {blocked_log, log()}

              With  a call to block/1,2 a process can block a log. If the blocking process is not
              an owner of the log, a temporary link is created between the disk log  process  and
              the  blocking  process.  The  link is used to ensure that the disk log is unblocked
              should the blocking process terminate without first closing or unblocking the log.

              Any process can probe a blocked log with info/1  or  close  it  with  close/1.  The
              blocking  process  can  also use the functions chunk/2,3, bchunk/2,3, chunk_step/3,
              and unblock/1 without being affected by the block. Any  other  attempt  than  those
              hitherto  mentioned  to  update  or read a blocked log suspends the calling process
              until the log  is  unblocked  or  returns  an  error  message  {blocked_log,  Log},
              depending  on  whether  the  value of QueueLogRecords is true or false. The default
              value of QueueLogRecords is true, which is used by block/1.

       change_header(Log, Header) -> ok | {error, Reason}

              Types:

                 Log = log()
                 Header = {head, dlog_head_opt()}
                        | {head_func, MFA :: {atom(), atom(), list()}}
                 Reason = no_such_log
                        | nonode
                        | {read_only_mode, Log}
                        | {blocked_log, Log}
                        | {badarg, head}

              The change_header/2 function changes the value of the head or head_func option of a
              disk log.

       change_notify(Log, Owner, Notify) -> ok | {error, Reason}

              Types:

                 Log = log()
                 Owner = pid()
                 Notify = boolean()
                 Reason = no_such_log
                        | nonode
                        | {blocked_log, Log}
                        | {badarg, notify}
                        | {not_owner, Owner}

              The change_notify/3 function changes the value of the notify option for an owner of
              a disk log.

       change_size(Log, Size) -> ok | {error, Reason}

              Types:

                 Log = log()
                 Size = dlog_size()
                 Reason = no_such_log
                        | nonode
                        | {read_only_mode, Log}
                        | {blocked_log, Log}
                        | {new_size_too_small, CurrentSize :: integer() >= 1}
                        | {badarg, size}
                        | {file_error, file:filename(), file_error()}

              The change_size/2 function changes the size of an open log. For a halt  log  it  is
              always  possible  to increase the size, but it is not possible to decrease the size
              to something less than the current size of the file.

              For a wrap log it is always possible to increase both the size and number of files,
              as  long  as  the  number  of files does not exceed 65000. If the maximum number of
              files is decreased, the change will not be valid until the current file is full and
              the  log  wraps to the next file. The redundant files will be removed next time the
              log wraps around, i.e. starts to log to file number 1.

              As an example, assume that the old maximum number of files is 10 and that  the  new
              maximum  number  of  files is 6. If the current file number is not greater than the
              new maximum number of files, the files 7 to 10 will be removed when file  number  6
              is  full  and  the  log starts to write to file number 1 again. Otherwise the files
              greater than the current file will be removed when the current file is  full  (e.g.
              if the current file is 8, the files 9 and 10); the files between new maximum number
              of files and the current file (i.e. files 7 and 8) will be removed next  time  file
              number 6 is full.

              If  the  size  of  the  files  is  decreased the change will immediately affect the
              current log. It will not of course change the size of log files already full  until
              next time they are used.

              If   the   log  size  is  decreased  for  instance  to  save  space,  the  function
              inc_wrap_file/1 can be used to force the log to wrap.

       chunk(Log, Continuation) -> chunk_ret()

       chunk(Log, Continuation, N) -> chunk_ret()

       bchunk(Log, Continuation) -> bchunk_ret()

       bchunk(Log, Continuation, N) -> bchunk_ret()

              Types:

