.TH pg2 3erl "kernel 3.0.3" "Ericsson AB" "Erlang Module Definition"
.SH NAME
pg2 \- Distributed Named Process Groups
.SH DESCRIPTION
.LP
This module implements process groups\&. The groups in this module differ from the groups in the module \fIpg\fR\& in several ways\&. In \fIpg\fR\&, each message is sent to all members in the group\&. In this module, each message may be sent to one, some, or all members\&.
.LP
A group of processes can be accessed by a common name\&. For example, if there is a group named \fIfoobar\fR\&, there can be a set of processes (which can be located on different nodes) which are all members of the group \fIfoobar\fR\&\&. There are no special functions for sending a message to the group\&. Instead, client functions should be written with the functions \fIget_members/1\fR\& and \fIget_local_members/1\fR\& to find out which processes are members of the group\&. Then the message can be sent to one or more members of the group\&.
.LP
If a member terminates, it is automatically removed from the group\&.
.LP

.RS -4
.B
Warning:
.RE
This module is used by the \fIdisk_log\fR\& module for managing distributed disk logs\&. The disk log names are used as group names, which means that some action may need to be taken to avoid name clashes\&.

.SH DATA TYPES
.nf

\fBname()\fR\& = any()
.br
.fi
.RS
.LP
The name of a process group\&.
.RE

.SH EXPORTS
.LP
.nf

.B
create(Name :: name()) -> ok
.br
.fi
.br
.RS
.LP
Creates a new, empty process group\&. The group is globally visible on all nodes\&. If the group exists, nothing happens\&.
.RE

.LP
.nf

.B
delete(Name :: name()) -> ok
.br
.fi
.br
.RS
.LP
Deletes a process group\&.
.RE

.LP
.nf

.B
get_closest_pid(Name) -> pid() | {error, Reason}
.br
.fi
.br
.RS
.LP
Types:

.RS 3
Name = \fBname()\fR\&
.br
Reason = {no_process, Name} | {no_such_group, Name}
.br
.RE
.RE
.RS
.LP
This is a useful dispatch function which can be used from client functions\&. It returns a process on the local node, if such a process exist\&. Otherwise, it chooses one randomly\&.
.RE

.LP
.nf

.B
get_members(Name) -> [pid()] | {error, {no_such_group, Name}}
.br
.fi
.br
.RS
.LP
Types:

.RS 3
Name = \fBname()\fR\&
.br
.RE
.RE
.RS
.LP
Returns all processes in the group \fIName\fR\&\&. This function should be used from within a client function that accesses the group\&. It is therefore optimized for speed\&.
.RE

.LP
.nf

.B
get_local_members(Name) ->
.B
                     [pid()] | {error, {no_such_group, Name}}
.br
.fi
.br
.RS
.LP
Types:

.RS 3
Name = \fBname()\fR\&
.br
.RE
.RE
.RS
.LP
Returns all processes running on the local node in the group \fIName\fR\&\&. This function should to be used from within a client function that accesses the group\&. It is therefore optimized for speed\&.
.RE

.LP
.nf

.B
join(Name, Pid :: pid()) -> ok | {error, {no_such_group, Name}}
.br
.fi
.br
.RS
.LP
Types:

.RS 3
Name = \fBname()\fR\&
.br
.RE
.RE
.RS
.LP
Joins the process \fIPid\fR\& to the group \fIName\fR\&\&. A process can join a group several times; it must then leave the group the same number of times\&.
.RE

.LP
.nf

.B
leave(Name, Pid :: pid()) -> ok | {error, {no_such_group, Name}}
.br
.fi
.br
.RS
.LP
Types:

.RS 3
Name = \fBname()\fR\&
.br
.RE
.RE
.RS
.LP
Makes the process \fIPid\fR\& leave the group \fIName\fR\&\&. If the process is not a member of the group, \fIok\fR\& is returned\&.
.RE

.LP
.nf

.B
which_groups() -> [Name :: name()]
.br
.fi
.br
.RS
.LP
Returns a list of all known groups\&.
.RE

.LP
.nf

.B
start() -> {ok, pid()} | {error, any()}
.br
.fi
.br
.nf

.B
start_link() -> {ok, pid()} | {error, any()}
.br
.fi
.br
.RS
.LP
Starts the pg2 server\&. Normally, the server does not need to be started explicitly, as it is started dynamically if it is needed\&. This is useful during development, but in a target system the server should be started explicitly\&. Use configuration parameters for \fIkernel\fR\& for this\&.
.RE

.SH "SEE ALSO"

.LP
\fBkernel(7)\fR\&, \fBpg(3erl)\fR\&