aboutsummaryrefslogtreecommitdiffstats
path: root/lib/kernel/doc/src/disk_log.xml
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
authorBjörn Gustavsson <bjorn@erlang.org>2015-04-14 23:21:36 +0200
committerBjörn Gustavsson <bjorn@erlang.org>2016-03-31 14:24:12 +0200
commit3d70cee4034e4da37d125679345aa2a10c58cb34 (patch)
tree9989c84b7556999bfe48693666e6c74c6f2d54c3 /lib/kernel/doc/src/disk_log.xml
parente9929ee372001f6ce44697c0e71b93fc6db61f9c (diff)
downloadotp-3d70cee4034e4da37d125679345aa2a10c58cb34.tar.gz
otp-3d70cee4034e4da37d125679345aa2a10c58cb34.tar.bz2
otp-3d70cee4034e4da37d125679345aa2a10c58cb34.zip
Update Kernel documentation
Language cleaned up by technical writers from Combitech. Proofreading and corrections by Björn Gustavsson and Hans Bolinder.
Diffstat (limited to 'lib/kernel/doc/src/disk_log.xml')
-rw-r--r--lib/kernel/doc/src/disk_log.xml989
1 files changed, 517 insertions, 472 deletions
diff --git a/lib/kernel/doc/src/disk_log.xml b/lib/kernel/doc/src/disk_log.xml
index 7d4a9687ea..0b6ee1e6a5 100644
--- a/lib/kernel/doc/src/disk_log.xml
+++ b/lib/kernel/doc/src/disk_log.xml
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
<header>
<copyright>
<year>1997</year>
- <year>2013</year>
+ <year>2016</year>
<holder>Ericsson AB, All Rights Reserved</holder>
</copyright>
<legalnotice>
@@ -35,149 +35,174 @@
<file>disk_log.sgml</file>
</header>
<module>disk_log</module>
- <modulesummary>A disk based term logging facility</modulesummary>
+ <modulesummary>A disk-based term logging facility.</modulesummary>
<description>
- <p><c>disk_log</c> is a disk based term logger which makes
- it possible to efficiently log items on files.
- Two types of logs are supported,
- <em>halt logs</em> and <em>wrap logs</em>. 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.
- </p>
- <p>Two formats of the log files are supported, the <em>internal format</em> and the <em>external format</em>. 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 <em>chunks</em> 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).
- </p>
- <p>For each open disk log there is one process that handles requests
- made to the disk log; the disk log process is created when <c>open/1</c>
+ <p><c>disk_log</c> is a disk-based term logger that enables
+ efficient logging of items on files.</p>
+ <p>Two types of logs are supported:</p>
+ <taglist>
+ <tag>halt logs</tag>
+ <item><p>Appends items to a single file, which size can
+ be limited by the disk log module.</p></item>
+ <tag>wrap logs</tag>
+ <item><p>Uses a sequence of wrap log files of limited size. As a
+ wrap log file is filled up, further items are logged on to the next
+ file in the sequence, starting all over with the first file when
+ the last file is filled up.</p></item>
+ </taglist>
+ <p>For efficiency reasons, items are always written to files as binaries.</p>
+
+ <p>Two formats of the log files are supported:</p>
+ <taglist>
+ <tag>internal format</tag>
+ <item><p>Supports automatic repair of log files that are not
+ properly closed and enables efficient reading of logged items in
+ <em>chunks</em> using a set of functions defined in this module.
+ This is the only way to read internally 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).</p></item>
+ <tag>external format</tag>
+ <item><p>Leaves it up to the user to read the logged deep byte lists.
+ The disk log module cannot repair externally formatted logs.</p></item>
+ </taglist>
+
+ <p>For each open disk log, one process handles requests
+ made to the disk log. This process is created when
+ <seealso marker="#open/1"><c>open/1</c></seealso>
is called, provided there exists no process handling the disk log.
- A process that opens a disk log can either be an <em>owner</em>
+ A process that opens a disk log can be an <em>owner</em>
or an anonymous <em>user</em> 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 <em>notifications</em>,
- messages of the form <c>{disk_log, Node, Log, Info}</c> that are sent
+ linked to the disk log process, and an owner can close the disk log
+ either explicitly (by calling <c>close/1</c> or <c>lclose/1,2</c>)
+ or by terminating.</p>
+ <p>Owners can subscribe to <em>notifications</em>,
+ messages of the form <c>{disk_log, Node, Log, Info}</c>, which are sent
from the disk log process when certain events occur, see
- the commands below and in particular the <c>open/1</c> option
- <seealso marker="#notify">notify</seealso>.
- 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.
+ the functions and in particular the <c>open/1</c> option
+ <seealso marker="#notify"><c>notify</c></seealso>.
+ A log can have many owners, but a process cannot own a
+ log more than once. However, the same process can open the log
+ as a user more than once.</p>
+ <p>For a disk log process to close its file properly 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.
</p>
- <p>Items can be logged <em>synchronously</em> by using the functions
- <c>log/2</c>, <c>blog/2</c>, <c>log_terms/2</c> and
- <c>blog_terms/2</c>. For each of these functions, the caller is put
- on hold until the items have been logged (but not necessarily
+ <p>Items can be logged <em>synchronously</em> by using functions
+ <seealso marker="#log/2"><c>log/2</c></seealso>,
+ <seealso marker="#blog/2"><c>blog/2</c></seealso>,
+ <seealso marker="#log_terms/2"><c>log_terms/2</c></seealso>, and
+ <seealso marker="#blog_terms/2"><c>blog_terms/2</c></seealso>.
+ For each of these functions, the caller is put
+ on hold until the items are logged (but not necessarily
written, use <c>sync/1</c> to ensure that). By adding an <c>a</c>
- to each of the mentioned function names we get functions that log
+ to each of the mentioned function names, we get functions that log
items <em>asynchronously</em>. Asynchronous functions do not wait for
- the disk log process to actually write the items to the file, but
+ the disk log process to write the items to the file, but
return the control to the caller more or less immediately.
</p>
- <p>When using the internal format for logs, the functions
- <c>log/2</c>, <c>log_terms/2</c>, <c>alog/2</c>, and
- <c>alog_terms/2</c> should be used. These functions log one or
- more Erlang terms. By prefixing each of the functions with
- a <c>b</c> (for "binary") we get the corresponding <c>blog</c>
- 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 <c>"hello"</c> in ASCII format, we
+ <p>When using the internal format for logs, use functions
+ <seealso marker="#log/2"><c>log/2</c></seealso>,
+ <seealso marker="#log_terms/2"><c>log_terms/2</c></seealso>,
+ <seealso marker="#alog/2"><c>alog/2</c></seealso>, and
+ <seealso marker="#alog_terms/2"><c>alog_terms/2</c></seealso>.
+ These functions log one or more Erlang terms.
+ By prefixing each of the functions with a <c>b</c> (for "binary"),
+ we get the corresponding <c>blog()</c> 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 <c>"hello"</c> in ASCII format, you
can use <c>disk_log:blog(Log, "hello")</c>, or
<c>disk_log:blog(Log, list_to_binary("hello"))</c>. The two
- alternatives are equally efficient. The <c>blog</c> functions
- can be used for internally formatted logs as well, but in
- this case they must be called with binaries constructed with
- calls to <c>term_to_binary/1</c>. There is no check to ensure
+ alternatives are equally efficient.</p>
+ <p>The <c>blog()</c> functions can also be used for internally formatted
+ logs, but in this case they must be called with binaries constructed
+ with calls to
+ <seealso marker="erts:erlang#term_to_binary/1"><c>term_to_binary/1</c></seealso>.
+ 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 <c>chunk/2,3</c> and automatic repair
- functions will fail. The corresponding terms (not the binaries)
- will be returned when <c>chunk/2,3</c> is called.