                 Log = log()
                 Continuation = start | continuation()
                 N = integer() >= 1 | infinity
                 chunk_ret() = {Continuation2 :: continuation(),
                                Terms :: [term()]}
                             | {Continuation2 :: continuation(),
                                Terms :: [term()],
                                Badbytes :: integer() >= 0}
                             | eof
                             | {error, Reason :: chunk_error_rsn()}
                 bchunk_ret() = {Continuation2 :: continuation(),
                                 Binaries :: [binary()]}
                              | {Continuation2 :: continuation(),
                                 Binaries :: [binary()],
                                 Badbytes :: integer() >= 0}
                              | eof
                              | {error, Reason :: chunk_error_rsn()}
                 chunk_error_rsn() = no_such_log
                                   | {format_external, log()}
                                   | {blocked_log, log()}
                                   | {badarg, continuation}
                                   | {not_internal_wrap, log()}
                                   | {corrupt_log_file,
                                      FileName :: file:filename()}
                                   | {file_error, file:filename(), file_error()}

              The chunk/2,3 and bchunk/2,3 functions make it possible  to  efficiently  read  the
              terms  which  have  been appended to an internally formatted log. It minimizes disk
              I/O by reading 64 kilobyte chunks from the file. The  bchunk/2,3  functions  return
              the  binaries  read  from  the file; they do not call binary_to_term. Otherwise the
              work just like chunk/2,3.

              The first time chunk (or bchunk) is  called,  an  initial  continuation,  the  atom
              start,  must  be  provided.  If  there is a disk log process running on the current
              node, terms are read from that log, otherwise an individual distributed log on some
              other node is chosen, if such a log exists.

              When  chunk/3  is called, N controls the maximum number of terms that are read from
              the log in each chunk.  Default  is  infinity,  which  means  that  all  the  terms
              contained  in  the  64  kilobyte chunk are read. If less than N terms are returned,
              this does not necessarily mean that the end of the file has been reached.

              The chunk function returns a tuple {Continuation2, Terms}, where Terms is a list of
              terms  found  in  the  log. Continuation2 is yet another continuation which must be
              passed on to any subsequent calls to chunk. With a series of calls to chunk  it  is
              possible to extract all terms from a log.

              The  chunk  function returns a tuple {Continuation2, Terms, Badbytes} if the log is
              opened in read-only mode and the read chunk is corrupt. Badbytes is the  number  of
              bytes  in  the file which were found not to be Erlang terms in the chunk. Note also
              that the log is not repaired. When trying to read chunks from a log opened in read-
              write mode, the tuple {corrupt_log_file, FileName} is returned if the read chunk is
              corrupt.

              chunk returns eof when the end of the log is reached,  or  {error,  Reason}  if  an
              error  occurs.  Should a wrap log file be missing, a message is output on the error
              log.

              When chunk/2,3 is used with wrap logs, the returned continuation may or may not  be
              valid  in  the  next call to chunk. This is because the log may wrap and delete the
              file into which the continuation points. To make sure this does not happen, the log
              can be blocked during the search.

       chunk_info(Continuation) -> InfoList | {error, Reason}

              Types:

                 Continuation = continuation()
                 InfoList = [{node, Node :: node()}, ...]
                 Reason = {no_continuation, Continuation}

              The   chunk_info/1  function  returns  the  following  pair  describing  the  chunk
              continuation returned by chunk/2,3, bchunk/2,3, or chunk_step/3:

                * {node, Node}. Terms are read from the disk log running on Node.

       chunk_step(Log, Continuation, Step) ->
                     {ok, any()} | {error, Reason}

              Types:

                 Log = log()
                 Continuation = start | continuation()
                 Step = integer()
                 Reason = no_such_log
                        | end_of_log
                        | {format_external, Log}
                        | {blocked_log, Log}
                        | {badarg, continuation}
                        | {file_error, file:filename(), file_error()}

              The function chunk_step can be used in conjunction with chunk/2,3 and bchunk/2,3 to
              search   through  an  internally  formatted  wrap  log.  It  takes  as  argument  a
              continuation as returned by  chunk/2,3,  bchunk/2,3,  or  chunk_step/3,  and  steps
              forward  (or backward) Step files in the wrap log. The continuation returned points
              to the first log item in the new current file.

              If the atom start is given as continuation, a  disk  log  to  read  terms  from  is
              chosen.  A  local  or  distributed  disk log on the current node is preferred to an
              individual distributed log on some other node.

