# Babashka pods
[](https://clojars.org/babashka/babashka.pods)
Babashka pods are programs that can be used as Clojure libraries by babashka.
This is the library to load babashka pods. It is used by
[babashka](https://github.com/babashka/babashka/) but also usable from the JVM
and [sci](https://github.com/borkdude/sci)-based projects other than babashka.
The word pod means bridge in Romanian.
## Introduction
Pods are standalone programs that can expose namespaces with vars to babashka or
a JVM. Pods can be built in Clojure, but also in languages that don't run on the
JVM.
Some terminology:
- _pod_: a program that exposes namespaces with vars via the _pod protocol_.
- _pod client_: the program invoking a pod. When babashka invokes a pod,
babashka is the pod client. When a JVM invokes a pod, the JVM is the pod client.
- _message_: a message sent from the pod client to the pod or vice versa,
encoded in [bencode](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bencode) format.
- _payload_: a particular field of a _message_ encoded in a _payload format_
(currently JSON, EDN or Transit JSON). Examples are `args`, `value` and `ex-data`. _
- _pod protocol_: the documented way of exchanging messages between a _pod
client_ and _pod_.
Pods can be created independently from pod clients. Any program can be invoked
as a pod as long as it implements the _pod protocol_. This protocol is
influenced by and built upon battle-tested technologies:
- the [nREPL](https://nrepl.org/) and [LSP](https://microsoft.github.io/language-server-protocol/) protocols
- [bencode](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bencode)
- [JSON](https://www.json.org/json-en.html)
- [EDN](https://github.com/edn-format/edn)
- composition of UNIX command line tools in via good old stdin and stdout
The name pod is inspired by [boot's pod
feature](https://github.com/boot-clj/boot/wiki/Pods). It means _underneath_ or
_below_ in Polish and Russian. In Romanian it means _bridge_
([source](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pod)).
## Available pods
For a list of available pods, take a look
[here](https://github.com/babashka/babashka/blob/master/doc/projects.md#pods).
## Status
The protocol should be considered alpha. Breaking changes may occur at this
phase and will be documented in `CHANGELOG.md`.
## Usage
Using [pod-babashka-hsqldb](https://github.com/borkdude/pod-babashka-hsqldb) as
an example pod.
On the JVM:
``` clojure
(require '[babashka.pods :as pods])
(pods/load-pod "pod-babashka-hsqldb")
(require '[pod.babashka.hsqldb :as sql])
(def db "jdbc:hsqldb:mem:testdb;sql.syntax_mys=true")
(sql/execute! db ["create table foo ( foo int );"])
;;=> [#:next.jdbc{:update-count 0}]
```
### Where does the pod come from?
When calling `load-pod` with a string or vector of strings (or declaring it in your `bb.edn`),
the pod is looked up on the local file system (either using the PATH, or using an absolute path).
When it is called with a qualified symbol and a version - like `(load-pod 'org.babashka/aws "0.0.5")`
then it will be looked up in and downloaded from the [pod-registry](https://github.com/babashka/pod-registry). You can customize the file system location that `load-pod` will use by setting the `BABASHKA_PODS_DIR` environment variable.
By default babashka will search for a pod binary matching your system's OS and arch. If you want to download
pods for a different OS / arch (e.g. for deployment to servers), you can set one or both of the following
environment variables:
- `BABASHKA_PODS_OS_NAME=Linux` (or `Mac OS X` or any other value returned by Java's `os.name` property)
- `BABASHKA_PODS_OS_ARCH=aarch64` (or `amd64` or any other value returned by Java's `os.arch` property)
### In a babashka project
As of babashka 0.8.0 you can declare the pods your babashka project uses in your `bb.edn` file like so:
```clojure
:pods {org.babashka/hsqldb {:version "0.1.0"} ; will be downloaded from the babashka pod registry
my.local/pod {:path "../pod-my-local/my-pod-binary"
:cache false}} ; optionally disable namespace caching if you're actively working on this pod
```
Then you can just require the pods in your code like any other clojure lib:
```clojure
(ns my.project
(:require [pod.babashka.hsqldb :as sql]
[my.local.pod :as my-pod]))
(def db "jdbc:hsqldb:mem:testdb;sql.syntax_mys=true")
(sql/execute! db ["create table foo ( foo int );"])
;;=> [#:next.jdbc{:update-count 0}]
(my-pod/do-a-thing "foo")
;;=> "something"
```
The pods will then be loaded on demand when you require them. No need to call `load-pod` explicitly.