+ Erlang terms, the
+ <seealso marker="#chunk/2"><c>chunk/2,3</c></seealso>
+ and automatic repair
+ functions fail. The corresponding terms (not the binaries)
+ are returned when <c>chunk/2,3</c> is called.
</p>
<p>A collection of open disk logs with the same name running on
- different nodes is said to be a <em>a distributed disk log</em>
- 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
+ different nodes is said to be a <em>distributed disk log</em>
+ if requests made to any of the logs are automatically made to
+ the other logs as well. The members of such a collection are
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
- <c>info</c>, <c>chunk</c>, <c>bchunk</c>, <c>chunk_step</c> and
- <c>lclose</c>. An open disk log that is not a distributed disk
+ between the members of such a collection. For example, logged
+ terms are not necessarily written to the node where the
+ request was made before written to the other nodes. However,
+ a few functions do not make requests to all
+ members of distributed disk logs, namely
+ <seealso marker="#info/1"><c>info/1</c></seealso>,
+ <seealso marker="#chunk/2"><c>chunk/2,3</c></seealso>,
+ <seealso marker="#bchunk/2"><c>bchunk/2,3</c></seealso>,
+ <seealso marker="#chunk_step/3"><c>chunk_step/3</c></seealso>, and
+ <seealso marker="#lclose/1"><c>lclose/1,2</c></seealso>.</p>
+ <p>An open disk log that is not a distributed disk
log is said to be a <em>local disk log</em>. A local disk log is
- accessible only from the node where the disk log process runs,
+ only accessible 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
+ the Erlang system, except 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
+ distributed disk log can log items or otherwise change, inspect,
or close the log.
</p>
<p>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
+ contain the same log items. No attempt is 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.
+ the involved nodes is alive at each time, all items are 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 <c>nonode</c> error.
</p>
<note>
- <p>In some applications it may not be acceptable that
+ <p>In some applications, it can be unacceptable that
replies from individual logs are ignored. An alternative in such
- situations is to use several local disk logs instead of one
+ situations is to use many local disk logs instead of one
distributed disk log, and implement the distribution without use
- of the disk log module.</p>
+ of the <c>disk_log</c> module.</p>
</note>
<p>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
+ and other uses of the <c>disk_log</c> module. When used synchronously,
+ this module replies with an error message, but when called
+ asynchronously, this module does not know where to send
+ the error message. Instead, owners subscribing to notifications
receive an <c>error_status</c> message.
</p>
- <p>The disk log module itself does not report errors to the
- <c>error_logger</c> module; it is up to the caller to decide
- whether the error logger should be employed or not. The function
- <c>format_error/1</c> 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.
+ <p>The <c>disk_log</c> module does not report errors to the
+ <seealso marker="error_logger"><c>error_logger</c></seealso>
+ module. It is up to the caller to decide
+ whether to employ the error logger. Function
+ <seealso marker="#format_error/1"><c>format_error/1</c></seealso>
+ can be used to produce readable messages from error replies.
+ However, information events are sent to the error logger in two
+ situations, namely when a log is repaired, or when a file is missing
+ while reading chunks.
</p>
- <p>The error message <c>no_such_log</c> means that the given
- disk log is not currently open. Nothing is said about
- whether the disk log files exist or not.
+ <p>Error message <c>no_such_log</c> means that the specified
+ disk log is not open. Nothing is said about whether the disk log
+ files exist or not.
</p>
<note>
<p>If an attempt to reopen or truncate a log fails (see
- <c>reopen</c> and <c>truncate</c>) the disk log process
- immediately terminates. Before the process terminates links to
- to owners and blocking processes (see <c>block</c>) 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
- <c>no_such_log</c> if some other process might truncate or
- reopen the log simultaneously.</p>
+ <seealso marker="#reopen/2"><c>reopen/2,3</c></seealso>
+ and
+ <seealso marker ="#truncate/1"><c>truncate/1,2</c></seealso>)
+ the disk log process terminates immediately. Before the process
+ terminates, links to owners and blocking processes (see
+ <seealso marker="#block/1"><c>block/1,2</c></seealso>) are removed.
+ The effect is that the links work in one direction only. Any
+ process using a disk log must check for error message
+ <c>no_such_log</c> if some other process truncates or
+ reopens the log simultaneously.</p>
</note>
</description>
<datatypes>
@@ -221,11 +246,10 @@
<funcs>
<func>
<name name="accessible_logs" arity="0"/>
- <fsummary>Return the accessible disk logs on the current node.</fsummary>
+ <fsummary>Return the accessible disk logs on the current node.</fsummary>
<desc>
- <p>The <c>accessible_logs/0</c> function returns
- the names of the disk logs accessible on the current node.
- The first list contains local disk logs, and the
+ <p>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.
</p>
</desc>
@@ -233,55 +257,55 @@
<func>
<name name="alog" arity="2"/>
<name name="balog" arity="2"/>
- <fsummary>Asynchronously log an item onto a disk log.</fsummary>
+ <fsummary>Asynchronously log an item on to a disk log.</fsummary>
<type variable="Log"/>
<type variable="Term" name_i="1"/>
<type variable="Bytes"/>
<type name="notify_ret"/>
<desc>
- <p>The <c>alog/2</c> and <c>balog/2</c> functions asynchronously
- append an item to a disk log. The function <c>alog/2</c> is
- used for internally formatted logs, and the function <c>balog/2</c>
- for externally formatted logs. <c>balog/2</c> can be used
- for internally formatted logs as well provided the binary was
- constructed with a call to <c>term_to_binary/1</c>.
+ <p>Asynchronously append an item to a disk log. <c>alog/2</c> is
+ used for internally formatted logs and <c>balog/2</c>
+ for externally formatted logs. <c>balog/2</c> can also be used
+ for internally formatted logs if the binary is
+ constructed with a call to
+ <seealso marker="erts:erlang#term_to_binary/1"><c>term_to_binary/1</c></seealso>.
</p>
- <p>The owners that subscribe to notifications will receive the
- message <c>read_only</c>, <c>blocked_log</c>
- or <c>format_external</c> in case the item cannot be written
+ <p>Owners subscribing to notifications receive
+ message <c>read_only</c>, <c>blocked_log</c>,
+ or <c>format_external</c> if the item cannot be written
on the log, and possibly one of the messages <c>wrap</c>,
- <c>full</c> and <c>error_status</c> if an item was written
- on the log. The message <c>error_status</c> is sent if there
- is something wrong with the header function or a file error
- occurred.
+ <c>full</c>, or <c>error_status</c> if an item is written
+ on the log. Message <c>error_status</c> is sent if
+ something is wrong with the header function or if a file error
+ occurs.
</p>
</desc>
</func>
<func>
<name name="alog_terms" arity="2"/>
<name name="balog_terms" arity="2"/>
- <fsummary>Asynchronously log several items onto a disk log.</fsummary>
+ <fsummary>Asynchronously log many items on to a disk log.</fsummary>
<type variable="Log"/>
<type variable="TermList" name_i="1"/>
<type variable="ByteList"/>
<type name="notify_ret"/>
<desc>
- <p>The <c>alog_terms/2</c> and <c>balog_terms/2</c> functions
- asynchronously append a list of items to a disk log.
- The function <c>alog_terms/2</c> is used for internally
- formatted logs, and the function <c>balog_terms/2</c>
- for externally formatted logs. <c>balog_terms/2</c> can be used
- for internally formatted logs as well provided the binaries were
- constructed with calls to <c>term_to_binary/1</c>.
+ <p>Asynchronously append a list of items to a disk log.
+ <c>alog_terms/2</c> is used for internally
+ formatted logs and <c>balog_terms/2</c>
+ for externally formatted logs. <c>balog_terms/2</c> can also be used
+ for internally formatted logs if the binaries are
+ constructed with calls to
+ <seealso marker="erts:erlang#term_to_binary/1"><c>term_to_binary/1</c></seealso>.
