6.2 Server applications

The typical sequence for generating a server application is given below. To close the server, use close/1 on the StreamPair.

create_server(Port) :-
      tcp_socket(Socket),
      tcp_bind(Socket, Port),
      tcp_listen(Socket, 5),
      tcp_open_socket(Socket, StreamPair),
      stream_pair(StreamPair, AcceptFd, _),
      <dispatch>

There are various options for <dispatch>. The most commonly used option is to start a Prolog thread to handle the connection. Alternatively, input from multiple clients can be handled in a single thread by listening to these clients using wait_for_input/3. Finally, on Unix systems, we can use fork/1 to handle the connection in a new process. Note that fork/1 and threads do not cooperate well. Combinations can be realised but require good understanding of POSIX thread and fork-semantics.

Below is the typical example using a thread. Note the use of setup_call_cleanup/3 to guarantee that all resources are reclaimed, also in case of failure or exceptions.

dispatch(AcceptFd) :-
        tcp_accept(AcceptFd, Socket, Peer),
        thread_create(process_client(Socket, Peer), _,
                      [ detached(true)
                      ]),
        dispatch(AcceptFd).

process_client(Socket, Peer) :-
        setup_call_cleanup(
            tcp_open_socket(Socket, StreamPair),
            handle_service(StreamPair),
            close(StreamPair)).

handle_service(StreamPair) :-
        ...