              If the wrap log is not full because all files  have  not  been  used  yet,  {error,
              end_of_log} is returned if trying to step outside the log.

       close(Log) -> ok | {error, close_error_rsn()}

              Types:

                 Log = log()
                 close_error_rsn() = no_such_log
                                   | nonode
                                   | {file_error, file:filename(), file_error()}

              The function close/1 closes a local or distributed disk log properly. An internally
              formatted log must be closed before the Erlang system is stopped, otherwise the log
              is  regarded  as unclosed and the automatic repair procedure will be activated next
              time the log is opened.

              The disk log process in not terminated as long as there are owners or users of  the
              log.  It  should be stressed that each and every owner must close the log, possibly
              by terminating, and that any other process -  not  only  the  processes  that  have
              opened  the  log  anonymously - can decrement the users counter by closing the log.
              Attempts to close a log by a process that is not an owner  are  simply  ignored  if
              there are no users.

              If the log is blocked by the closing process, the log is also unblocked.

       format_error(Error) -> io_lib:chars()

              Types:

                 Error = term()

              Given  the error returned by any function in this module, the function format_error
              returns a descriptive string of the error in English. For file errors, the function
              format_error/1 in the file module is called.

       inc_wrap_file(Log) -> ok | {error, inc_wrap_error_rsn()}

              Types:

                 Log = log()
                 inc_wrap_error_rsn() = no_such_log
                                      | nonode
                                      | {read_only_mode, log()}
                                      | {blocked_log, log()}
                                      | {halt_log, log()}
                                      | {invalid_header, invalid_header()}
                                      | {file_error,
                                         file:filename(),
                                         file_error()}
                 invalid_header() = term()

              The  inc_wrap_file/1  function  forces  the  internally formatted disk log to start
              logging to the next log file. It can be used, for  instance,  in  conjunction  with
              change_size/2 to reduce the amount of disk space allocated by the disk log.

              The  owners  that  subscribe to notifications will normally receive a wrap message,
              but in case of an error with a  reason  tag  of  invalid_header  or  file_error  an
              error_status message will be sent.

       info(Log) -> InfoList | {error, no_such_log}

              Types:

                 Log = log()
                 InfoList = [dlog_info()]
                 dlog_info() = {name, Log :: log()}
                             | {file, File :: file:filename()}
                             | {type, Type :: dlog_type()}
                             | {format, Format :: dlog_format()}
                             | {size, Size :: dlog_size()}
                             | {mode, Mode :: dlog_mode()}
                             | {owners, [{pid(), Notify :: boolean()}]}
                             | {users, Users :: integer() >= 0}
                             | {status,
                                Status :: ok
                                        | {blocked,
                                           QueueLogRecords :: boolean()}}
                             | {node, Node :: node()}
                             | {distributed, Dist :: local | [node()]}
                             | {head,
                                Head :: none
                                      | {head, term()}
                                      | (MFA :: {atom(), atom(), list()})}
                             | {no_written_items,
                                NoWrittenItems :: integer() >= 0}
                             | {full, Full :: boolean}
                             | {no_current_bytes, integer() >= 0}
                             | {no_current_items, integer() >= 0}
                             | {no_items, integer() >= 0}
                             | {current_file, integer() >= 1}
                             | {no_overflows,
                                {SinceLogWasOpened :: integer() >= 0,
                                 SinceLastInfo :: integer() >= 0}}

              The  info/1  function  returns  a list of {Tag, Value} pairs describing the log. If
              there is a disk log process running on the current node, that log is used as source
              of  information,  otherwise  an  individual  distributed  log on some other node is
              chosen, if such a log exists.

              The following pairs are returned for all logs:

                * {name, Log}, where Log is the name of the log as given  by  the  open/1  option
                  name.

                * {file, File}. For halt logs File is the filename, and for wrap logs File is the
                  base name.

                * {type, Type}, where Type is the type of the log as given by the  open/1  option
                  type.