## Sci
To use pods in a [sci](https://github.com/borkdude/sci) based project, see
[test/babashka/pods/sci_test.clj](test/babashka/pods/sci_test.clj).
## Why JVM support?
- Babashka pods allow you to leverage functionality from other programs
regardless of the technology they were implemented in. As such, pods can be a
light weight replacement for native interop (JNI, JNA, etc.).
- When developing pods, this library can be used to test them on the JVM.
## Implementing your own pod
### Examples
Beyond the already available pods mentioned above, educational examples of pods
can be found [here](examples):
- [pod-lispyclouds-sqlite](examples/pod-lispyclouds-sqlite): a pod that
allows you to create and fire queries at a [sqlite](https://www.sqlite.org/)
database. Implemented in Python.
### Libraries
If you are looking for libraries to deal with bencode, JSON or EDN, take a look
at the existing pods or [nREPL](https://nrepl.org/nrepl/beyond_clojure.html)
implementations for various languages.
### Naming
When choosing a name for your pod, we suggest the following naming scheme:
```
pod--
```
where `` is your Github or Gitlab handle and `` describes
what your pod is about.
Examples:
- [pod-lispyclouds-sqlite](examples/pod-lispyclouds-sqlite): a pod to
communicate with [sqlite](https://www.sqlite.org/), provided by
[@lispyclouds](https://github.com/lispyclouds).
Pods created by the babashka maintainers use the identifier `babashka`:
- [pod-babashka-hsqldb](https://github.com/borkdude/pod-babashka-hsqldb): a pod
to communicate with [HSQLDB](http://www.hsqldb.org/)
### The protocol
#### Message and payload format
Exchange of _messages_ between pod client and the pod happens in the
[bencode](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bencode) format. Bencode is a bare-bones
format that only has four types:
- integers
- lists
- dictionaries (maps)
- byte strings
Additionally, _payloads_ like `args` (arguments) or `value` (a function return
value) are encoded in either EDN, JSON or Transit JSON.
So remember: messages are in bencode, payloads (particular fields in the
message) are in either EDN, JSON or Transit JSON.
Bencode is chosen as the message format because it is a light-weight format
which can be implemented in 200-300 lines of code in most languages. If pods are
implemented in Clojure, they only need to depend on the
[bencode](https://github.com/nrepl/bencode) library and use `pr-str` and
`edn/read-string` for encoding and decoding payloads.
So we use bencode as the first encoding and choose one of multiple richer encodings on top of this, similar to how the nREPL protocol is implemented. More
payload formats might be added in the future.
Other languages typically use a bencode library + a JSON library to encode payloads.
When calling the `babashka.pods/load-pod` function, the pod client will start
the pod and leave the pod running throughout the duration of a babashka script.
#### describe
The first message that the pod client will send to the pod on its stdin is:
``` clojure
{"op" "describe"}
```
Encoded in bencode this looks like:
``` clojure
(bencode/write-bencode System/out {"op" "describe"})
;;=> d2:op8:describee
```
The pod should reply to this request with a message similar to:
``` clojure
{"format" "json"
"namespaces"
[{"name" "pod.lispyclouds.sqlite"
"vars" [{"name" "execute!"}]}]
"ops" {"shutdown" {}}}
```
In this reply, the pod declares that payloads will be encoded and decoded using
JSON. It also declares that the pod exposes one namespace,
`pod.lispyclouds.sqlite` with one var `execute!`.
To encode payloads in EDN use `"edn"` and for Transit JSON use `"transit+json"`.
The pod encodes the above map to bencode and writes it to stdout. The pod client
reads this message from the pod's stdout.
Upon receiving this message, the pod client creates these namespaces and vars.
The optional `ops` value communicates which ops the pod supports, beyond
`describe` and `invoke`. It is a map of op names to option maps. In the above
example the pod declares that it supports the `shutdown` op. Since the
`shutdown` op does not need any additional options right now, the value is an
empty map.
As a pod user, you can load the pod with:
``` clojure
(require '[babashka.pods :as pods])
(pods/load-pod "pod-lispyclouds-sqlite")
(some? (find-ns 'pod.lispyclouds.sqlite)) ;;=> true
;; yay, the namespace exists!
;; let's give the namespace an alias
(require '[pod.lispyclouds.sqlite :as sql])
```
#### invoke
When invoking a var that is related to the pod, let's call it a _proxy var_, the
pod client reaches out to the pod with the arguments encoded in EDN, JSON or Transit JSON. The
pod will then respond with a return value encoded in EDN, JSON or Transit JSON. The pod client
will then decode the return value and present the user with that.
