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NAME
Hash::Util::FieldHash - Support for Inside-Out Classes
SYNOPSIS
### Create fieldhashes
use Hash::Util qw(fieldhash fieldhashes);
# Create a single field hash
fieldhash my %foo;
# Create three at once...
fieldhashes \ my(%foo, %bar, %baz);
# ...or any number
fieldhashes @hashrefs;
### Create an idhash and register it for garbage collection
use Hash::Util::FieldHash qw(idhash register);
idhash my %name;
my $object = \ do { my $o };
# register the idhash for garbage collection with $object
register($object, \ %name);
# the following entry will be deleted when $object goes out of scope
$name{$object} = 'John Doe';
### Register an ordinary hash for garbage collection
use Hash::Util::FieldHash qw(id register);
my %name;
my $object = \ do { my $o };
# register the hash %name for garbage collection of $object's id
register $object, \ %name;
# the following entry will be deleted when $object goes out of scope
$name{id $object} = 'John Doe';
FUNCTIONS
"Hash::Util::FieldHash" offers a number of functions in support of "The Inside-out
Technique" of class construction.
id
id($obj)
Returns the reference address of a reference $obj. If $obj is not a reference,
returns $obj.
This function is a stand-in replacement for Scalar::Util::refaddr, that is, it returns
the reference address of its argument as a numeric value. The only difference is that
refaddr() returns "undef" when given a non-reference while id() returns its argument
unchanged.
id() also uses a caching technique that makes it faster when the id of an object is
requested often, but slower if it is needed only once or twice.
id_2obj
$obj = id_2obj($id)
If $id is the id of a registered object (see "register"), returns the object,
otherwise an undefined value. For registered objects this is the inverse function of
id().
register
register($obj)
register($obj, @hashrefs)
In the first form, registers an object to work with for the function id_2obj(). In
the second form, it additionally marks the given hashrefs down for garbage collection.
This means that when the object goes out of scope, any entries in the given hashes
under the key of id($obj) will be deleted from the hashes.
It is a fatal error to register a non-reference $obj. Any non-hashrefs among the
following arguments are silently ignored.
It is not an error to register the same object multiple times with varying sets of
hashrefs. Any hashrefs that are not registered yet will be added, others ignored.
Registry also implies thread support. When a new thread is created, all references
are replaced with new ones, including all objects. If a hash uses the reference
address of an object as a key, that connection would be broken. With a registered
object, its id will be updated in all hashes registered with it.
idhash
idhash my %hash
Makes an idhash from the argument, which must be a hash.
An idhash works like a normal hash, except that it stringifies a reference used as a
key differently. A reference is stringified as if the id() function had been invoked
on it, that is, its reference address in decimal is used as the key.
idhashes
idhashes \ my(%hash, %gnash, %trash)
idhashes \ @hashrefs
Creates many idhashes from its hashref arguments. Returns those arguments that could
be converted or their number in scalar context.
fieldhash
fieldhash %hash;
Creates a single fieldhash. The argument must be a hash. Returns a reference to the
given hash if successful, otherwise nothing.
A fieldhash is, in short, an idhash with auto-registry. When an object (or, indeed,
any reference) is used as a fieldhash key, the fieldhash is automatically registered
for garbage collection with the object, as if "register $obj, \ %fieldhash" had been
called.
fieldhashes
fieldhashes @hashrefs;
Creates any number of field hashes. Arguments must be hash references. Returns the
converted hashrefs in list context, their number in scalar context.
DESCRIPTION
A word on terminology: I shall use the term field for a scalar piece of data that a class
associates with an object. Other terms that have been used for this concept are "object
variable", "(object) property", "(object) attribute" and more. Especially "attribute" has
some currency among Perl programmer, but that clashes with the "attributes" pragma. The
term "field" also has some currency in this sense and doesn't seem to conflict with other
Perl terminology.
In Perl, an object is a blessed reference. The standard way of associating data with an
object is to store the data inside the object's body, that is, the piece of data pointed
to by the reference.
In consequence, if two or more classes want to access an object they must agree on the
type of reference and also on the organization of data within the object body. Failure to
agree on the type results in immediate death when the wrong method tries to access an
object. Failure to agree on data organization may lead to one class trampling over the
data of another.
This object model leads to a tight coupling between subclasses. If one class wants to
inherit from another (and both classes access object data), the classes must agree about
implementation details. Inheritance can only be used among classes that are maintained
together, in a single source or not.
In particular, it is not possible to write general-purpose classes in this technique,
classes that can advertise themselves as "Put me on your @ISA list and use my methods".