                * {format,  Format}, where Format is the format of the log as given by the open/1
                  option format.

                * {size, Size}, where Size is the size of the log as given by the  open/1  option
                  size,  or  the  size  set  by  change_size/2. The value set by change_size/2 is
                  reflected immediately.

                * {mode, Mode}, where Mode is the mode of the log as given by the  open/1  option
                  mode.

                * {owners,  [{pid(), Notify}]} where Notify is the value set by the open/1 option
                  notify or the function change_notify/3 for the owners of the log.

                * {users, Users} where Users is the number of anonymous users of the log, see the
                  open/1 option linkto.

                * {status,  Status},  where  Status is ok or {blocked, QueueLogRecords} as set by
                  the functions block/1,2 and unblock/1.

                * {node, Node}. The information returned by the current invocation of the  info/1
                  function has been gathered from the disk log process running on Node.

                * {distributed, Dist}. If the log is local on the current node, then Dist has the
                  value local, otherwise all nodes where the log is distributed are returned as a
                  list.

              The following pairs are returned for all logs opened in read_write mode:

                * {head,  Head}.  Depending of the value of the open/1 options head and head_func
                  or set by the function change_header/2, the value of Head  is  none  (default),
                  {head, H} (head option) or {M,F,A} (head_func option).

                * {no_written_items, NoWrittenItems}, where NoWrittenItems is the number of items
                  written to the log since the disk log process was created.

              The following pair is returned for halt logs opened in read_write mode:

                * {full, Full}, where Full is true or false depending on whether the halt log  is
                  full or not.

              The following pairs are returned for wrap logs opened in read_write mode:

                * {no_current_bytes,  integer()  >=  0}  is  the  number  of bytes written to the
                  current wrap log file.

                * {no_current_items, integer() >= 0} is  the  number  of  items  written  to  the
                  current wrap log file, header inclusive.

                * {no_items, integer() >= 0} is the total number of items in all wrap log files.

                * {current_file,  integer()}  is the ordinal for the current wrap log file in the
                  range 1..MaxNoFiles, where MaxNoFiles is given by the open/1 option size or set
                  by change_size/2.

                * {no_overflows,  {SinceLogWasOpened,  SinceLastInfo}},  where  SinceLogWasOpened
                  (SinceLastInfo) is the number of times a wrap log file has been filled up and a
                  new  one  opened or inc_wrap_file/1 has been called since the disk log was last
                  opened (info/1 was last called). The first time info/2 is called  after  a  log
                  was (re)opened or truncated, the two values are equal.

              Note  that  the chunk/2,3, bchunk/2,3, and chunk_step/3 functions do not affect any
              value returned by info/1.

       lclose(Log) -> ok | {error, lclose_error_rsn()}

       lclose(Log, Node) -> ok | {error, lclose_error_rsn()}

              Types:

                 Log = log()
                 Node = node()
                 lclose_error_rsn() = no_such_log
                                    | {file_error,
                                       file:filename(),
                                       file_error()}

              The function lclose/1 closes a local log or an individual distributed  log  on  the
              current  node.  The  function  lclose/2 closes an individual distributed log on the
              specified node if the node is not the current one.  lclose(Log)  is  equivalent  to
              lclose(Log, node()). See also close/1.

              If  there  is  no  log  with  the  given name on the specified node, no_such_log is
              returned.

       log(Log, Term) -> ok | {error, Reason :: log_error_rsn()}

       blog(Log, Bytes) -> ok | {error, Reason :: log_error_rsn()}

              Types:

                 Log = log()
                 Term = term()
                 Bytes = bytes()
                 log_error_rsn() = no_such_log
                                 | nonode
                                 | {read_only_mode, log()}
                                 | {format_external, log()}
                                 | {blocked_log, log()}
                                 | {full, log()}
                                 | {invalid_header, invalid_header()}
                                 | {file_error, file:filename(), file_error()}

              The log/2 and blog/2 functions synchronously append a term  to  a  disk  log.  They
              return  ok or {error, Reason} when the term has been written to disk. If the log is
              distributed, ok is always returned, unless all nodes are down. Terms are written by
              means  of the ordinary write() function of the operating system. Hence, there is no
              guarantee that the term has actually been written to the disk, it might  linger  in
              the  operating system kernel for a while. To make sure the item is actually written
              to disk, the sync/1 function must be called.

