Applications

## 7 Applications

This chapter should be read in conjunction with `app(4)` and `application(3)`.

### 7.1 Application Concept

When we have written code implementing some specific functionality, we might want to make the code into an application, that is a component that can be started and stopped as a unit, and which can be re-used in other systems as well.

To do this, we create an application callback module, where we describe how the application should be started and stopped.

Then, an application specification is needed, which is put in an application resource file. Among other things, we specify which modules the application consists of and the name of the callback module.

If we use `systools`, the Erlang/OTP tools for packaging code (see Releases), the code for each application is placed in a separate directory following a pre-defined directory structure.

### 7.2 Application Callback Module

How to start and stop the code for the application, i.e. the supervision tree, is described by two callback functions:

    start(StartType, StartArgs) -> {ok, Pid} | {ok, Pid, State}
    stop(State)

`start` is called when starting the application and should create the supervision tree by starting the top supervisor. It is expected to return the pid of the top supervisor and an optional term `State`, which defaults to []. This term is passed as-is to `stop`.

`StartType` is usually the atom `normal`. It has other values only in the case of a takeover or failover, see Distributed Applications. `StartArgs` is defined by the key `mod` in the application resource file file.

`stop/1` is called after the application has been stopped and should do any necessary cleaning up. Note that the actual stopping of the application, that is the shutdown of the supervision tree, is handled automatically as described in Starting and Stopping Applications.

Example of an application callback module for packaging the supervision tree from the Supervisor chapter:

    -module(ch_app).
    -behaviour(application).

    -export([start/2, stop/1]).

    start(_Type, _Args) ->
        ch_sup:start_link().

    stop(_State) ->
        ok.

A library application, which can not be started or stopped, does not need any application callback module.

### 7.3 Application Resource File

To define an application, we create an application specification which is put in an application resource file, or in short `.app` file:

    {application, Application, [Opt1,...,OptN]}.

`Application`, an atom, is the name of the application. The file must be named `Application.app`.

Each `Opt` is a tuple `{Key, Value}` which define a certain property of the application. All keys are optional. Default values are used for any omitted keys.

The contents of a minimal `.app` file for a library application `libapp` looks like this:

    {application, libapp, []}.

The contents of a minimal `.app` file `ch_app.app` for a supervision tree application like `ch_app` looks like this:

    {application, ch_app,
     [{mod, {ch_app,[]}}]}.

The key `mod` defines the callback module and start argument of the application, in this case `ch_app` and [], respectively. This means that

    ch_app:start(normal, [])

will be called when the application should be started and

    ch_app:stop([])

will be called when the application has been stopped.

When using `systools`, the Erlang/OTP tools for packaging code (see Releases), the keys `description`, `vsn`, `modules`, `registered` and `applications` should also be specified:

    {application, ch_app,
     [{description, "Channel allocator"},
      {vsn, "1"},
      {modules, [ch_app, ch_sup, ch3]},
      {registered, [ch3]},
      {applications, [kernel, stdlib, sasl]},
      {mod, {ch_app,[]}}
     ]}.

`description`
  A short description, a string. Defaults to "".
`vsn`
  Version number, a string. Defaults to "".
`modules`
  All modules introduced by this application. `systools` uses this list when generating boot scripts and tar files. A module must be defined in one and only one application. Defaults to [].
`registered`
  All names of registered processes in the application. `systools` uses this list to detect name clashes between applications. Defaults to [].
`applications`
  All applications which must be started before this application is started. `systools` uses this list to generate correct boot scripts. Defaults to [], but note that all applications have dependencies to at least `kernel` and `stdlib`.

The syntax and contents of of the application resource file are described in detail in `app(4)`.

### 7.4 Directory Structure

When packaging code using `systools`, the code for each application is placed in a separate directory `lib/Application-Vsn`, where `Vsn` is the version number.

This may be useful to know, even if `systools` is not used, since Erlang/OTP itself is packaged according to the OTP principles and thus comes with this directory structure. The code server (see `code(3)`) will automatically use code from the directory with the highest version number, if there are more than one version of an application present.

The application directory structure can of course be used in the development environment as well. The version number may then be omitted from the name.

The application directory have the following sub-directories:

- `src`
- `ebin`
- `priv`
- `include`

`src`
  Contains the Erlang source code.
`ebin`
  Contains the Erlang object code, the `beam` files. The `.app` file is also placed here.
`priv`
  Used for application specific files. For example, C executables are placed here. The function `code:priv_dir/1` should be used to access this directory.
`include`
  Used for include files.

### 7.5 Application Controller

When an Erlang runtime system is started, a number of processes are started as part of the Kernel application. One of these processes is the application controller process, registered as `application_controller`.

All operations on applications are coordinated by the application controller. It is interfaced through the functions in the module `application`, see `application(3)`. In particular, applications can be loaded, unloaded, started and stopped.