If the other class has different ideas about how the object body is used, there is
trouble.
For reference "Name_hash" in "Example 1" shows the standard implementation of a simple
class "Name" in the well-known hash based way. It also demonstrates the predictable
failure to construct a common subclass "NamedFile" of "Name" and the class "IO::File"
(whose objects must be globrefs).
Thus, techniques are of interest that store object data not in the object body but some
other place.
The Inside-out Technique
With inside-out classes, each class declares a (typically lexical) hash for each field it
wants to use. The reference address of an object is used as the hash key. By definition,
the reference address is unique to each object so this guarantees a place for each field
that is private to the class and unique to each object. See "Name_id" in "Example 1" for
a simple example.
In comparison to the standard implementation where the object is a hash and the fields
correspond to hash keys, here the fields correspond to hashes, and the object determines
the hash key. Thus the hashes appear to be turned inside out.
The body of an object is never examined by an inside-out class, only its reference address
is used. This allows for the body of an actual object to be anything at all while the
object methods of the class still work as designed. This is a key feature of inside-out
classes.
Problems of Inside-out
Inside-out classes give us freedom of inheritance, but as usual there is a price.
Most obviously, there is the necessity of retrieving the reference address of an object
for each data access. It's a minor inconvenience, but it does clutter the code.
More important (and less obvious) is the necessity of garbage collection. When a normal
object dies, anything stored in the object body is garbage-collected by perl. With
inside-out objects, Perl knows nothing about the data stored in field hashes by a class,
but these must be deleted when the object goes out of scope. Thus the class must provide
a "DESTROY" method to take care of that.
In the presence of multiple classes it can be non-trivial to make sure that every relevant
destructor is called for every object. Perl calls the first one it finds on the
inheritance tree (if any) and that's it.
A related issue is thread-safety. When a new thread is created, the Perl interpreter is
cloned, which implies that all reference addresses in use will be replaced with new ones.
Thus, if a class tries to access a field of a cloned object its (cloned) data will still
be stored under the now invalid reference address of the original in the parent thread. A
general "CLONE" method must be provided to re-establish the association.
Solutions
"Hash::Util::FieldHash" addresses these issues on several levels.
The id() function is provided in addition to the existing Scalar::Util::refaddr().
Besides its short name it can be a little faster under some circumstances (and a bit
slower under others). Benchmark if it matters. The working of id() also allows the use
of the class name as a generic object as described further down.
The id() function is incorporated in id hashes in the sense that it is called
automatically on every key that is used with the hash. No explicit call is necessary.
The problems of garbage collection and thread safety are both addressed by the function
register(). It registers an object together with any number of hashes. Registry means
that when the object dies, an entry in any of the hashes under the reference address of
this object will be deleted. This guarantees garbage collection in these hashes. It also
means that on thread cloning the object's entries in registered hashes will be replaced
with updated entries whose key is the cloned object's reference address. Thus the object-
data association becomes thread-safe.
Object registry is best done when the object is initialized for use with a class. That
way, garbage collection and thread safety are established for every object and every field
that is initialized.
Finally, field hashes incorporate all these functions in one package. Besides
automatically calling the id() function on every object used as a key, the object is
registered with the field hash on first use. Classes based on field hashes are fully
garbage-collected and thread safe without further measures.
More Problems
Another problem that occurs with inside-out classes is serialization. Since the object
data is not in its usual place, standard routines like Storable::freeze(),
Storable::thaw() and Data::Dumper::Dumper() can't deal with it on their own. Both
"Data::Dumper" and "Storable" provide the necessary hooks to make things work, but the
functions or methods used by the hooks must be provided by each inside-out class.
A general solution to the serialization problem would require another level of registry,
one that associates classes and fields. So far, the functions of "Hash::Util::FieldHash"
are unaware of any classes, which I consider a feature. Therefore "Hash::Util::FieldHash"
doesn't address the serialization problems.
The Generic Object
Classes based on the id() function (and hence classes based on idhash() and fieldhash())
show a peculiar behavior in that the class name can be used like an object. Specifically,
methods that set or read data associated with an object continue to work as class methods,
just as if the class name were an object, distinct from all other objects, with its own
data. This object may be called the generic object of the class.
This works because field hashes respond to keys that are not references like a normal hash
would and use the string offered as the hash key. Thus, if a method is called as a class
method, the field hash is presented with the class name instead of an object and blithely
uses it as a key. Since the keys of real objects are decimal numbers, there is no
conflict and the slot in the field hash can be used like any other. The id() function
behaves correspondingly with respect to non-reference arguments.