              The log/2 function is used for internally formatted logs, and blog/2 for externally
              formatted  logs.  blog/2 can be used for internally formatted logs as well provided
              the binary was constructed with a call to term_to_binary/1.

              The owners that subscribe to notifications will be notified of  an  error  with  an
              error_status message if the error reason tag is invalid_header or file_error.

       log_terms(Log, TermList) ->
                    ok | {error, Resaon :: log_error_rsn()}

       blog_terms(Log, BytesList) ->
                     ok | {error, Reason :: log_error_rsn()}

              Types:

                 Log = log()
                 TermList = [term()]
                 BytesList = [bytes()]
                 log_error_rsn() = no_such_log
                                 | nonode
                                 | {read_only_mode, log()}
                                 | {format_external, log()}
                                 | {blocked_log, log()}
                                 | {full, log()}
                                 | {invalid_header, invalid_header()}
                                 | {file_error, file:filename(), file_error()}

              The  log_terms/2 and blog_terms/2 functions synchronously append a list of items to
              the log. The benefit of using these functions rather  than  the  log/2  and  blog/2
              functions  is that of efficiency: the given list is split into as large sublists as
              possible (limited by the size of wrap log files), and each sublist is logged as one
              single item, which reduces the overhead.

              The  log_terms/2  function  is used for internally formatted logs, and blog_terms/2
              for externally formatted logs. blog_terms/2 can be used  for  internally  formatted
              logs as well provided the binaries were constructed with calls to term_to_binary/1.

              The  owners  that  subscribe  to notifications will be notified of an error with an
              error_status message if the error reason tag is invalid_header or file_error.

       open(ArgL) -> open_ret() | dist_open_ret()

              Types:

                 ArgL = dlog_options()
                 dlog_options() = [dlog_option()]
                 dlog_option() = {name, Log :: log()}
                               | {file, FileName :: file:filename()}
                               | {linkto, LinkTo :: none | pid()}
                               | {repair, Repair :: true | false | truncate}
                               | {type, Type :: dlog_type}
                               | {format, Format :: dlog_format()}
                               | {size, Size :: dlog_size()}
                               | {distributed, Nodes :: [node()]}
                               | {notify, boolean()}
                               | {head, Head :: dlog_head_opt()}
                               | {head_func, MFA :: {atom(), atom(), list()}}
                               | {mode, Mode :: dlog_mode()}
                 open_ret() = ret() | {error, open_error_rsn()}
                 ret() = {ok, Log :: log()}
                       | {repaired,
                          Log :: log(),
                          {recovered, Rec :: integer() >= 0},
                          {badbytes, Bad :: integer() >= 0}}
                 dist_open_ret() =
                     {[{node(), ret()}], [{node(), {error, dist_error_rsn()}}]}
                 dist_error_rsn() = nodedown | open_error_rsn()
                 open_error_rsn() = no_such_log
                                  | {badarg, term()}
                                  | {size_mismatch,
                                     CurrentSize :: dlog_size(),
                                     NewSize :: dlog_size()}
                                  | {arg_mismatch,
                                     OptionName :: dlog_optattr(),
                                     CurrentValue :: term(),
                                     Value :: term()}
                                  | {name_already_open, Log :: log()}
                                  | {open_read_write, Log :: log()}
                                  | {open_read_only, Log :: log()}
                                  | {need_repair, Log :: log()}
                                  | {not_a_log_file,
                                     FileName :: file:filename()}
                                  | {invalid_index_file,
                                     FileName :: file:filename()}
                                  | {invalid_header, invalid_header()}
                                  | {file_error, file:filename(), file_error()}
                                  | {node_already_open, Log :: log()}
                 dlog_optattr() = name
                                | file
                                | linkto
                                | repair
                                | type
                                | format
                                | size
                                | distributed
                                | notify
                                | head
                                | head_func
                                | mode
                 dlog_size() = infinity
                             | integer() >= 1
                             | {MaxNoBytes :: integer() >= 1,
                                MaxNoFiles :: integer() >= 1}

              The ArgL parameter is a list of options which have the following meanings:

                * {name, Log} specifies the name of the log. This  is  the  name  which  must  be
                  passed  on  as  a  parameter  in all subsequent logging operations. A name must
                  always be supplied.

