Net::Server::Proto - Net::Server Protocol compatibility layer

  # Net::Server::Proto and its accompianying modules are not
  # intended to be used outside the scope of Net::Server.

  # That being said, here is how you use them.  This is
  # only intended for anybody wishing to extend the
  # protocols to include some other set (ie maybe a 
  # database connection protocol)

  use Net::Server::Proto;

  my $sock = Net::Server::Proto->object(
    $default_host,    # host to use if none found in port
    $port,            # port to connect to
    $default_proto,   # proto to use if none found in port
    $server_obj,      # Net::Server object
    );

  ### Net::Server::Proto will attempt to interface with
  ### sub modules named simillar to Net::Server::Proto::TCP
  ### Individual sub modules will be loaded by
  ### Net::Server::Proto as they are needed.

  use Net::Server::Proto::TCP; # can be TCP/UDP/UNIX/etc

  ### Return an object which is a sub class of IO::Socket
  ### At this point the object is not connected.
  ### The method can gather any other information that it
  ### needs from the server object.
  my $sock = Net::Server::Proto::TCP->object(
    $default_host,    # host to use if none found in port
    $port,            # port to connect to
    $server_obj,      # Net::Server object
    );

  ### Log that a connection is about to occur.
  ### Use the facilities of the passed Net::Server object.
  $sock->log_connect( $server );

  ### Actually bind to port or socket file.  This
  ### is typically done by calling the configure method.
  $sock->connect();

  ### Allow for rebinding to an already open fileno.
  ### Typically will just do an fdopen.
  $sock->reconnect();

  ### Return a unique identifying string for this sock that
  ### can be used when reconnecting.
  my $str = $sock->hup_string();

  ### Return the proto that is being used by this module.
  my $proto = $sock->NS_proto();

Net::Server::Proto is an intermediate module which returns IO::Socket style objects blessed into its own set of classes (ie Net::Server::Proto::TCP, Net::Server::Proto::UNIX).

Only three or four protocols come bundled with Net::Server. TCP, UDP, UNIX, and eventually SSL. TCP is an implementation of SOCK_STREAM across an INET socket. UDP is an implementation of SOCK_DGRAM across an INET socket. UNIX uses a unix style socket file and lets the user choose between SOCK_STREAM and SOCK_DGRAM (the default is SOCK_STREAM). SSL is actually just a layer on top of TCP.

The protocol that is passed to Net::Server can be the name of another module which contains the protocol bindings. If a protocol of MyServer::MyTCP was passed, the socket would be blessed into that class. If Net::Server::Proto::TCP was passed, it would get that class. If a bareword, such as tcp, udp, unix or ssl, is passed, the word is uppercased, and post pended to Net::Server::Proto:: (ie tcp = Net::Server::Proto::TCP).

Protocol names used by the Net::Server::Proto should be sub classes of IO::Socket. These classes should also contain, as a minimum, the following methods:

object

Return an object which is a sub class of IO::Socket At this point the object is not connected. The method can gather any other information that it needs from the server object. Arguments are default_host, port, and a Net::Server style server object.

log_connect

Log that a connection is about to occur. Use the facilities of the passed Net::Server object. This should be an informative string explaining which properties are being used.

connect

Actually bind to port or socket file. This is typically done internally by calling the configure method of the IO::Socket super class.

reconnect

Allow for rebinding to an already open fileno. Typically will just do an fdopen using the IO::Socket super class.

hup_string

Return a unique identifying string for this sock that can be used when reconnecting. This is done to allow information including the file descriptor of the open sockets to be passed via CW%ENV during an exec. This string should always be the same based upon the configuration parameters.

NS_proto

Net::Server protocol. Return the protocol that is being used by this module. This does not have to be a registered or known protocol.

show

Similar to log_connect, but simply shows a listing of which properties were found. Can be used at any time.