Two possible uses (besides ignoring the property) come to mind. A singleton class could
be implemented this using the generic object. If necessary, an init() method could die or
ignore calls with actual objects (references), so only the generic object will ever exist.
Another use of the generic object would be as a template. It is a convenient place to
store class-specific defaults for various fields to be used in actual object
initialization.
Usually, the feature can be entirely ignored. Calling object methods as class methods
normally leads to an error and isn't used routinely anywhere. It may be a problem that
this error isn't indicated by a class with a generic object.
How to use Field Hashes
Traditionally, the definition of an inside-out class contains a bare block inside which a
number of lexical hashes are declared and the basic accessor methods defined, usually
through "Scalar::Util::refaddr". Further methods may be defined outside this block.
There has to be a DESTROY method and, for thread support, a CLONE method.
When field hashes are used, the basic structure remains the same. Each lexical hash will
be made a field hash. The call to "refaddr" can be omitted from the accessor methods.
DESTROY and CLONE methods are not necessary.
If you have an existing inside-out class, simply making all hashes field hashes with no
other change should make no difference. Through the calls to "refaddr" or equivalent, the
field hashes never get to see a reference and work like normal hashes. Your DESTROY (and
CLONE) methods are still needed.
To make the field hashes kick in, it is easiest to redefine "refaddr" as
sub refaddr { shift }
instead of importing it from "Scalar::Util". It should now be possible to disable DESTROY
and CLONE. Note that while it isn't disabled, DESTROY will be called before the garbage
collection of field hashes, so it will be invoked with a functional object and will
continue to function.
It is not desirable to import the functions "fieldhash" and/or "fieldhashes" into every
class that is going to use them. They are only used once to set up the class. When the
class is up and running, these functions serve no more purpose.
If there are only a few field hashes to declare, it is simplest to
use Hash::Util::FieldHash;
early and call the functions qualified:
Hash::Util::FieldHash::fieldhash my %foo;
Otherwise, import the functions into a convenient package like "HUF" or, more general,
"Aux"
{
package Aux;
use Hash::Util::FieldHash ':all';
}
and call
Aux::fieldhash my %foo;
as needed.
Garbage-Collected Hashes
Garbage collection in a field hash means that entries will "spontaneously" disappear when
the object that created them disappears. That must be borne in mind, especially when
looping over a field hash. If anything you do inside the loop could cause an object to go
out of scope, a random key may be deleted from the hash you are looping over. That can
throw the loop iterator, so it's best to cache a consistent snapshot of the keys and/or
values and loop over that. You will still have to check that a cached entry still exists
when you get to it.
Garbage collection can be confusing when keys are created in a field hash from normal
scalars as well as references. Once a reference is used with a field hash, the entry will
be collected, even if it was later overwritten with a plain scalar key (every positive
integer is a candidate). This is true even if the original entry was deleted in the
meantime. In fact, deletion from a field hash, and also a test for existence constitute
use in this sense and create a liability to delete the entry when the reference goes out
of scope. If you happen to create an entry with an identical key from a string or
integer, that will be collected instead. Thus, mixed use of references and plain scalars
as field hash keys is not entirely supported.
EXAMPLES
The examples show a very simple class that implements a name, consisting of a first and
last name (no middle initial). The name class has four methods:
• init()
An object method that initializes the first and last name to its two arguments. If
called as a class method, init() creates an object in the given class and initializes
that.
• first()
Retrieve the first name
• last()
Retrieve the last name
• name()
Retrieve the full name, the first and last name joined by a blank.
The examples show this class implemented with different levels of support by
"Hash::Util::FieldHash". All supported combinations are shown. The difference between
implementations is often quite small. The implementations are:
• "Name_hash"
A conventional (not inside-out) implementation where an object is a hash that stores
the field values, without support by "Hash::Util::FieldHash". This implementation
doesn't allow arbitrary inheritance.
• "Name_id"
Inside-out implementation based on the id() function. It needs a "DESTROY" method.
For thread support a "CLONE" method (not shown) would also be needed. Instead of
Hash::Util::FieldHash::id() the function "Scalar::Util::refaddr" could be used with
very little functional difference. This is the basic pattern of an inside-out class.
• "Name_idhash"
Idhash-based inside-out implementation. Like "Name_id" it needs a "DESTROY" method
and would need "CLONE" for thread support.
• "Name_id_reg"
Inside-out implementation based on the id() function with explicit object registry.
No destructor is needed and objects are thread safe.
• "Name_idhash_reg"
Idhash-based inside-out implementation with explicit object registry. No destructor
is needed and objects are thread safe.