                * {file, FileName} specifies the name of the file which will be used  for  logged
                  terms.  If this value is omitted and the name of the log is either an atom or a
                  string, the file name will default  to  lists:concat([Log,  ".LOG"])  for  halt
                  logs.  For  wrap  logs, this will be the base name of the files. Each file in a
                  wrap log will be called <base_name>.N, where N is an  integer.  Each  wrap  log
                  will also have two files called <base_name>.idx and <base_name>.siz.

                * {linkto,  LinkTo}. If LinkTo is a pid, that pid becomes an owner of the log. If
                  LinkTo is none the log records that it is used anonymously by some  process  by
                  incrementing the users counter. By default, the process which calls open/1 owns
                  the log.

                * {repair, Repair}. If Repair is true, the current log file will be repaired,  if
                  needed.  As the restoration is initiated, a message is output on the error log.
                  If false is given, no automatic repair will be attempted.  Instead,  the  tuple
                  {error, {need_repair, Log}} is returned if an attempt is made to open a corrupt
                  log file. If truncate is given, the log file will  be  truncated,  creating  an
                  empty  log.  Default  is  true, which has no effect on logs opened in read-only
                  mode.

                * {type, Type} is the type of the log. Default is halt.

                * {format, Format} specifies the format of the disk log. Default is internal.

                * {size, Size} specifies the size of the log. When a halt  log  has  reached  its
                  maximum  size, all attempts to log more items are rejected. The default size is
                  infinity, which for halt implies that there is no maximum size. For wrap  logs,
                  the  Size  parameter may be either a pair {MaxNoBytes, MaxNoFiles} or infinity.
                  In the latter case, if the files of an already existing wrap log with the  same
                  name  can  be  found, the size is read from the existing wrap log, otherwise an
                  error is returned. Wrap logs write at most MaxNoBytes bytes on  each  file  and
                  use  MaxNoFiles  files  before  starting all over with the first wrap log file.
                  Regardless of MaxNoBytes, at least the header (if there is one) and one item is
                  written on each wrap log file before wrapping to the next file. When opening an
                  existing wrap log, it is not necessary to supply a value for the  option  Size,
                  but  any  supplied  value must equal the current size of the log, otherwise the
                  tuple {error, {size_mismatch, CurrentSize, NewSize}} is returned.

                * {distributed, Nodes}.  This  option  can  be  used  for  adding  members  to  a
                  distributed  disk  log.  The  default  value is [], which means that the log is
                  local on the current node.

                *

                  {notify, bool()}. If true, the owners of the  log  are  notified  when  certain
                  events  occur  in  the  log.  Default  is false. The owners are sent one of the
                  following messages when an event occurs:

                  * {disk_log, Node, Log, {wrap, NoLostItems}} is sent when a wrap log has filled
                    up  one  of  its files and a new file is opened. NoLostItems is the number of
                    previously logged items that have been lost when truncating existing files.

                  * {disk_log, Node, Log, {truncated, NoLostItems}} is sent when a log  has  been
                    truncated  or  reopened.  For  halt  logs  NoLostItems is the number of items
                    written on the log since the disk log process  was  created.  For  wrap  logs
                    NoLostItems is the number of items on all wrap log files.

                  * {disk_log,  Node,  Log,  {read_only, Items}} is sent when an asynchronous log
                    attempt is made to a log file opened in read-only mode. Items  is  the  items
                    from the log attempt.