</p>
- <p>The owners that subscribe to notifications will receive the
- message <c>read_only</c>, <c>blocked_log</c>
- or <c>format_external</c> in case the items cannot be written
+ <p>Owners subscribing to notifications receive
+ message <c>read_only</c>, <c>blocked_log</c>,
+ or <c>format_external</c> if the items cannot be written
on the log, and possibly one or more of the messages <c>wrap</c>,
- <c>full</c> and <c>error_status</c> if items were written
- on the log. The message <c>error_status</c> is sent if there
- is something wrong with the header function or a file error
- occurred.
+ <c>full</c>, and <c>error_status</c> if items are written
+ on the log. Message <c>error_status</c> is sent if
+ something is wrong with the header function or if a file error
+ occurs.
</p>
</desc>
</func>
@@ -294,76 +318,75 @@
<p>With a call to <c>block/1,2</c> 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
+ process. The link ensures that the disk log is
+ unblocked if the blocking process terminates without
first closing or unblocking the log.
</p>
<p>Any process can probe a blocked log with <c>info/1</c> or
close it with <c>close/1</c>. The blocking process can also
- use the functions <c>chunk/2,3</c>, <c>bchunk/2,3</c>,
+ use functions <c>chunk/2,3</c>, <c>bchunk/2,3</c>,
<c>chunk_step/3</c>, and <c>unblock/1</c> 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
+ affected by the block. Any other attempt than those
+ mentioned so far to update or read a blocked log suspends the
+ calling process until the log is unblocked or returns
error message <c>{blocked_log, <anno>Log</anno>}</c>, depending on
whether the value of <c><anno>QueueLogRecords</anno></c> is <c>true</c>
- or <c>false</c>. The default value of <c><anno>QueueLogRecords</anno></c>
- is <c>true</c>, which is used by <c>block/1</c>.
+ or <c>false</c>. <c><anno>QueueLogRecords</anno></c> defaults to
+ <c>true</c>, which is used by <c>block/1</c>.
</p>
</desc>
</func>
<func>
<name name="change_header" arity="2"/>
- <fsummary>Change the head or head_func option for an owner of a disk log.</fsummary>
+ <fsummary>Change option head or head_func for an owner of a disk log.</fsummary>
<desc>
- <p>The <c>change_header/2</c> function changes the value of
- the <c>head</c> or <c>head_func</c> option of a disk log.</p>
+ <p>Changes the value of option <c>head</c> or <c>head_func</c> for an owner of a disk log.</p>
</desc>
</func>
<func>
<name name="change_notify" arity="3"/>
- <fsummary>Change the notify option for an owner of a disk log.</fsummary>
+ <fsummary>Change option notify for an owner of a disk log.</fsummary>
<desc>
- <p>The <c>change_notify/3</c> function changes the value of the
- <c>notify</c> option for an owner of a disk log. </p>
+ <p>Changes the value of option <c>notify</c> for an owner of a disk log. </p>
</desc>
</func>
<func>
<name name="change_size" arity="2"/>
<fsummary>Change the size of an open disk log.</fsummary>
<desc>
- <p>The <c>change_size/2</c> 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.
+ <p>Changes the size of an open log.
+ For a halt log, the size can always be increased,
+ but it cannot be decreased to something less than
+ the current file size.
</p>
- <p>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
+ <p>For a wrap log, both the size and the number of files can always
+ be increased, 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
+ change is not 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.
+ The redundant files are removed the next time the log wraps around,
+ that is, starts to log to file number 1.
</p>
<p>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
+ of files, files 7-10 are removed when file 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
+ Otherwise, the files greater than the current
+ file are removed when the current file is full (for example, if
+ the current file is 8, files 9 and 10 are removed). The files between
+ the new maximum number of files and the current
+ file (that is, files 7 and 8) are removed the next time file 6
is full.
</p>
- <p>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.
+ <p>If the size of the files is decreased, the change immediately
+ affects the current log. It does not change the
+ size of log files already full until the next time they are used.
</p>
- <p>If the log size is decreased for instance to save space,
- the function <c>inc_wrap_file/1</c> can be used to force the log
- to wrap.
+ <p>If the log size is decreased, for example, to save space,
+ function
+ <seealso marker="#inc_wrap_file/1"><c>inc_wrap_file/1</c></seealso>
+ can be used to force the log to wrap.
</p>
</desc>
</func>
@@ -380,93 +403,85 @@
<type name="bchunk_ret"/>
<type name="chunk_error_rsn"/>
<desc>
- <p>The <c>chunk/2,3</c> and <c>bchunk/2,3</c> 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
- <c>bchunk/2,3</c> functions return the binaries read from
- the file; they do not call <c>binary_to_term</c>. Otherwise
- the work just like <c>chunk/2,3</c>.
+ <p>Efficiently reads the terms that are appended
+ to an internally formatted log. It minimizes disk
+ I/O by reading 64 kilobyte chunks from the file. Functions
+ <c>bchunk/2,3</c> return the binaries read from
+ the file, they do not call <c>binary_to_term()</c>. Apart from that,
+ they work just like <c>chunk/2,3</c>.
</p>
- <p>The first time <c>chunk</c> (or <c>bchunk</c>) is called,
+ <p>The first time <c>chunk()</c> (or <c>bchunk()</c>) is called,
an initial continuation, the atom <c>start</c>, must be
- provided. If there is a disk log process running on the
- current node, terms are read from that log, otherwise an
+ provided. If a disk log process is 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.
</p>
<p>When <c>chunk/3</c> is called, <c><anno>N</anno></c> controls the
maximum number of terms that are read from the log in each
- chunk. Default is <c>infinity</c>, which means that all the
+ chunk. Defaults to <c>infinity</c>, which means that all the
terms contained in the 64 kilobyte chunk are read. If less than
<c><anno>N</anno></c> terms are returned, this does not necessarily mean
- that the end of the file has been reached.
+ that the end of the file is reached.
</p>
- <p>The <c>chunk</c> function returns a tuple
- <c>{<anno>Continuation2</anno>, <anno>Terms</anno>}</c>, where <c><anno>Terms</anno></c> is a list
+ <p><c>chunk()</c> returns a tuple
+ <c>{<anno>Continuation2</anno>, <anno>Terms</anno>}</c>, where
+ <c><anno>Terms</anno></c> is a list
of terms found in the log. <c><anno>Continuation2</anno></c> is yet
- another continuation which must be passed on to any
- subsequent calls to <c>chunk</c>. With a series of calls to
- <c>chunk</c> it is possible to extract all terms from a log.
+ another continuation, which must be passed on to any
+ subsequent calls to <c>chunk()</c>. With a series of calls to
+ <c>chunk()</c>, all terms from a log can be extracted.
</p>
- <p>The <c>chunk</c> function returns a tuple
- <c>{<anno>Continuation2</anno>, <anno>Terms</anno>, <anno>Badbytes</anno>}</c> if the log is opened
- in read-only mode and the read chunk is corrupt. <c><anno>Badbytes</anno></c>
- 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.
+ <p><c>chunk()</c> returns a tuple
+ <c>{<anno>Continuation2</anno>, <anno>Terms</anno>, <anno>Badbytes</anno>}</c>
+ if the log is opened in read-only mode and the read chunk is corrupt.
+ <c><anno>Badbytes</anno></c> is the number of bytes in the file found not to be
+ Erlang terms in the chunk. Notice that the log is not repaired.
When trying to read chunks from a log opened in read-write mode,
- the tuple <c>{corrupt_log_file, <anno>FileName</anno>}</c> is returned if the
+ tuple <c>{corrupt_log_file, <anno>FileName</anno>}</c> is returned if the
read chunk is corrupt.