The port is the most important argument passed to the sub module classes and to Net::Server::Proto itself. For tcp, udp, and ssl style ports, the form is generally host:port/protocol, host|port|protocol, host/port, or port. For unix the form is generally socket_file|type|unix or socket_file.

You can see what Net::Server::Proto parsed out by looking at the logs to see what log_connect said. You could also include a post_bind_hook similar to the following to debug what happened:

  sub post_bind_hook {
    my $self = shift;
    foreach my $sock ( @{ $self->{server}->{sock} } ){
      $self->log(2,$sock->show);
    }
  }

Rather than try to explain further, please look at the following examples:

  # example 1 ###################################

  $port = "20203";
  $def_host  = "default_domain.com";
  $def_proto = "tcp";
  $obj = Net::Server::Proto->object($def_host,$port,$def_proto);

  # ref      = Net::Server::Proto::TCP
  # NS_host  = default_domain.com
  # NS_port  = 20203
  # NS_proto = TCP

  # example 2 ###################################

  $port = "someother.com:20203";
  $def_host  = "default_domain.com";
  $def_proto = "tcp";
  $obj = Net::Server::Proto->object($def_host,$port,$def_proto);

  # ref      = Net::Server::Proto::TCP
  # NS_host  = someother.com
  # NS_port  = 20203
  # NS_proto = TCP

  # example 3 ###################################

  $port = "someother.com:20203/udp";
  $def_host  = "default_domain.com";
  $def_proto = "tcp";
  $obj = Net::Server::Proto->object($def_host,$port,$def_proto);

  # ref      = Net::Server::Proto::UDP
  # NS_host  = someother.com
  # NS_port  = 20203
  # NS_proto = UDP

  # example 4 ###################################

  $port = "someother.com:20203/Net::Server::Proto::UDP";
  $def_host  = "default_domain.com";
  $def_proto = "TCP";
  $obj = Net::Server::Proto->object($def_host,$port,$def_proto);

  # ref      = Net::Server::Proto::UDP
  # NS_host  = someother.com
  # NS_port  = 20203
  # NS_proto = UDP

  # example 5 ###################################

  $port = "someother.com:20203/MyObject::TCP";
  $def_host  = "default_domain.com";
  $def_proto = "tcp";
  $obj = Net::Server::Proto->object($def_host,$port,$def_proto);

  # ref      = MyObject::TCP
  # NS_host  = someother.com
  # NS_port  = 20203
  # NS_proto = TCP (depends on MyObject::TCP module)

  # example 6 ###################################

  $port = "/tmp/mysock.file|unix";
  $def_host  = "default_domain.com";
  $def_proto = "tcp";
  $obj = Net::Server::Proto->object($def_host,$port,$def_proto);

  # ref      = Net::Server::Proto::UNIX
  # NS_host  = undef
  # NS_port  = undef
  # NS_unix_path = /tmp/mysock.file
  # NS_unix_type = SOCK_STREAM
  # NS_proto = UNIX

  # example 7 ###################################

  $port = "/tmp/mysock.file|".SOCK_DGRAM."|unix";
  $def_host  = "";
  $def_proto = "tcp";
  $obj = Net::Server::Proto->object($def_host,$port,$def_proto);

  # ref      = Net::Server::Proto::UNIX
  # NS_host  = undef
  # NS_port  = undef
  # NS_unix_path = /tmp/mysock.file
  # NS_unix_type = SOCK_DGRAM
  # NS_proto = UNIX

  # example 8 ###################################

  $port = "/tmp/mysock.file|".SOCK_DGRAM."|unix";
  $def_host  = "";
  $def_proto = "UNIX";
  $obj = Net::Server::Proto->object($def_host,$port,$def_proto);

  # ref      = Net::Server::Proto::UNIX
  # NS_host  = undef
  # NS_port  = undef
  # NS_unix_path = /tmp/mysock.file
  # NS_unix_type = SOCK_DGRAM
  # NS_proto = UNIX

Distributed under the same terms as Net::Server