                  * {disk_log,  Node, Log, {blocked_log, Items}} is sent when an asynchronous log
                    attempt is made to a blocked log that does not queue log attempts.  Items  is
                    the items from the log attempt.

                  * {disk_log,  Node,  Log,  {format_external,  Items}}  is  sent  when alog/2 or
                    alog_terms/2 is used for internally formatted logs. Items is the  items  from
                    the log attempt.

                  * {disk_log,  Node,  Log,  full} is sent when an attempt to log items to a wrap
                    log would write more bytes than the limit set by the size option.

                  * {disk_log, Node, Log, {error_status, Status}} is sent when the  error  status
                    changes.  The  error  status is defined by the outcome of the last attempt to
                    log items to a the log or to truncate the log or  the  last  use  of  sync/1,
                    inc_wrap_file/1 or change_size/2. Status is one of ok and {error, Error}, the
                    former being the initial value.

                * {head, Head} specifies a header to be written first on the log file. If the log
                  is  a wrap log, the item Head is written first in each new file. Head should be
                  a term if the format is internal, and a  deep  list  of  bytes  (or  a  binary)
                  otherwise.  Default is none, which means that no header is written first on the
                  file.

                * {head_func, {M,F,A}} specifies a function to be called each time a new log file
                  is  opened.  The  call M:F(A) is assumed to return {ok, Head}. The item Head is
                  written first in each file. Head should be a term if the  format  is  internal,
                  and a deep list of bytes (or a binary) otherwise.

                * {mode,  Mode}  specifies  if the log is to be opened in read-only or read-write
                  mode. It defaults to read_write.

              The open/1 function returns {ok, Log} if the log file was successfully  opened.  If
              the  file  was  successfully  repaired, the tuple {repaired, Log, {recovered, Rec},
              {badbytes, Bad}} is returned, where Rec is the number of whole Erlang  terms  found
              in the file and Bad is the number of bytes in the file which were non-Erlang terms.
              If the distributed parameter was given, open/1 returns a list of successful replies
              and a list of erroneous replies. Each reply is tagged with the node name.

              When a disk log is opened in read-write mode, any existing log file is checked for.
              If there is none a new empty log is created, otherwise the existing file is  opened
              at  the position after the last logged item, and the logging of items will commence
              from there. If the format is internal and the existing file is not recognized as an
              internally formatted log, a tuple {error, {not_a_log_file, FileName}} is returned.

              The open/1 function cannot be used for changing the values of options of an already
              open log; when there are prior owners or users of a log, all option  values  except
              name, linkto and notify are just checked against the values that have been supplied
              before  as  option  values   to   open/1,   change_header/2,   change_notify/3   or
              change_size/2.  As  a consequence, none of the options except name is mandatory. If
              some given value differs from the current value,  a  tuple  {error,  {arg_mismatch,
              OptionName,  CurrentValue, Value}} is returned. Caution: an owner's attempt to open
              a log as owner once again is acknowledged with the return value {ok, Log}, but  the
              state of the disk log is not affected in any way.

              If  a  log  with  a given name is local on some node, and one tries to open the log
              distributed on the same node, then the tuple {error, {node_already_open,  Log}}  is
              returned.  The  same  tuple is returned if the log is distributed on some node, and
              one tries to open the log locally on the same node. Opening individual  distributed
              disk logs for the first time adds those logs to a (possibly empty) distributed disk
              log. The option values supplied are used on all nodes mentioned by the  distributed
              option.  Individual distributed logs know nothing about each other's option values,
              so each node can be given unique option values by creating a distributed  log  with
              several calls to open/1.

              It  is possible to open a log file more than once by giving different values to the
              option name or by using the same file when distributing a log on  different  nodes.
              It  is  up  to the user of the disk_log module to ensure that no more than one disk
              log process has write access to any file, or the the file may be corrupted.