Example: the user invokes `(sql/execute! "select * from foo")`. The pod client
sends this message to the pod:
``` clojure
{"id" "1d17f8fe-4f70-48bf-b6a9-dc004e52d056"
"var" "pod.lispyclouds.sqlite/execute!"
"args" "[\"select * from foo\"]"
```
The `id` is unique identifier generated by the pod client which correlates this
request with a response from the pod.
An example response from the pod could look like:
``` clojure
{"id" "1d17f8fe-4f70-48bf-b6a9-dc004e52d056"
"value" "[[1] [2]]"
"status" "[\"done\"]"}
```
Here, the `value` payload is the return value of the function invocation. The
field `status` contains `"done"`. This tells the pod client that this is the last
message related to the request with `id` `1d17f8fe-4f70-48bf-b6a9-dc004e52d056`.
Now you know most there is to know about the pod protocol!
#### shutdown
When the pod client is about to exit, it sends an `{"op" "shutdown"}` message, if the
pod has declared that it supports it in the `describe` response. Then it waits
for the pod process to end. This gives the pod a chance to clean up resources
before it exits. If the pod does not support the `shutdown` op, the pod process
is killed by the pod client.
#### out and err
Pods may send messages with an `out` and `err` string value. The Pod Client prints
these messages to `*out*` and `*err*`. Stderr from the pod is redirected to
`System/err`.
``` clojure
{"id" "1d17f8fe-4f70-48bf-b6a9-dc004e52d056"
"out" "hello"}
```
``` clojure
{"id" "1d17f8fe-4f70-48bf-b6a9-dc004e52d056"
"err" "debug"}
```
#### readers
If `format` is `edn` then the pod may describe reader functions:
``` clojure
{"readers" {"my/tag" "clojure.core/identity"}}
```
so payloads containing tagged values like `#my/tag[1 2 3]` are read correctly as
`[1 2 3]`.
#### Error handling
Responses may contain an `ex-message` string and `ex-data` payload string (JSON
or EDN) along with an `"error"` value in `status`. This will cause the pod client to
throw an `ex-info` with the associated values.
Example:
``` clojure
{"id" "1d17f8fe-4f70-48bf-b6a9-dc004e52d056"
"ex-message" "Illegal input"
"ex-data" "{\"input\": 10}
"status" "[\"done\", \"error\"]"}
```
#### Debugging
To debug your pod, you can write to stderr of the pod's process or write to a
log file. Currently, stderr is sent to stderr of the pod client.
#### Environment
The pod client will set the `BABASHKA_POD` environment variable to `true` when
invoking the pod. This can be used by the invoked program to determine whether
it should behave as a pod or not.
Added in v0.0.94.
#### Client side code
Pods may implement functions and macros by sending arbitrary code to the pod
client in a `"code"` field as part of a `"var"` section. The code is evaluated
by the pod client inside the declared namespace.
For example, a pod can define a macro called `do-twice`:
``` clojure
{"format" "json"
"namespaces"
[{"name" "pod.babashka.demo"
"vars" [{"name" "do-twice" "code" "(defmacro do-twice [x] `(do ~x ~x))"}]}]}
```
In the pod client:
``` clojure
(pods/load-pod "pod-babashka-demo")
(require '[pod.babashka.demo :as demo])
(demo/do-twice (prn :foo))
;;=>
:foo
:foo
nil
```
#### Metadata
**From pod to pod client**
*Fixed Metadata on vars*
Pods may attach metadata to functions and macros by sending data to the pod client
in a `"meta"` field as part of a `"var"` section. The metadata must be an appropriate
map, encoded as an EDN string. This is only applicable to vars in the pod and will be
ignored if the var refers to Client-side code, since metadata can already be defined
in those code blocks (see 'Dynamic Metadata' below to enable the encoding of metadata).
For example, a pod can define a function called `add`:
``` clojure
{"format" "json"
"namespaces"
[{"name" "pod.babashka.demo"
"vars" [{"name" "add"
"meta" "{:doc \"arithmetic addition of 2 arguments\" :arglists ([a b])}"}]}]}
```
*Dynamic Metadata*
Pods may send metadata on values returned to the client if metadata encoding is enabled
for the particular transport format used by the pod.
For example, if your pod uses `:transit+json` as its format, you can enable metadata
encoding by adding `:transform transit/write-meta` (or whatever transit is aliased to)
to the optional map passed to `transit/writer`. e.g.:
````clojure
(transit/writer baos :json {:transform transit/write-meta})
````
##### From pod client to pod
Currently sending metadata on arguments passed to a pod function is available only for the
`transit+json` format and can be enabled on a per var basis.