</p>
- <p><c>chunk</c> returns <c>eof</c> when the end of the log is
- reached, or <c>{error, <anno>Reason</anno>}</c> if an error occurs. Should
- a wrap log file be missing, a message is output on the error log.
+ <p><c>chunk()</c> returns <c>eof</c> when the end of the log is
+ reached, or <c>{error, <anno>Reason</anno>}</c> if an error occurs. If
+ a wrap log file is missing, a message is output on the error log.
</p>
<p>When <c>chunk/2,3</c> is used with wrap logs, the returned
- continuation may or may not be valid in the next call to
- <c>chunk</c>. 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.
+ continuation might not be valid in the next call to
+ <c>chunk()</c>. This is because the log can wrap and delete
+ the file into which the continuation points. To prevent this,
+ the log can be blocked during the search.
</p>
</desc>
</func>
<func>
<name name="chunk_info" arity="1"/>
- <fsummary>Return information about a chunk continuation of a disk log.</fsummary>
+ <fsummary>Return information about a chunk continuation of a disk log.</fsummary>
<desc>
- <p>The <c>chunk_info/1</c> function returns the following pair
+ <p>Returns the pair <c>{node, <anno>Node</anno>}</c>,
describing the chunk continuation returned by
- <c>chunk/2,3</c>, <c>bchunk/2,3</c>, or <c>chunk_step/3</c>:
- </p>
- <list type="bulleted">
- <item>
- <p><c>{node, <anno>Node</anno>}</c>. Terms are read from
- the disk log running on <c><anno>Node</anno></c>.</p>
- </item>
- </list>
+ <c>chunk/2,3</c>, <c>bchunk/2,3</c>, or <c>chunk_step/3</c>.</p>
+ <p>Terms are read from the disk log running on <c><anno>Node</anno></c>.</p>
</desc>
</func>
<func>
<name name="chunk_step" arity="3"/>
- <fsummary>Step forward or backward among the wrap log files of a disk log.</fsummary>
+ <fsummary>Step forward or backward among the wrap log files of a disk log.</fsummary>
<desc>
- <p>The function <c>chunk_step</c> can be used in conjunction
- with <c>chunk/2,3</c> and <c>bchunk/2,3</c> to search
- through an internally formatted wrap log. It takes as
+ <p>Can be used with <c>chunk/2,3</c> and <c>bchunk/2,3</c>
+ to search through an internally formatted wrap log. It takes as
argument a continuation as returned by <c>chunk/2,3</c>,
<c>bchunk/2,3</c>, or <c>chunk_step/3</c>, and steps forward
(or backward) <c><anno>Step</anno></c> files in the wrap log. The
- continuation returned points to the first log item in the
+ continuation returned, points to the first log item in the
new current file.
</p>
- <p>If the atom <c>start</c> is given as continuation, a disk log
+ <p>If atom <c>start</c> is specified 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.
</p>
- <p>If the wrap log is not full because all files have not been
- used yet, <c>{error, end_of_log}</c> is returned if trying to
+ <p>If the wrap log is not full because all files are not yet
+ used, <c>{error, end_of_log}</c> is returned if trying to
step outside the log.
</p>
</desc>
@@ -476,21 +491,20 @@
<fsummary>Close a disk log.</fsummary>
<type name="close_error_rsn"/>
<desc>
- <p><marker id="close_1"></marker>The function <c>close/1</c> closes a
+ <p><marker id="close_1"></marker>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
+ stopped. Otherwise, the log is regarded as unclosed and the
+ automatic repair procedure is activated next time the
log is opened.
</p>
- <p>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 <c>users</c>
+ <p>The disk log process is not terminated as long as there are
+ owners or users of the log. All owners must close the log,
+ possibly by terminating. Also, any other process, not only the processes
+ that have opened the log anonymously, can decrement the <c>users</c>
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.
+ not an owner are ignored if there are no users.
</p>
<p>If the log is blocked by the closing process, the log is also
unblocked.
@@ -499,12 +513,14 @@
</func>
<func>
<name name="format_error" arity="1"/>
- <fsummary>Return an English description of a disk log error reply.</fsummary>
+ <fsummary>Return an English description of a disk log error reply.</fsummary>
<desc>
<p>Given the error returned by any function in this module,
- the function <c>format_error</c> returns a descriptive string
- of the error in English. For file errors, the function
- <c>format_error/1</c> in the <c>file</c> module is called.</p>
+ this function returns a descriptive string
+ of the error in English. For file errors, function
+ <c>format_error/1</c> in module
+ <seealso marker="file#format_error/1"><c>file</c></seealso>
+ is called.</p>
</desc>
</func>
<func>
@@ -513,16 +529,15 @@
<type name="inc_wrap_error_rsn"/>
<type name="invalid_header"/>
<desc>
- <p>The <c>inc_wrap_file/1</c> function forces the internally formatted
- disk log to start logging to the
- next log file. It can be used, for instance, in conjunction with
+ <p>Forces the internally formatted disk log to start logging to the
+ next log file. It can be used, for example, with
<c>change_size/2</c> to reduce the amount of disk space allocated
by the disk log.
</p>
- <p>The owners that subscribe to notifications will normally
- receive a <c>wrap</c> message, but in case of
- an error with a reason tag of <c>invalid_header</c> or
- <c>file_error</c> an <c>error_status</c> message will be sent.</p>
+ <p>Owners subscribing to notifications normally
+ receive a <c>wrap</c> message, but if
+ an error occurs with a reason tag of <c>invalid_header</c> or
+ <c>file_error</c>, an <c>error_status</c> message is sent.</p>
</desc>
</func>
<func>
@@ -530,132 +545,148 @@
<fsummary>Return information about a disk log.</fsummary>
<type name="dlog_info"/>
<desc>
- <p>The <c>info/1</c> function returns a list of <c>{Tag, Value}</c>
- 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.
+ <p>Returns a list of <c>{Tag, Value}</c> pairs describing the log.
+ If a disk log process is 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.