              If an attempt to open a log file for the first time fails,  the  disk  log  process
              terminates   with   the  EXIT  message  {{failed,Reason},[{disk_log,open,1}]}.  The
              function returns {error, Reason} for all other errors.

       pid2name(Pid) -> {ok, Log} | undefined

              Types:

                 Pid = pid()
                 Log = log()

              The pid2name/1 function returns the name of the log given the pid  of  a  disk  log
              process  on  the  current  node,  or  undefined  if the given pid is not a disk log
              process.

              This function is meant to be used for debugging only.

       reopen(Log, File) -> ok | {error, reopen_error_rsn()}

       reopen(Log, File, Head) -> ok | {error, reopen_error_rsn()}

       breopen(Log, File, BHead) -> ok | {error, reopen_error_rsn()}

              Types:

                 Log = log()
                 File = file:filename()
                 Head = term()
                 BHead = bytes()
                 reopen_error_rsn() = no_such_log
                                    | nonode
                                    | {read_only_mode, log()}
                                    | {blocked_log, log()}
                                    | {same_file_name, log()}
                                    | {invalid_index_file, file:filename()}
                                    | {invalid_header, invalid_header()}
                                    | {file_error,
                                       file:filename(),
                                       file_error()}

              The reopen functions first rename the log file to File and then re-create a new log
              file. In case of a wrap log, File is used as the base name of the renamed files. By
              default the header given to open/1 is written first in the newly opened  log  file,
              but  if  the  Head  or  the BHead argument is given, this item is used instead. The
              header argument is used once only; next time a wrap log file is opened, the  header
              given to open/1 is used.

              The  reopen/2,3 functions are used for internally formatted logs, and breopen/3 for
              externally formatted logs.

              The owners that subscribe to notifications will receive a truncate message.

              Upon failure to reopen the log, the disk  log  process  terminates  with  the  EXIT
              message  {{failed,Error},[{disk_log,Fun,Arity}]},  and  other  processes  that have
              requests queued receive the message {disk_log, Node, {error, disk_log_stopped}}.

       sync(Log) -> ok | {error, sync_error_rsn()}

              Types:

                 Log = log()
                 sync_error_rsn() = no_such_log
                                  | nonode
                                  | {read_only_mode, log()}
                                  | {blocked_log, log()}
                                  | {file_error, file:filename(), file_error()}

              The sync/1 function ensures that the contents of the log are  actually  written  to
              the disk. This is usually a rather expensive operation.

       truncate(Log) -> ok | {error, trunc_error_rsn()}

       truncate(Log, Head) -> ok | {error, trunc_error_rsn()}

       btruncate(Log, BHead) -> ok | {error, trunc_error_rsn()}

              Types:

                 Log = log()
                 Head = term()
                 BHead = bytes()
                 trunc_error_rsn() = no_such_log
                                   | nonode
                                   | {read_only_mode, log()}
                                   | {blocked_log, log()}
                                   | {invalid_header, invalid_header()}
                                   | {file_error, file:filename(), file_error()}

              The  truncate  functions remove all items from a disk log. If the Head or the BHead
              argument is given, this item is written first in the newly truncated log, otherwise
              the  header  given  to  open/1 is used. The header argument is only used once; next
              time a wrap log file is opened, the header given to open/1 is used.

              The truncate/1,2 functions are used for internally formatted logs, and  btruncate/2
              for externally formatted logs.

              The owners that subscribe to notifications will receive a truncate message.

              If  the attempt to truncate the log fails, the disk log process terminates with the
              EXIT message {{failed,Reason},[{disk_log,Fun,Arity}]},  and  other  processes  that
              have    requests    queued   receive   the   message   {disk_log,   Node,   {error,
              disk_log_stopped}}.

       unblock(Log) -> ok | {error, unblock_error_rsn()}

              Types:

                 Log = log()
                 unblock_error_rsn() = no_such_log
                                     | nonode
                                     | {not_blocked, log()}
                                     | {not_blocked_by_pid, log()}

              The unblock/1 function unblocks a log. A log can only be unblocked by the  blocking
              process.

SEE ALSO

       file(3erl), pg2(3erl), wrap_log_reader(3erl)