QB Framework: Effective Resource Management

Best practices for managing resources like memory, file handles, and network connections within QB actors, leveraging RAII and actor lifecycle hooks.

QB Framework: Effective Resource Management

Proper resource management is crucial for building stable and leak-free applications. The QB Actor Framework leverages standard C++ RAII (Resource Acquisition Is Initialization) principles and the actor lifecycle to provide robust and largely automatic resource handling.

1. RAII: The Cornerstone of Resource Management in Actors

RAII is the primary and strongly recommended approach for managing all resources within your QB actors.

• How It Works: You encapsulate resources (dynamically allocated memory, file handles, network sockets, database connections, mutexes, etc.) within C++ objects that manage the resource's lifetime. The resource is acquired in the object's constructor and automatically released/cleaned up in its destructor.
• Standard C++ RAII Tools:
  • Memory:
    • std::unique_ptr<T>: For exclusive ownership of heap-allocated objects or arrays. Automatically calls delete or delete[].
    • std::shared_ptr<T>: For shared ownership. The resource is deleted when the last shared_ptr to it is destroyed.
    • Standard Containers: std::vector, std::string, std::map, qb::string<N>, qb::allocator::pipe<T> all manage their own internal memory.
  • File Handles:
    • std::fstream, std::ifstream, std::ofstream: Automatically close the file when they go out of scope.
    • qb::io::sys::file: QB's own file wrapper also closes the file descriptor in its destructor.
  • Network Sockets:
    • qb::io::tcp::socket, qb::io::udp::socket, qb::io::tcp::ssl::socket: These classes manage the underlying system socket descriptor and ensure it's closed upon destruction.
  • Locks (for external interactions, if unavoidable):
    • std::lock_guard<std::mutex>: Acquires a mutex on construction and releases it on destruction (when the guard goes out of scope).
    • std::unique_lock<std::mutex>: Offers more flexible lock management, also ensuring release on destruction if still owned.
• Integration with Actor Lifecycle:
  • Declare RAII wrappers as member variables of your actor.
  • Acquire resources in the actor's constructor or, more commonly, in its onInit() method (especially if acquisition can fail and you want to prevent the actor from starting).
  • Crucially, an actor's destructor (~MyActor()) is guaranteed to be called after the actor has fully terminated (i.e., its kill() method has been processed and it's removed from the VirtualCore). This ensures that all RAII member objects are properly destructed, and thus their managed resources are released automatically and safely.

#include <qb/actor.h>
#include <qb/event.h>
#include <qb/io.h>
#include <memory>    // For std::unique_ptr, std::shared_ptr
#include <fstream>   // For std::fstream
#include <vector>    // For std::vector
#include <qb/string.h> // For qb::string
 
// Hypothetical RAII wrapper for a network connection
class NetworkConnectionWrapper {
public:
    NetworkConnectionWrapper(const char* address) { /* connect */ qb::io::cout() << "NetworkConnectionWrapper: Connected to " << address << ".\n"; }
    ~NetworkConnectionWrapper() { /* disconnect */ qb::io::cout() << "NetworkConnectionWrapper: Disconnected.\n"; }
    void send_data(const qb::string<32>& data) { /* ... */ }
};
 
class ResourceManagerActor : public qb::Actor {
private:
    // --- Resources Managed by RAII --- 
    std::unique_ptr<int[]> _dynamic_array;      // Dynamically allocated array
    std::fstream _config_file;                  // File handle
    std::vector<qb::string<64>> _item_list;   // Container managing its own memory (and qb::string members)
    std::shared_ptr<NetworkConnectionWrapper> _shared_connection; // Shared network resource
 
public:
    ResourceManagerActor(const char* config_path, const char* shared_server_address) {
        // Constructor can initialize some members, or defer to onInit
        _dynamic_array = std::make_unique<int[]>(100); // Acquired at construction
        _shared_connection = std::make_shared<NetworkConnectionWrapper>(shared_server_address);
        qb::io::cout() << "ResourceManagerActor [" << id() << "] constructed.\n";
    }
 
    bool onInit() override {
        _config_file.open("actor_settings.conf", std::ios::in);
        if (!_config_file.is_open()) {
            qb::io::cout() << "ResourceManagerActor [" << id() << "]: Failed to open config file!\n";
            return false; // Initialization failed, actor won't start, destructor will clean up _dynamic_array & _shared_connection
        }
        _item_list.reserve(50);
        qb::io::cout() << "ResourceManagerActor [" << id() << "]: Initialized successfully. Config file opened.\n";
        registerEvent<qb::KillEvent>(*this);
        return true;
    }
 
    void on(const qb::KillEvent& /*event*/) {
        qb::io::cout() << "ResourceManagerActor [" << id() << "]: KillEvent received. Shutting down.\n";
        // Optional: Perform actions needed *before* RAII takes over in destructor.
        // e.g., if _config_file was open for writing: _config_file.flush();
        kill(); // Signal framework to proceed with termination
    }
 