</p>
<p>The following pairs are returned for all logs:
</p>
- <list type="bulleted">
+ <taglist>
+ <tag><c>{name, <anno>Log</anno>}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{name, <anno>Log</anno>}</c>, where <c><anno>Log</anno></c> is the name of
- the log as given by the <c>open/1</c> option <c>name</c>.</p>
+ <p><c><anno>Log</anno></c> is the log name
+ as specified by the <c>open/1</c> option <c>name</c>.</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{file, <anno>File</anno>}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{file, <anno>File</anno>}</c>. For halt logs <c><anno>File</anno></c> is the
+ <p>For halt logs <c><anno>File</anno></c> is the
filename, and for wrap logs <c><anno>File</anno></c> is the base name.</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{type, <anno>Type</anno>}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{type, <anno>Type</anno>}</c>, where <c><anno>Type</anno></c> is the type of
- the log as given by the <c>open/1</c> option <c>type</c>.</p>
+ <p><c><anno>Type</anno></c> is the log type
+ as specified by the <c>open/1</c> option <c>type</c>.</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{format, <anno>Format</anno>}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{format, <anno>Format</anno>}</c>, where <c><anno>Format</anno></c> is the format
- of the log as given by the <c>open/1</c> option <c>format</c>.</p>
+ <p><c><anno>Format</anno></c> is the log format
+ as specified by the <c>open/1</c> option <c>format</c>.</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{size, <anno>Size</anno>}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{size, <anno>Size</anno>}</c>, where <c><anno>Size</anno></c> is the size
- of the log as given by the <c>open/1</c> option <c>size</c>,
+ <p><c><anno>Size</anno></c> is the log size
+ as specified by the <c>open/1</c> option <c>size</c>,
or the size set by <c>change_size/2</c>. The value set by
<c>change_size/2</c> is reflected immediately.</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{mode, <anno>Mode</anno>}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{mode, <anno>Mode</anno>}</c>, where <c><anno>Mode</anno></c> is the mode
- of the log as given by the <c>open/1</c> option <c>mode</c>.</p>
+ <p><c><anno>Mode</anno></c> is the log mode
+ as specified by the <c>open/1</c> option <c>mode</c>.</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{owners, [{pid(), <anno>Notify</anno>}]}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{owners, [{pid(), <anno>Notify</anno>}]}</c> where <c><anno>Notify</anno></c>
+ <p><c><anno>Notify</anno></c>
is the value set by the <c>open/1</c> option <c>notify</c>
- or the function <c>change_notify/3</c> for the owners of
+ or function <c>change_notify/3</c> for the owners of
the log.</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{users, <anno>Users</anno>}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{users, <anno>Users</anno>}</c> where <c><anno>Users</anno></c> is the number
+ <p><c><anno>Users</anno></c> is the number
of anonymous users of the log, see the <c>open/1</c> option
- <seealso marker="#linkto">linkto</seealso>.</p>
+ <seealso marker="#linkto"><c>linkto</c></seealso>.</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{status, <anno>Status</anno>}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{status, <anno>Status</anno>}</c>, where <c><anno>Status</anno></c> is <c>ok</c>
- or <c>{blocked, <anno>QueueLogRecords</anno>}</c> as set by the functions
+ <p><c><anno>Status</anno></c> is <c>ok</c>
+ or <c>{blocked, <anno>QueueLogRecords</anno>}</c> as set by functions
<c>block/1,2</c> and <c>unblock/1</c>.</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{node, <anno>Node</anno>}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{node, <anno>Node</anno>}</c>. The information returned by the
- current invocation of the <c>info/1</c> function has been
+ <p>The information returned by the
+ current invocation of function <c>info/1</c> is
gathered from the disk log process running on <c><anno>Node</anno></c>.</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{distributed, <anno>Dist</anno>}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{distributed, <anno>Dist</anno>}</c>. If the log is local on
- the current node, then <c><anno>Dist</anno></c> has the value <c>local</c>,
+ <p>If the log is local on
+ the current node, <c><anno>Dist</anno></c> has the value <c>local</c>,
otherwise all nodes where the log is distributed
are returned as a list.</p>
</item>
- </list>
+ </taglist>
<p>The following pairs are returned for all logs opened in
<c>read_write</c> mode:
</p>
- <list type="bulleted">
+ <taglist>
+ <tag><c>{head, <anno>Head</anno>}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{head, <anno>Head</anno>}</c>. Depending of the value of
- the <c>open/1</c> options <c>head</c> and <c>head_func</c>
- or set by the function <c>change_header/2</c>, the value
+ <p>Depending on the value of
+ the <c>open/1</c> options <c>head</c> and <c>head_func</c>,
+ or set by function <c>change_header/2</c>, the value
of <c><anno>Head</anno></c> is <c>none</c> (default),
- <c>{head, H}</c> (<c>head</c> option) or <c>{M,F,A}</c>
+ <c>{head, H}</c> (<c>head</c> option), or <c>{M,F,A}</c>
(<c>head_func</c> option).</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{no_written_items, <anno>NoWrittenItems</anno>}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{no_written_items, <anno>NoWrittenItems</anno>}</c>, where
- <c><anno>NoWrittenItems</anno></c> is the number of items
+ <p><c><anno>NoWrittenItems</anno></c> is the number of items
written to the log since the disk log process was created.</p>
</item>
- </list>
+ </taglist>
<p>The following pair is returned for halt logs opened in
<c>read_write</c> mode:
</p>
- <list type="bulleted">
+ <taglist>
+ <tag><c>{full, <anno>Full</anno>}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{full, <anno>Full</anno>}</c>, where <c><anno>Full</anno></c> is <c>true</c> or
+ <p><c><anno>Full</anno></c> is <c>true</c> or
<c>false</c> depending on whether the halt log is full or not.</p>
</item>
- </list>
+ </taglist>
<p>The following pairs are returned for wrap logs opened in
<c>read_write</c> mode:
</p>
- <list type="bulleted">
+ <taglist>
+ <tag><c>{no_current_bytes, integer() >= 0}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{no_current_bytes, integer() >= 0}</c> is the number
+ <p>The number
of bytes written to the current wrap log file.</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{no_current_items, integer() >= 0}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{no_current_items, integer() >= 0}</c> is the number
+ <p>The number
of items written to the current wrap log file, header
inclusive.</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{no_items, integer() >= 0}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{no_items, integer() >= 0}</c> is the total number
+ <p>The total number
of items in all wrap log files.</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{current_file, integer()}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{current_file, integer()}</c> is the ordinal for
+ <p>The ordinal for
the current wrap log file in the range <c>1..MaxNoFiles</c>,
- where <c>MaxNoFiles</c> is given by the <c>open/1</c> option
+ where <c>MaxNoFiles</c> is specified by the <c>open/1</c> option
<c>size</c> or set by <c>change_size/2</c>.</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{no_overflows, {<anno>SinceLogWasOpened</anno>, <anno>SinceLastInfo</anno>}}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{no_overflows, {<anno>SinceLogWasOpened</anno>, <anno>SinceLastInfo</anno>}}</c>,
- where <c><anno>SinceLogWasOpened</anno></c> (<c><anno>SinceLastInfo</anno></c>) is
- the number of times a wrap log file has been filled up and a
- new one opened or <c>inc_wrap_file/1</c> has been called since
+ <p><c><anno>SinceLogWasOpened</anno></c> (<c><anno>SinceLastInfo</anno></c>)
+ is the number of times a wrap log file has been filled up and a
+ new one is opened or <c>inc_wrap_file/1</c> has been called since
the disk log was last opened (<c>info/1</c>
was last called). The first time <c>info/2</c> is called
after a log was (re)opened or truncated, the two values
are equal.</p>
</item>
- </list>
- <p>Note that the <c>chunk/2,3</c>, <c>bchunk/2,3</c>, and
- <c>chunk_step/3</c> functions do not affect any value
+ </taglist>
+ <p>Notice that functions <c>chunk/2,3</c>, <c>bchunk/2,3</c>, and
+ <c>chunk_step/3</c> do not affect any value
returned by <c>info/1</c>.
</p>
</desc>
@@ -666,17 +697,16 @@
<fsummary>Close a disk log on one node.</fsummary>
<type name="lclose_error_rsn"/>
<desc>
- <p>The function <c>lclose/1</c> closes a local log or an
- individual distributed log on the current node.
- The function <c>lclose/2</c> closes an individual
- distributed log on the specified node if the node
- is not the current one.
- <c>lclose(<anno>Log</anno>)</c> is equivalent to
+ <p><c>lclose/1</c> closes a local log or an individual distributed
+ log on the current node.</p>
+ <p><c>lclose/2</c> closes an individual distributed log on the
+ specified node if the node is not the current one.</p>
+ <p><c>lclose(<anno>Log</anno>)</c> is equivalent to
<c>lclose(<anno>Log</anno>,&nbsp;node())</c>.
- See also <seealso marker="#close_1">close/1</seealso>.
+ See also <seealso marker="#close_1"><c>close/1</c></seealso>.
</p>
- <p>If there is no log with the given name
- on the specified node, <c>no_such_log</c> is returned.
+ <p>If no log with the specified name exist on the specified node,
+ <c>no_such_log</c> is returned.
