Modules API reference¶
Supported languages¶
Currently modules written in C and LuaJIT are supported.
The anatomy of an extension¶
A module is a shared object or script defining specific functions, here’s an overview.
Note — the Modules header documents the module loading and API.
C/Go |
Lua |
Params |
Comment |
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API version |
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Constructor |
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Destructor |
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Configuration |
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List of properties |
- 1
Mandatory symbol.
The X
corresponds to the module name, if the module name is hints
, then the prefix for constructor would be hints_init()
.
Note
The resolution context struct kr_context
holds loaded modules for current context. A module can be registered with kr_context_register()
, which triggers module constructor immediately after the load. Module destructor is automatically called when the resolution context closes.
If the module exports a layer implementation, it is automatically discovered by kr_resolver()
on resolution init and plugged in. The order in which the modules are registered corresponds to the call order of layers.
Writing a module in Lua¶
The probably most convenient way of writing modules is Lua since you can use already installed modules from system and have first-class access to the scripting engine. You can also tap to all the events, that the C API has access to, but keep in mind that transitioning from the C to Lua function is slower than the other way round.
Note
The Lua functions retrieve an additional first parameter compared to the C counterparts - a “state”. There is no Lua wrapper for C structures used in the resolution context, until they’re implemented you can inspect the structures using the ffi library.
The modules follow the Lua way, where the module interface is returned in a named table.
--- @module Count incoming queries
local counter = {}
function counter.init(module)
counter.total = 0
counter.last = 0
counter.failed = 0
end
function counter.deinit(module)
print('counted', counter.total, 'queries')
end
-- @function Run the q/s counter with given interval.
function counter.config(conf)
-- We can use the scripting facilities here
if counter.ev then event.cancel(counter.ev)
event.recurrent(conf.interval, function ()
print(counter.total - counter.last, 'q/s')
counter.last = counter.total
end)
end
return counter
Tip
The API functions may return an integer value just like in other languages, but they may also return a coroutine that will be continued asynchronously. A good use case for this approach is is a deferred initialization, e.g. loading a chunks of data or waiting for I/O.
function counter.init(module)
counter.total = 0
counter.last = 0
counter.failed = 0
return coroutine.create(function ()
for line in io.lines('/etc/hosts') do
load(module, line)
coroutine.yield()
end
end)
end
The created module can be then loaded just like any other module, except it isn’t very useful since it doesn’t provide any layer to capture events. The Lua module can however provide a processing layer, just like its C counterpart.
-- Notice it isn't a function, but a table of functions
counter.layer = {
begin = function (state, data)
counter.total = counter.total + 1
return state
end,
finish = function (state, req, answer)
if state == kres.FAIL then
counter.failed = counter.failed + 1
end
return state
end
}
There is currently an additional “feature” in comparison to C layer functions:
the consume
, produce
and checkout
functions do not get called at all
if state == kres.FAIL
;
note that answer_finalize
and finish
get called nevertheless.
Since the modules are like any other Lua modules, you can interact with them through the CLI and and any interface.
Tip
The module can be placed anywhere in the Lua search path, in the working directory or in the MODULESDIR.
Writing a module in C¶
As almost all the functions are optional, the minimal module looks like this:
#include "lib/module.h"
/* Convenience macro to declare module API. */
KR_MODULE_EXPORT(mymodule)
Let’s define an observer thread for the module as well. It’s going to be stub for the sake of brevity, but you can for example create a condition, and notify the thread from query processing by declaring module layer (see the Writing layers).
static void* observe(void *arg)
{
/* ... do some observing ... */
}
int mymodule_init(struct kr_module *module)
{
/* Create a thread and start it in the background. */
pthread_t thr_id;
int ret = pthread_create(&thr_id, NULL, &observe, NULL);
if (ret != 0) {
return kr_error(errno);
}
/* Keep it in the thread */
module->data = thr_id;
return kr_ok();
}
int mymodule_deinit(struct kr_module *module)
{
/* ... signalize cancellation ... */
void *res = NULL;
pthread_t thr_id = (pthread_t) module->data;
int ret = pthread_join(thr_id, res);
if (ret != 0) {
return kr_error(errno);
}
return kr_ok();
}
This example shows how a module can run in the background, this enables you to, for example, observe and publish data about query resolution.
Configuring modules¶
There is a callback X_config()
that you can implement, see hints module.
Exposing C module properties¶
A module can offer NULL-terminated list of properties, each property is essentially a callable with free-form JSON input/output. JSON was chosen as an interchangeable format that doesn’t require any schema beforehand, so you can do two things - query the module properties from external applications or between modules (i.e. statistics module can query cache module for memory usage). JSON was chosen not because it’s the most efficient protocol, but because it’s easy to read and write and interface to outside world.
Note
The void *env
is a generic module interface. Since we’re implementing daemon modules, the pointer can be cast to struct engine*
.
This is guaranteed by the implemented API version (see Writing a module in C).
Here’s an example how a module can expose its property:
char* get_size(void *env, struct kr_module *m,
const char *args)
{
/* Get cache from engine. */
struct engine *engine = env;
struct kr_cache *cache = &engine->resolver.cache;
/* Read item count */
int count = (cache->api)->count(cache->db);
char *result = NULL;
asprintf(&result, "{ \"result\": %d }", count);
return result;
}
struct kr_prop *cache_props(void)
{
static struct kr_prop prop_list[] = {
/* Callback, Name, Description */
{&get_size, "get_size", "Return number of records."},
{NULL, NULL, NULL}
};
return prop_list;
}
KR_MODULE_EXPORT(cache)
Once you load the module, you can call the module property from the interactive console. Note — the JSON output will be transparently converted to Lua tables.
$ kresd
...
[system] started in interactive mode, type 'help()'
> modules.load('cached')
> cached.get_size()
[size] => 53
Note — this relies on function pointers, so the same static inline
trick as for the Layer()
is required for C/Go.
Special properties¶
If the module declares properties get
or set
, they can be used in the Lua interpreter as
regular tables.