• "Name_fieldhash"
FieldHash-based inside-out implementation. Object registry happens automatically. No
destructor is needed and objects are thread safe.
These examples are realized in the code below, which could be copied to a file Example.pm.
Example 1
use strict; use warnings;
{
package Name_hash; # standard implementation: the
# object is a hash
sub init {
my $obj = shift;
my ($first, $last) = @_;
# create an object if called as class method
$obj = bless {}, $obj unless ref $obj;
$obj->{ first} = $first;
$obj->{ last} = $last;
$obj;
}
sub first { shift()->{ first} }
sub last { shift()->{ last} }
sub name {
my $n = shift;
join ' ' => $n->first, $n->last;
}
}
{
package Name_id;
use Hash::Util::FieldHash qw(id);
my (%first, %last);
sub init {
my $obj = shift;
my ($first, $last) = @_;
# create an object if called as class method
$obj = bless \ my $o, $obj unless ref $obj;
$first{ id $obj} = $first;
$last{ id $obj} = $last;
$obj;
}
sub first { $first{ id shift()} }
sub last { $last{ id shift()} }
sub name {
my $n = shift;
join ' ' => $n->first, $n->last;
}
sub DESTROY {
my $id = id shift;
delete $first{ $id};
delete $last{ $id};
}
}
{
package Name_idhash;
use Hash::Util::FieldHash;
Hash::Util::FieldHash::idhashes( \ my (%first, %last) );
sub init {
my $obj = shift;
my ($first, $last) = @_;
# create an object if called as class method
$obj = bless \ my $o, $obj unless ref $obj;
$first{ $obj} = $first;
$last{ $obj} = $last;
$obj;
}
sub first { $first{ shift()} }
sub last { $last{ shift()} }
sub name {
my $n = shift;
join ' ' => $n->first, $n->last;
}
sub DESTROY {
my $n = shift;
delete $first{ $n};
delete $last{ $n};
}
}
{
package Name_id_reg;
use Hash::Util::FieldHash qw(id register);
my (%first, %last);
sub init {
my $obj = shift;
my ($first, $last) = @_;
# create an object if called as class method
$obj = bless \ my $o, $obj unless ref $obj;
register( $obj, \ (%first, %last) );
$first{ id $obj} = $first;
$last{ id $obj} = $last;
$obj;
}
sub first { $first{ id shift()} }
sub last { $last{ id shift()} }
sub name {
my $n = shift;
join ' ' => $n->first, $n->last;
}
}
{
package Name_idhash_reg;
use Hash::Util::FieldHash qw(register);
Hash::Util::FieldHash::idhashes \ my (%first, %last);
sub init {
my $obj = shift;
my ($first, $last) = @_;
# create an object if called as class method
$obj = bless \ my $o, $obj unless ref $obj;
register( $obj, \ (%first, %last) );
$first{ $obj} = $first;
$last{ $obj} = $last;
$obj;
}
sub first { $first{ shift()} }
sub last { $last{ shift()} }
sub name {
my $n = shift;
join ' ' => $n->first, $n->last;
}
}
{
package Name_fieldhash;
use Hash::Util::FieldHash;
Hash::Util::FieldHash::fieldhashes \ my (%first, %last);
sub init {
my $obj = shift;
my ($first, $last) = @_;
# create an object if called as class method
$obj = bless \ my $o, $obj unless ref $obj;
$first{ $obj} = $first;
$last{ $obj} = $last;
$obj;
}
sub first { $first{ shift()} }
sub last { $last{ shift()} }
sub name {
my $n = shift;
join ' ' => $n->first, $n->last;
}
}
1;
To exercise the various implementations the script below can be used.
It sets up a class "Name" that is a mirror of one of the implementation classes
"Name_hash", "Name_id", ..., "Name_fieldhash". That determines which implementation is
run.
The script first verifies the function of the "Name" class.
In the second step, the free inheritability of the implementation (or lack thereof) is
demonstrated. For this purpose it constructs a class called "NamedFile" which is a common
subclass of "Name" and the standard class "IO::File". This puts inheritability to the
test because objects of "IO::File" must be globrefs. Objects of "NamedFile" should behave
like a file opened for reading and also support the name() method. This class juncture
works with exception of the "Name_hash" implementation, where object initialization fails
because of the incompatibility of object bodies.