### 7.6 Loading and Unloading Applications

Before an application can be started, it must be loaded. The application controller reads and stores the information from the `.app` file.

    1> application:load(ch_app).
    ok
    2> application:loaded_applications().
    [{kernel,"ERTS  CXC 138 10","2.8.1.3"},
     {stdlib,"ERTS  CXC 138 10","1.11.4.3"},
     {ch_app,"Channel allocator","1"}]

An application that has been stopped, or has never been started, can be unloaded. The information about the application is erased from the internal database of the application controller.

    3> application:unload(ch_app).
    ok
    4> application:loaded_applications().
    [{kernel,"ERTS  CXC 138 10","2.8.1.3"},
     {stdlib,"ERTS  CXC 138 10","1.11.4.3"}]

| Loading/unloading an application does not load/unload the code used by the application. Code loading is done the usual way.

### 7.7 Starting and Stopping Applications

An application is started by calling:

    5> application:start(ch_app).
    ok
    6> application:which_applications().
    [{kernel,"ERTS  CXC 138 10","2.8.1.3"},
     {stdlib,"ERTS  CXC 138 10","1.11.4.3"},
     {ch_app,"Channel allocator","1"}]

If the application is not already loaded, the application controller will first load it using `application:load/1`. It will check the value of the `applications` key, to ensure that all applications that should be started before this application are running.

The application controller then creates an application master for the application. The application master is the group leader of all the processes in the application. The application master starts the application by calling the application callback function `start/2` in the module, and with the start argument, defined by the `mod` key in the `.app` file.

An application is stopped, but not unloaded, by calling:

    7> application:stop(ch_app).
    ok

The application master stops the application by telling the top supervisor to shutdown. The top supervisor tells all its child processes to shutdown etc. and the entire tree is terminated in reversed start order. The application master then calls the application callback function `stop/1` in the module defined by the `mod` key.

### 7.8 Configuring an Application

An application can be configured using configuration parameters. These are a list of `{Par, Val}` tuples specified by a key `env` in the `.app` file.

    {application, ch_app,
     [{description, "Channel allocator"},
      {vsn, "1"},
      {modules, [ch_app, ch_sup, ch3]},
      {registered, [ch3]},
      {applications, [kernel, stdlib, sasl]},
      {mod, {ch_app,[]}},
      {env, [{file, "/usr/local/log"}]}
     ]}.

`Par` should be an atom, `Val` is any term. The application can retrieve the value of a configuration parameter by calling `application:get_env(App, Par)` or a number of similar functions, see `application(3)`.

Example:

    % erl
    Erlang (BEAM) emulator version 5.2.3.6 [hipe] [threads:0]

    Eshell V5.2.3.6  (abort with ^G)
    1> application:start(ch_app).
    ok
    2> application:get_env(ch_app, file).
    {ok,"/usr/local/log"}

The values in the `.app` file can be overridden by values in a system configuration file. This is a file which contains configuration parameters for relevant applications:

    [{Application1, [{Par11,Val11},...]},
     ...,
     {ApplicationN, [{ParN1,ValN1},...]}].

The system configuration should be called `Name.config` and Erlang should be started with the command line argument `-config Name`. See `config(4)` for more information.

Example: A file `test.config` is created with the following contents:

    [{ch_app, [{file, "testlog"}]}].

The value of `file` will override the value of `file` as defined in the `.app` file:

    % erl -config test
    Erlang (BEAM) emulator version 5.2.3.6 [hipe] [threads:0]

    Eshell V5.2.3.6  (abort with ^G)
    1> application:start(ch_app).
    ok
    2> application:get_env(ch_app, file).
    {ok,"testlog"}

If release handling is used, exactly one system configuration file should be used and that file should be called `sys.config`

The values in the `.app` file, as well as the values in a system configuration file, can be overridden directly from the command line:

    % erl -ApplName Par1 Val1 ... ParN ValN

Example:

    % erl -ch_app file '"testlog"'
    Erlang (BEAM) emulator version 5.2.3.6 [hipe] [threads:0]

    Eshell V5.2.3.6  (abort with ^G)
    1> application:start(ch_app).
    ok
    2> application:get_env(ch_app, file).
    {ok,"testlog"}

### 7.9 Application Start Types

A start type is defined when starting the application:

    application:start(Application, Type)

`application:start(Application)` is the same as calling `application:start(Application, temporary)`. The type can also be `permanent` or `transient`:

- If a permanent application terminates, all other applications and the runtime system are also terminated.
- If a transient application terminates with reason `normal`, this is reported but no other applications are terminated. If a transient application terminates abnormally, that is with any other reason than `normal`, all other applications and the runtime system are also terminated.
- If a temporary application terminates, this is reported but no other applications are terminated.

It is always possible to stop an application explicitly by calling `application:stop/1`. Regardless of the mode, no other applications will be affected.

Note that transient mode is of little practical use, since when a supervision tree terminates, the reason is set to `shutdown`, not `normal`.

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