</p>
</desc>
</func>
@@ -689,25 +719,27 @@
<type variable="Bytes"/>
<type name="log_error_rsn"/>
<desc>
- <p>The <c>log/2</c> and <c>blog/2</c> functions synchronously
- append a term to a disk log. They return <c>ok</c> or
- <c>{error, <anno>Reason</anno>}</c> when the term has been written to
- disk. If the log is distributed, <c>ok</c> is always
- returned, unless all nodes are down. Terms are written by
- means of the ordinary <c>write()</c> 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 <c>sync/1</c> function
+ <p>Synchronously
+ appends a term to a disk log. Returns <c>ok</c> or
+ <c>{error, <anno>Reason</anno>}</c> when the term is written to
+ disk. If the log is distributed, <c>ok</c> is returned,
+ unless all nodes are down. Terms are written by
+ the ordinary <c>write()</c> function of the
+ operating system. Hence, it is not guaranteed that the term
+ is written to disk, it can linger in
+ the operating system kernel for a while. To ensure that the
+ item is written to disk, function
+ <seealso marker="#sync/1"><c>sync/1</c></seealso>
must be called.
</p>
- <p>The <c>log/2</c> function is used for internally formatted logs,
+ <p><c>log/2</c> is used for internally formatted logs,
and <c>blog/2</c> for externally formatted logs.
- <c>blog/2</c> can be used
- for internally formatted logs as well provided the binary was
- constructed with a call to <c>term_to_binary/1</c>.
- </p>
- <p>The owners that subscribe to notifications will be notified
+ <c>blog/2</c> can also be used
+ for internally formatted logs if the binary is
+ constructed with a call to
+ <seealso marker="erts:erlang#term_to_binary/1">
+ <c>term_to_binary/1</c></seealso>.</p>
+ <p>Owners subscribing to notifications are notified
of an error with an <c>error_status</c> message if the error
reason tag is <c>invalid_header</c> or <c>file_error</c>.
</p>
@@ -716,27 +748,27 @@
<func>
<name name="log_terms" arity="2"/>
<name name="blog_terms" arity="2"/>
- <fsummary>Log several items onto a disk log.</fsummary>
+ <fsummary>Log many items onto a disk log.</fsummary>
<type variable="Log"/>
<type variable="TermList" name_i="1"/>
<type variable="BytesList"/>
<type name="log_error_rsn"/>
<desc>
- <p>The <c>log_terms/2</c> and <c>blog_terms/2</c> functions
- synchronously append a list of items to the log. The benefit
- of using these functions rather than the <c>log/2</c> and
- <c>blog/2</c> 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.
+ <p>Synchronously appends a list of items to the log. It is more
+ efficient to use these functions instead of functions <c>log/2</c>
+ and <c>blog/2</c>. The specified 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.
</p>
- <p>The <c>log_terms/2</c> function is used for internally formatted
+ <p><c>log_terms/2</c> is used for internally formatted
logs, and <c>blog_terms/2</c> for externally formatted logs.
- <c>blog_terms/2</c> can be used
- for internally formatted logs as well provided the binaries were
- constructed with calls to <c>term_to_binary/1</c>.
- </p>
- <p>The owners that subscribe to notifications will be notified
+ <c>blog_terms/2</c> can also be used
+ for internally formatted logs if the binaries are
+ constructed with calls to
+ <seealso marker="erts:erlang#term_to_binary/1">
+ <c>term_to_binary/1</c></seealso>.</p>
+ <p>Owners subscribing to notifications are notified
of an error with an <c>error_status</c> message if the error
reason tag is <c>invalid_header</c> or <c>file_error</c>.
</p>
@@ -755,110 +787,119 @@
<type name="dlog_optattr"/>
<type name="dlog_size"/>
<desc>
- <p>The <c><anno>ArgL</anno></c> parameter is a list of options which have
- the following meanings:</p>
- <list type="bulleted">
+ <p>Parameter <c><anno>ArgL</anno></c> is a list of the following
+ options:</p>
+ <taglist>
+ <tag><c>{name, <anno>Log</anno>}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{name, <anno>Log</anno>}</c> specifies the name of the log.
- This is the name which must be passed on as a parameter in
+ <p>Specifies the log name.
+ This name must be passed on as a parameter in
all subsequent logging operations. A name must always
be supplied.
</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{file, <anno>FileName</anno>}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{file, <anno>FileName</anno>}</c> 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 <c>lists:concat([<anno>Log</anno>, ".LOG"])</c> for halt logs. For wrap logs, this will be
- the base name of the files. Each file in a wrap log
- will be called <c><![CDATA[<base_name>.N]]></c>, where <c>N</c> is an
- integer. Each wrap log will also have two files called
+ <p>Specifies the name of the
+ file to be used for logged terms. If this value is
+ omitted and the log name is an atom or a string,
+ the filename defaults to <c>lists:concat([<anno>Log</anno>, ".LOG"])</c>
+ for halt logs.</p>
+ <p>For wrap logs, this is the base name of the files. Each file in
+ a wrap log is called <c><![CDATA[<base_name>.N]]></c>, where <c>N</c>
+ is an integer. Each wrap log also has two files called
<c><![CDATA[<base_name>.idx]]></c> and <c><![CDATA[<base_name>.siz]]></c>.
</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{linkto, <anno>LinkTo</anno>}</c><marker id="linkto"></marker></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{linkto, <anno>LinkTo</anno>}</c>. <marker id="linkto"></marker>
-If
- <c><anno>LinkTo</anno></c> is a pid, that pid becomes an owner of the
- log. If <c><anno>LinkTo</anno></c> is <c>none</c> the log records
+ <p>If <c><anno>LinkTo</anno></c> is a pid, it becomes an owner of the
+ log. If <c><anno>LinkTo</anno></c> is <c>none</c>, the log records
that it is used anonymously by some process by
incrementing the <c>users</c> counter. By default, the
- process which calls <c>open/1</c> owns the log.
+ process that calls <c>open/1</c> owns the log.
</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{repair, <anno>Repair</anno>}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{repair, <anno>Repair</anno>}</c>. If <c><anno>Repair</anno></c> is <c>true</c>,
- the current log file will be repaired, if needed. As the
+ <p>If <c><anno>Repair</anno></c> is <c>true</c>,
+ the current log file is repaired, if needed. As the
restoration is initiated, a message is output on the error log.
- If <c>false</c> is given,
- no automatic repair will be attempted. Instead, the
+ If <c>false</c> is specified,
+ no automatic repair is attempted. Instead, the
tuple <c>{error, {need_repair, <anno>Log</anno>}}</c> is returned if an
attempt is made to open a corrupt log file.
- If <c>truncate</c> is given, the log file will
- be truncated, creating an empty log. Default is
+ If <c>truncate</c> is specified, the log file becomes
+ truncated, creating an empty log. Defaults to
<c>true</c>, which has no effect on logs opened in
read-only mode.
</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{type, <anno>Type</anno>}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{type, <anno>Type</anno>}</c> is the type of the log. Default
- is <c>halt</c>.
+ <p>The log type. Defaults to <c>halt</c>.
</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{format, <anno>Format</anno>}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{format, <anno>Format</anno>}</c> specifies the format of the
- disk log. Default is <c>internal</c>.
+ <p>Disk log format. Defaults to <c>internal</c>.
</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{size, <anno>Size</anno>}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{size, <anno>Size</anno>}</c> 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
+ <p>Log size.</p>
+ <p>When a halt log has reached its maximum size, all attempts to
+ log more items are rejected. Defaults to
<c>infinity</c>, which for halt implies that there is no
- maximum size. For wrap logs, the <c><anno>Size</anno></c> parameter
- may be either a pair
- <c>{<anno>MaxNoBytes</anno>, <anno>MaxNoFiles</anno>}</c> or <c>infinity</c>. In the
- latter case, if the files of an already existing wrap log
+ maximum size.</p>
+ <p>For wrap logs, parameter <c><anno>Size</anno></c>
+ can be a pair
+ <c>{<anno>MaxNoBytes</anno>, <anno>MaxNoFiles</anno>}</c> or
+ <c>infinity</c>.