Example 2
use strict; use warnings; $| = 1;
use Example;
{
package Name;
use parent 'Name_id'; # define here which implementation to run
}
# Verify that the base package works
my $n = Name->init(qw(Albert Einstein));
print $n->name, "\n";
print "\n";
# Create a named file handle (See definition below)
my $nf = NamedFile->init(qw(/tmp/x Filomena File));
# use as a file handle...
for ( 1 .. 3 ) {
my $l = <$nf>;
print "line $_: $l";
}
# ...and as a Name object
print "...brought to you by ", $nf->name, "\n";
exit;
# Definition of NamedFile
package NamedFile;
use parent 'Name';
use parent 'IO::File';
sub init {
my $obj = shift;
my ($file, $first, $last) = @_;
$obj = $obj->IO::File::new() unless ref $obj;
$obj->open($file) or die "Can't read '$file': $!";
$obj->Name::init($first, $last);
}
__END__
GUTS
To make "Hash::Util::FieldHash" work, there were two changes to perl itself.
"PERL_MAGIC_uvar" was made available for hashes, and weak references now call uvar "get"
magic after a weakref has been cleared. The first feature is used to make field hashes
intercept their keys upon access. The second one triggers garbage collection.
The "PERL_MAGIC_uvar" interface for hashes
"PERL_MAGIC_uvar" get magic is called from "hv_fetch_common" and "hv_delete_common"
through the function "hv_magic_uvar_xkey", which defines the interface. The call happens
for hashes with "uvar" magic if the "ufuncs" structure has equal values in the "uf_val"
and "uf_set" fields. Hashes are unaffected if (and as long as) these fields hold
different values.
Upon the call, the "mg_obj" field will hold the hash key to be accessed. Upon return, the
"SV*" value in "mg_obj" will be used in place of the original key in the hash access. The
integer index value in the first parameter will be the "action" value from
"hv_fetch_common", or -1 if the call is from "hv_delete_common".
This is a template for a function suitable for the "uf_val" field in a "ufuncs" structure
for this call. The "uf_set" and "uf_index" fields are irrelevant.
IV watch_key(pTHX_ IV action, SV* field) {
MAGIC* mg = mg_find(field, PERL_MAGIC_uvar);
SV* keysv = mg->mg_obj;
/* Do whatever you need to. If you decide to
supply a different key newkey, return it like this
*/
sv_2mortal(newkey);
mg->mg_obj = newkey;
return 0;
}
Weakrefs call uvar magic
When a weak reference is stored in an "SV" that has "uvar" magic, "set" magic is called
after the reference has gone stale. This hook can be used to trigger further garbage-
collection activities associated with the referenced object.
How field hashes work
The three features of key hashes, key replacement, thread support, and garbage collection
are supported by a data structure called the object registry. This is a private hash
where every object is stored. An "object" in this sense is any reference (blessed or
unblessed) that has been used as a field hash key.
The object registry keeps track of references that have been used as field hash keys. The
keys are generated from the reference address like in a field hash (though the registry
isn't a field hash). Each value is a weak copy of the original reference, stored in an
"SV" that is itself magical ("PERL_MAGIC_uvar" again). The magical structure holds a list
(another hash, really) of field hashes that the reference has been used with. When the
weakref becomes stale, the magic is activated and uses the list to delete the reference
from all field hashes it has been used with. After that, the entry is removed from the
object registry itself. Implicitly, that frees the magic structure and the storage it has
been using.
Whenever a reference is used as a field hash key, the object registry is checked and a new
entry is made if necessary. The field hash is then added to the list of fields this
reference has used.
The object registry is also used to repair a field hash after thread cloning. Here, the
entire object registry is processed. For every reference found there, the field hashes it
has used are visited and the entry is updated.
Internal function Hash::Util::FieldHash::_fieldhash
# test if %hash is a field hash
my $result = _fieldhash \ %hash, 0;
# make %hash a field hash
my $result = _fieldhash \ %hash, 1;
"_fieldhash" is the internal function used to create field hashes. It takes two
arguments, a hashref and a mode. If the mode is boolean false, the hash is not changed
but tested if it is a field hash. If the hash isn't a field hash the return value is
boolean false. If it is, the return value indicates the mode of field hash. When called
with a boolean true mode, it turns the given hash into a field hash of this mode,
returning the mode of the created field hash. "_fieldhash" does not erase the given hash.
Currently there is only one type of field hash, and only the boolean value of the mode
makes a difference, but that may change.
AUTHOR
Anno Siegel (ANNO) wrote the xs code and the changes in perl proper Jerry Hedden
(JDHEDDEN) made it faster
COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
Copyright (C) 2006-2007 by (Anno Siegel)
This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same
terms as Perl itself, either Perl version 5.8.7 or, at your option, any later version of
Perl 5 you may have available.