A pod can enable metadata to be read on arguments by sending the "arg-meta" field to "true"
for the var representing that function. For example:
````clojure
{:format :transit+json
:namespaces [{:name "pod.babashka.demo"
:vars [{"name" "round-trip" "arg-meta" "true"}]}]}
````
#### Deferred namespace loading
When your pod exposes multiple namespaces that can be used independently from
each other, consider implementing the `load-ns` op which allows the pod client
to load the namespace and process the client side code when it is loaded using
`require`. This will speed up the initial setup of the pod in `load-pod`.
In `describe` the pod will mark the namespaces as deferred:
``` clojure
{"name" "pod.lispyclouds.deferred-ns"
"defer" "true"}
```
When the user requires the namespace with `(require
'[pod.lispyclouds.deferred-ns])` the pod client will then send a message:
``` clojure
{"op" "load-ns"
"ns" "pod.lispyclouds.deferred-ns"
"id "..."}
```
upon which the pod will reply with the namespace data:
``` clojure
{"name" "pod.lispyclouds.deferred-ns"
"vars" [{"name" "myfunc" "code" "(defn my-func [])"}]
"id" "..."}
```
If a deferred namespace depends on another deferred namespace, provide explicit
`require`s in `code` segments:
``` clojure
{"name" "pod.lispyclouds.another-deferred-ns"
"vars"
[{"name" "myfunc"
"code" "(require '[pod.lispyclouds.deferred-ns :as dns])
(defn my-func [] (dns/x))"}]
"id" "..."}
```
#### Async
Asynchronous functions can be implemented using callbacks.
The pod will first declare a wrapper function accepting user provided callbacks
as client side code. An example from the
[filewatcher](https://github.com/babashka/pod-babashka-filewatcher) pod:
``` clojure
(defn watch
([path cb] (watch path cb {}))
([path cb opts]
(babashka.pods/invoke
"pod.babashka.filewatcher"
'pod.babashka.filewatcher/watch*
[path opts]
{:handlers {:success (fn [event] (cb (update event :type keyword)))
:error (fn [{:keys [:ex-message :ex-data]}]
(binding [*out* *err*]
(println "ERROR:" ex-message)))}})
nil))
```
The wrapper function will then invoke `babashka.pods/invoke`, a lower level
function to invoke a pod var with callbacks.
The arguments to `babashka.pods/invoke` are:
- a pod identifier string derived from the first described namespace.
- the symbol of the var to invoke
- the arguments to the var
- an opts map containing `:handlers` containing callback functions: `:success`, `:error` and `:done`
The return value of `babashka.pods/invoke` is a map containing `:result`. When
not using callbacks, this is the return value from the pod var invocation. When
using callbacks, this value is undefined.
The callback `:success` is called with a map containing a return value from the
pod invocation. The pod can potentially return multiple values. The callback
will be called with every value individually.
The callback `:error` is called in case the pod sends an error, a map
containing:
- `:ex-message`: an error message
- `:ex-data`: an arbitrary additional error data map. Typically it will contain
`:type` describing the type of exception that happened in the pod.
If desired, `:ex-message` and `:ex-data` can be reified into a
`java.lang.Exception` using `ex-info`.
The callback `:done` is a 0-arg function. This callback can be used to determine
if the pod is done sending values, in case it wants to send multiple. The
callback is only called if no errors were sent by the pod.
In the above example the wrapper function calls the pod identified by
`"pod.babashka.filewatcher"`. It calls the var
`pod.babashka.filewatcher/watch*`. In `:success` it pulls out received
values, passing them to the user-provided callback. Additionally, it prints any
errors received from the pod library in `:error` to `*err*`.
A user will then use `pod.babashka.filewatcher/watch` like this:
``` clojure
$ clj
Clojure 1.10.1
user=> (require '[babashka.pods :as pods])
nil
user=> (pods/load-pod "pod-babashka-filewatcher")
nil
user=> (require '[pod.babashka.filewatcher :as fw])
nil
user=> (fw/watch "/tmp" (fn [result] (prn "result" result)))
nil
user=> (spit "/tmp/foobar123.txt" "foo")
nil
user=> "result" {:path "/private/tmp/foobar123.txt", :type :create}
```
## Run tests
To run the tests for the pods library:
```
$ script/test
```
## License
Copyright © 2020 Michiel Borkent
Distributed under the EPL License. See LICENSE.
