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<h1>5 Using the Erlang Generic Server Back-end</h1>
<h3><a name="id63935">5.1
Introduction</a></h3>
<p>The mapping of OMG IDL to the Erlang programming language when Erlang
generic server is the back-end of choice is similar to the one used in
the chapter 'OMG IDL Mapping'.
The only difference is in the generated code, a client stub and
server skeleton to an Erlang <span class="code">gen_server</span>. Orber's User's Guide
contain a more detailed description of IDL to Erlang mapping.</p>
<h3><a name="id63953">5.2
Compiling the Code</a></h3>
<p>The <span class="code">ic:gen/2</span> function can be called from the command
line as follows:</p>
<p></p>
<div class="example"><pre>
shell> erlc "+{be, erl_genserv}" MyFile.idl
</pre></div>
<h3><a name="id63977">5.3
Writing the Implementation File</a></h3>
<p>For each IDL interface <span class="code"><interface name></span> defined in the IDL file :</p>
<ul>
<li>Create the corresponding Erlang file that will hold the
Erlang implementation of the IDL definitions. </li>
<li>Call the implementation file after the scope of the IDL interface,
followed by the suffix <span class="code">_impl</span>.</li>
<li>Export the implementation functions.</li>
</ul>
<p>For each function defined in the IDL interface :</p>
<ul>
<li>Implement an Erlang function that uses as arguments in the same
order, as the input arguments described in the IDL file, and returns
the value described in the interface.</li>
<li>When using the function, follow the mapping described in chapter 2.</li>
</ul>
<h3><a name="id69038">5.4
An Example</a></h3>
<p>In this example, a file <span class="code">random.idl</span> generates code for the Erlang
gen_server back-end:</p>
<div class="example"><pre>
// Filename random.idl
module rmod {
interface random {
// Generate a new random number
double produce();
// Initialize random generator
oneway void init(in long seed1, in long seed2, in long seed3);
};
};
</pre></div>
<p>When the file "random.idl" is compiled (e.g., <span class="code">shell> erlc "+{be, erl_genserv}" random.idl</span>)
five files are produced; two for the top scope, two for the interface scope,
and one for the module scope. The header files for top scope and interface
are empty and not shown here. In this case, the stub/skeleton file
<span class="code">rmod_random.erl</span> is the most important. This module exports two kinds of
operations:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<strong>Administrative</strong> - used when, for example, creating and
terminating the server.</li>
<li>
<strong>IDL dependent</strong> - operations defined in the IDL
specification. In this case, <span class="code">produce</span> and <span class="code">init</span>.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Administrative Operations</h4>
<p>To create a new server instance, one of the following functions should
be used:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<strong>oe_create/0/1/2</strong> - create a new instance of the object.
Accepts <span class="code">Env</span> and <span class="code">RegName</span>, in that order, as parameters.
The former is passed uninterpreted to the initialization operation
of the call-back module, while the latter must be as the
<span class="code">gen_server</span> parameter <span class="code">ServerName</span>. If <span class="code">Env</span> is
left out, an empty list will be passed.</li>
<li>
<strong>oe_create_link/0/1/2</strong> - similar to <span class="code">oe_create/0/1/2</span>,
but create a linked server.</li>
<li>
<strong>typeID/0</strong> - returns the scooped id compliant with the
OMG standard. In this case the string
<span class="code">"IDL:rmod/random:1.0"</span>.</li>
<li>
<strong>stop/1</strong> - asynchronously terminate the server. The required
argument is the return value from any of the start functions.</li>
</ul>
<h4>IDL Dependent Operations</h4>
<p>Operations can either be synchronous or asynchronous
(i.e., <span class="code">oneway</span>). These are, respectively, mapped to
<span class="code">gen_server:call/2/3</span> and <span class="code">gen_server:cast/2</span>.
Consult the <span class="code">gen_server</span> documentation for valid return values.</p>
<p>The IDL dependent operations in this example are listed below.
The first argument must be the whatever the create operation returned.</p>
<ul>
<li>
<strong>init(ServerReference, Seed1, Seed2, Seed3)</strong> - initialize
the random number generator.</li>
<li>
<strong>produce(ServerReference)</strong> - generate a new random number.</li>
</ul>
<p>If the compile option <span class="code">timeout</span> is used a timeout must be added
(e.g., <span class="code">produce(ServerReference, 5000)</span>). For more information, see
the <span class="code">gen_server</span> documentation.</p>
<h4>Implementation Module</h4>
<p>The implementation module shall, unless the compile option
<span class="code">impl</span> is used, be named <span class="code">rmod_random_impl.erl</span>.
and could look like this:</p>
<div class="example"><pre>
-module('rmod_random_impl').
%% Mandatory gen_server operations
-export([init/1, terminate/2, code_change/3]).
%% Add if 'handle_info' compile option used
-export([handle_info/2]).
%% API defined in IDL specification
-export([produce/1,init/4]).
%% Mandatory operations
init(Env) ->
{ok, []}.
terminate(From, Reason) ->
ok.
code_change(OldVsn, State, Extra) ->
{ok, State}.
%% Optional
handle_info(Info, State) ->
{noreply, NewState}.
%% IDL specification
produce(State) ->
case catch random:uniform() of
{'EXIT',_} ->
{stop, normal, "random:uniform/0 - EXIT", State};
RUnif ->
{reply, RUnif, State}
end.
init(State, S1, S2, S3) ->
case catch random:seed(S1, S2, S3) of
{'EXIT',_} ->
{stop, normal, State};
_ ->
{noreply, State}
end.
</pre></div>
<p>Compile the code and run the example:</p>
<div class="example"><pre>
1> make:all().
Recompile: rmod_random
Recompile: oe_random
Recompile: rmod_random_impl
up_to_date
2> {ok,R} = rmod_random:oe_create().
{ok,<0.30.0>}
3> rmod_random:init(R, 1, 2, 3).
ok
4> rmod_random:produce(R).
1.97963e-4
5>
</pre></div>
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