+ In the latter case, if the files of an 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 <c><anno>MaxNoBytes</anno></c> bytes on each file
- and use <c><anno>MaxNoFiles</anno></c> files before starting all over with
- the first wrap log file. Regardless of <c><anno>MaxNoBytes</anno></c>,
+ from the existing wrap log, otherwise an error is returned.</p>
+ <p>Wrap logs write at most <c><anno>MaxNoBytes</anno></c>
+ bytes on each file and use <c><anno>MaxNoFiles</anno></c>
+ files before starting all over with the first wrap log
+ file. Regardless of <c><anno>MaxNoBytes</anno></c>,
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 <c>Size</c>, but any
- supplied value must equal the current size of the log, otherwise
- the tuple <c>{error, {size_mismatch, <anno>CurrentSize</anno>, <anno>NewSize</anno>}}</c>
- is returned.
- </p>
+ item are written on each wrap log file before
+ wrapping to the next file.</p>
+ <p>When opening an existing wrap log, it is not
+ necessary to supply a value for option <c>Size</c>, but any
+ supplied value must equal the current log size, otherwise
+ the tuple <c>{error, {size_mismatch, <anno>CurrentSize</anno>,
+ <anno>NewSize</anno>}}</c> is returned.</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{distributed, <anno>Nodes</anno>}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{distributed, <anno>Nodes</anno>}</c>. This option can be used for
- adding members to a distributed disk log. The
- default value is <c>[]</c>, which means that
+ <p>This option can be used for
+ adding members to a distributed disk log.
+ Defaults to <c>[]</c>, which means that
the log is local on the current node.
</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{notify, boolean()}</c><marker id="notify"></marker></tag>
<item>
- <marker id="notify"></marker>
- <p><c>{notify, bool()}</c>. If <c>true</c>, the owners of the
- log are notified when certain events occur in the log.
- Default is <c>false</c>. The owners are sent one of the
+ <p>If <c>true</c>, the log owners
+ are notified when certain log events occur.
+ Defaults to <c>false</c>. The owners are sent one of the
following messages when an event occurs:
</p>
- <list type="bulleted">
+ <taglist>
+ <tag><c>{disk_log, Node, Log, {wrap, NoLostItems}}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{disk_log, Node, Log, {wrap, NoLostItems}}</c> is sent when a wrap log has
+ <p>Sent when a wrap log has
filled up one of its files and a new file is
opened. <c>NoLostItems</c> is the number of
- previously logged items that have been lost when
+ previously logged items that were lost when
truncating existing files.
</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{disk_log, Node, Log, {truncated, NoLostItems}}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{disk_log, Node, Log, {truncated, NoLostItems}}</c> is sent when a log has been
+ <p>Sent when a log is
truncated or reopened. For halt logs <c>NoLostItems</c>
is the number of items written on the log since the
disk log process was created. For wrap logs
@@ -866,127 +907,132 @@ If
wrap log files.
</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{disk_log, Node, Log, {read_only, Items}}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{disk_log, Node, Log, {read_only, Items}}</c>
- is sent when an asynchronous log attempt is made to
+ <p>Sent when an asynchronous log attempt is made to
a log file opened in read-only mode.
<c>Items</c> is the items from the log attempt.
</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{disk_log, Node, Log, {blocked_log, Items}}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{disk_log, Node, Log, {blocked_log, Items}}</c>
- is sent when an asynchronous log attempt is made to
+ <p>Sent when an asynchronous log attempt is made to
a blocked log that does not queue log attempts.
<c>Items</c> is the items from the log attempt.
</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{disk_log, Node, Log, {format_external, Items}}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{disk_log, Node, Log, {format_external, Items}}</c>
- is sent when <c>alog/2</c> or <c>alog_terms/2</c> is
+ <p>Sent when function <c>alog/2</c> or <c>alog_terms/2</c> is
used for internally formatted logs. <c>Items</c> is the
items from the log attempt.
</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{disk_log, Node, Log, full}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{disk_log, Node, Log, full}</c> is sent when
+ <p>Sent when
an attempt to log items to a wrap log would write more
- bytes than the limit set by the <c>size</c> option.
+ bytes than the limit set by option <c>size</c>.
</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{disk_log, Node, Log, {error_status, Status}}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{disk_log, Node, Log, {error_status, Status}}</c>
- is sent when the error status changes. The error status
+ <p>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 <c>sync/1</c>, <c>inc_wrap_file/1</c> or
- <c>change_size/2</c>. <c>Status</c> is one of <c>ok</c> and
- <c>{error, Error}</c>, the former being the initial value.
+ items to the log, or to truncate the log, or the last
+ use of function <c>sync/1</c>, <c>inc_wrap_file/1</c>, or
+ <c>change_size/2</c>. <c>Status</c> is either <c>ok</c> or
+ <c>{error, Error}</c>, the former is the initial value.
</p>
</item>
- </list>
+ </taglist>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{head, <anno>Head</anno>}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{head, <anno>Head</anno>}</c> specifies a header to be
+ <p>Specifies a header to be
written first on the log file. If the log is a wrap
log, the item <c><anno>Head</anno></c> is written first in each new file.
- <c><anno>Head</anno></c> should be a term if the format is
- <c>internal</c>, and a deep list of bytes (or a binary)
- otherwise. Default is <c>none</c>, which means that
+ <c><anno>Head</anno></c> is to be a term if the format is
+ <c>internal</c>, otherwise a deep list of bytes (or a binary).
+ Defaults to <c>none</c>, which means that
no header is written first on the file.
</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{head_func, {M,F,A}}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{head_func, {M,F,A}}</c> specifies a function
+ <p>Specifies a function
to be called each time a new log file is opened.
The call <c>M:F(A)</c> is assumed to return <c>{ok, Head}</c>.
The item <c>Head</c> is written first in each file.
- <c>Head</c> should be a term if the format is
- <c>internal</c>, and a deep list of bytes (or a binary)
- otherwise.
+ <c>Head</c> is to be a term if the format is
+ <c>internal</c>, otherwise a deep list of bytes (or a binary).
</p>
</item>
+ <tag><c>{mode, <anno>Mode</anno>}</c></tag>
<item>
- <p><c>{mode, <anno>Mode</anno>}</c> specifies if the log is to be
- opened in read-only or read-write mode. It defaults to
+ <p>Specifies if the log is to be
+ opened in read-only or read-write mode. Defaults to
<c>read_write</c>.
</p>
</item>
- </list>
- <p>The <c>open/1</c> function returns <c>{ok, <anno>Log</anno>}</c> if the
- log file was successfully opened. If the file was
- successfully repaired, the tuple <c>{repaired, <anno>Log</anno>, {recovered, <anno>Rec</anno>}, {badbytes, <anno>Bad</anno>}}</c> is returned, where
- <c><anno>Rec</anno></c> is the number of whole Erlang terms found in the
- file and <c><anno>Bad</anno></c> is the number of bytes in the file which
- were non-Erlang terms. If the <c>distributed</c> parameter
- was given, <c>open/1</c> returns a list of
+ </taglist>
+ <p><c>open/1</c> returns <c>{ok, <anno>Log</anno>}</c> if the
+ log file is successfully opened. If the file is
+ successfully repaired, the tuple <c>{repaired, <anno>Log</anno>,
+ {recovered, <anno>Rec</anno>}, {badbytes, <anno>Bad</anno>}}</c>
+ is returned, where <c><anno>Rec</anno></c> is the number of
+ whole Erlang terms found in the file and <c><anno>Bad</anno></c>
+ is the number of bytes in the file that
+ are non-Erlang terms. If the parameter <c>distributed</c>
+ is specified, <c>open/1</c> returns a list of
successful replies and a list of erroneous replies. Each
reply is tagged with the node name.
</p>
<p>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 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 <c>internal</c>
+ starts from there. If the format is <c>internal</c>
and the existing file is not recognized as an internally
- formatted log, a tuple <c>{error, {not_a_log_file, <anno>FileName</anno>}}</c>
+ formatted log, a tuple
+ <c>{error, {not_a_log_file, <anno>FileName</anno>}}</c>
is returned.