    // --- Destructor --- 
    // Called by the framework AFTER kill() completes and the actor is removed from the VirtualCore.
    // All RAII members will have their destructors called automatically here.
    ~ResourceManagerActor() override {
        // _dynamic_array (unique_ptr) goes out of scope -> delete[] is called.
        // _config_file (fstream) goes out of scope -> _config_file.close() is called if open.
        // _item_list (vector) goes out of scope -> its memory is freed.
        // _shared_connection (shared_ptr) decrements ref count; resource freed if it was the last owner.
        qb::io::cout() << "ResourceManagerActor [" << id() << "]: Destructor called. All RAII resources released.\n";
    }
 
    // ... other methods using these resources ...
};

(Reference Example: test-actor-resource-management.cpp demonstrates various resource acquisition and release scenarios.)**

2. Explicit Cleanup in on(const qb::KillEvent&)

While RAII is preferred for automatic cleanup, sometimes an actor needs to perform specific actions during its shutdown sequence but before its destructor is called.

• When to Use This Pattern:
  • Notifying other actors that this actor is shutting down (e.g., unregistering from a manager, releasing a lease).
  • Explicitly closing network connections or flushing buffers if these operations need to complete before other system-wide shutdown signals are processed or before the actor object itself is destroyed.
  • Releasing external system resources (e.g., hardware locks, COM objects) that are not managed by C++ RAII wrappers.
• How to Implement:
  1. Ensure your actor is registered to handle qb::KillEvent (this is done by default by the qb::Actor constructor, but good to be aware of).
  2. Override void on(const qb::KillEvent& event).
  3. Perform your specific cleanup actions within this handler.
  4. Crucially, end your on(const qb::KillEvent&) handler by calling the base this->kill() method. This signals the framework to proceed with the actor's termination, eventually leading to its destructor call.

// Inside an actor that manages a subscription with a remote service
// Assume _service_manager_id is the ActorId of a service it's registered with.
 
// void on(const qb::KillEvent& event) {
//     qb::io::cout() << "MySubscriberActor [" << id() << "]: Received KillEvent. Unsubscribing...\n";
// 
//     // Notify the service manager that this actor is stopping
//     if (_service_manager_id.is_valid()) {
//         push<UnsubscribeMeEvent>(_service_manager_id, id());
//     }
// 
//     // If holding a raw socket or non-RAII resource explicitly:
//     // if (_raw_connection_handle != INVALID_HANDLE) {
//     //     close_raw_connection(_raw_connection_handle);
//     //     _raw_connection_handle = INVALID_HANDLE;
//     // }
// 
//     this->kill(); // Essential: proceed with framework-managed termination
// }

(Reference Example: test-actor-lifecycle-hooks.cpp shows various hooks, including on(KillEvent&).)**

3. Resource Management for Referenced Actors (addRefActor)

• When an actor (parent) creates a child actor using addRefActor<ChildType>(...), the parent receives a raw pointer to the child but does not own it in the C++ sense (i.e., the parent's destructor will not automatically delete the child).
• The referenced child actor is responsible for its own lifecycle and must terminate itself via kill() or be killed by an event.
• If the parent actor needs to ensure its referenced children are terminated when the parent itself stops, the parent should explicitly send qb::KillEvents to the ActorIds of its referenced children. This is typically done in the parent's on(const qb::KillEvent&) handler or, less commonly, its destructor (though sending messages from destructors is generally discouraged if it relies on other actors still being fully operational).

4. qb-io Component Resource Management

• Automatic Cleanup: I/O components from qb-io (like qb::io::tcp::socket, qb::io::tcp::listener, qb::io::sys::file) are designed with RAII. They manage their underlying system handles (file descriptors, SOCKETs) and close them automatically upon destruction.
• Actor Integration (qb::io::use<>): When an actor inherits from qb::io::use<> base classes (e.g., qb::io::use<MyClient>::tcp::client), the networking transport component (which contains the socket) is typically a member of the use<> base. Its lifetime becomes tied to the actor's lifetime. When the actor is destroyed, the use<> base class member (and thus the transport and its socket) is also destroyed, ensuring resources are released.
• SSL Contexts (SSL_CTX*): If you manually create SSL_CTX* objects (e.g., using qb::io::ssl::create_client_context or create_server_context), you are responsible for freeing them using SSL_CTX_free() when they are no longer needed. This is often done in the destructor of the actor that owns the SSL_CTX*.
• Explicit close()/disconnect(): While RAII handles eventual cleanup, you might call this->transport().close() or this->transport().disconnect() explicitly in your actor's on(KillEvent&) handler if you need to ensure the network connection is shut down before other cleanup actions or notifications occur.

By consistently applying RAII and understanding the actor lifecycle, you can effectively manage resources and prevent leaks in your QB applications.

(Next: Review the QB Framework: Error Handling & Resilience Strategies for strategies on building fault-tolerant actor systems.**)