</p>
- <p>The <c>open/1</c> function cannot be used for changing the
- values of options of an already open log; when there are prior
+ <p><c>open/1</c> cannot be used for changing the
+ values of options of an open log. When there are prior
owners or users of a log, all option values except <c>name</c>,
- <c>linkto</c> and <c>notify</c> are just checked against
- the values that have been supplied before as option values
- to <c>open/1</c>, <c>change_header/2</c>, <c>change_notify/3</c>
- or <c>change_size/2</c>. As a consequence,
+ <c>linkto</c>, and <c>notify</c> are only checked against
+ the values supplied before as option values
+ to function <c>open/1</c>, <c>change_header/2</c>, <c>change_notify/3</c>,
+ or <c>change_size/2</c>. Thus,
none of the options except <c>name</c> is mandatory. If some
- given value differs from the current value, a tuple
+ specified value differs from the current value, a tuple
<c>{error, {arg_mismatch, <anno>OptionName</anno>, <anno>CurrentValue</anno>, <anno>Value</anno>}}</c>
- is returned. Caution: an owner's attempt to open a log
- as owner once again is acknowledged with the return value
+ is returned.</p>
+ <note><p>If an owner attempts to open a log
+ as owner once again, it is acknowledged with the return value
<c>{ok, <anno>Log</anno>}</c>, but the state of the disk log is not
- affected in any way.
- </p>
- <p>If a log with a given name is local on some node,
+ affected.</p></note>
+ <p>If a log with a specified name is local on some node,
and one tries to open the log distributed on the same node,
- then the tuple <c>{error, {node_already_open, <anno>Log</anno>}}</c> is
+ the tuple <c>{error, {node_already_open, <anno>Log</anno>}}</c> 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 <c>distributed</c> option.
+ The supplied option values are used
+ on all nodes mentioned by option <c>distributed</c>.
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 <c>open/1</c>.
+ log with many calls to <c>open/1</c>.
</p>
- <p>It is possible to open a log file more than once by giving
- different values to the option <c>name</c> or by using the
+ <p>A log file can be opened more than once by giving
+ different values to option <c>name</c> or by using the
same file when distributing a log on different nodes.
- It is up to the user of the <c>disk_log</c>
- module to ensure that no more than one
- disk log process has write access to any file, or the
- the file may be corrupted.
+ It is up to the user of module <c>disk_log</c>
+ to ensure that not more than one disk log process has write
+ access to any file, otherwise the file can be corrupted.
</p>
<p>If an attempt to open a log file for the first time fails,
the disk log process terminates with the EXIT message
@@ -999,9 +1045,9 @@ If
<name name="pid2name" arity="1"/>
<fsummary>Return the name of the disk log handled by a pid.</fsummary>
<desc>
- <p>The <c>pid2name/1</c> function returns the name of the log
+ <p>Returns the log name
given the pid of a disk log process on the current node, or
- <c>undefined</c> if the given pid is not a disk log process.
+ <c>undefined</c> if the specified pid is not a disk log process.
</p>
<p>This function is meant to be used for debugging only.
</p>
@@ -1018,25 +1064,25 @@ If
<type variable="BHead"/>
<type name="reopen_error_rsn"/>
<desc>
- <p>The <c>reopen</c> functions first rename the log file
- to <c><anno>File</anno></c> and then re-create a new log file.
- In case of a wrap log, <c><anno>File</anno></c> is used as the base name
+ <p>Renames the log file
+ to <c><anno>File</anno></c> and then recreates a new log file.
+ If a wrap log exists, <c><anno>File</anno></c> is used as the base name
of the renamed files.
By default the header given to <c>open/1</c> is written first in
- the newly opened log file, but if the <c><anno>Head</anno></c> or the
- <c><anno>BHead</anno></c> argument is given, this item is used instead.
- The header argument is used once only; next time a wrap log file
+ the newly opened log file, but if argument <c><anno>Head</anno></c> or
+ <c><anno>BHead</anno></c> is specified, this item is used instead.
+ The header argument is used only once. Next time a wrap log file
is opened, the header given to <c>open/1</c> is used.
</p>
- <p>The <c>reopen/2,3</c> functions are used for internally formatted
+ <p><c>reopen/2,3</c> are used for internally formatted
logs, and <c>breopen/3</c> for externally formatted logs.
</p>
- <p>The owners that subscribe to notifications will receive
+ <p>Owners subscribing to notifications receive
a <c>truncate</c> message.
</p>
<p>Upon failure to reopen the log, the disk log process terminates
- with the EXIT message <c>{{failed,Error},[{disk_log,Fun,Arity}]}</c>,
- and other processes that have requests queued receive the message
+ with the EXIT message <c>{{failed,Error},[{disk_log,Fun,Arity}]}</c>.
+ Other processes having requests queued receive the message
<c>{disk_log, Node, {error, disk_log_stopped}}</c>.
</p>
</desc>
@@ -1046,8 +1092,7 @@ If
<fsummary>Flush the contents of a disk log to the disk.</fsummary>
<type name="sync_error_rsn"/>
<desc>
- <p>The <c>sync/1</c> function ensures that the contents of the
- log are actually written to the disk.
+ <p>Ensures that the contents of the log are written to the disk.
This is usually a rather expensive operation.
</p>
</desc>
@@ -1062,24 +1107,24 @@ If
<type variable="BHead"/>
<type name="trunc_error_rsn"/>
<desc>
- <p>The <c>truncate</c> functions remove all items from a disk log.
- If the <c><anno>Head</anno></c> or the <c><anno>BHead</anno></c> argument is
- given, this item is written first in the newly truncated
+ <p>Removes all items from a disk log.
+ If argument <c><anno>Head</anno></c> or <c><anno>BHead</anno></c> is
+ specified, this item is written first in the newly truncated
log, otherwise the header given to <c>open/1</c> is used.
- The header argument is only used once; next time a wrap log file
+ The header argument is used only once. Next time a wrap log file
is opened, the header given to <c>open/1</c> is used.
</p>
- <p>The <c>truncate/1,2</c> functions are used for internally
+ <p><c>truncate/1,2</c> are used for internally
formatted logs, and <c>btruncate/2</c> for externally formatted
logs.
</p>
- <p>The owners that subscribe to notifications will receive
+ <p>Owners subscribing to notifications receive
a <c>truncate</c> message.
</p>
<p>If the attempt to truncate the log fails, the disk log process
terminates with the EXIT message
- <c>{{failed,Reason},[{disk_log,Fun,Arity}]}</c>, and
- other processes that have requests queued receive the message
+ <c>{{failed,Reason},[{disk_log,Fun,Arity}]}</c>.
+ Other processes having requests queued receive the message
<c>{disk_log, Node, {error, disk_log_stopped}}</c>.
</p>
</desc>
@@ -1089,7 +1134,7 @@ If
<fsummary>Unblock a disk log.</fsummary>
<type name="unblock_error_rsn"/>
<desc>
- <p>The <c>unblock/1</c> function unblocks a log.
+ <p>Unblocks a log.
A log can only be unblocked by the blocking process.
</p>
</desc>
@@ -1098,8 +1143,8 @@ If
<section>
<title>See Also</title>
- <p><seealso marker="file">file(3)</seealso>,
- <seealso marker="pg2">pg2(3)</seealso>,
- <seealso marker="wrap_log_reader">wrap_log_reader(3)</seealso></p>
+ <p><seealso marker="file"><c>file(3)</c></seealso>,
+ <seealso marker="pg2"><c>pg2(3)</c></seealso>,
+ <seealso marker="wrap_log_reader"><c>wrap_log_reader(3)</c></seealso></p>
</section>
</erlref>