Question on proper way to signal problem in IceBox start

[grembo]

Hi,

what is the proper way to signal an initialization problem on IceBox::Service::start? Checked the manual but couldn't really find any answers in there. According to the source code in case of an exception there will be a log message (and in case of an Ice::Exception the content of the exception will be logged as well).

Is there any specific exception that you recommend to throw in such a scenario (in case of my example this is a missing property required when configuring the IceBox service, right now I write a log message and simply issue a return - which for IceBox seems to signal that all is ok). So I would prefer to throw a meaningful exception in that case, ideally the chapter on IceBox should cover this.

So in my case imagine the following code snippet:

void MyServiceI::start(const std::string& name, 
const Ice::CommunicatorPtr& communicator, const Ice::StringSeq& args)
{
  if (communicator->getProperties()->getProperty("ImportantProperty").empty())  
  {
    throw Ice::WhichExceptionToThrow("ImportantPropertyNotSet");
  }

  _adapter = communicator->createObjectAdapter(name);
  _adapter->add(new MyFactoryI());  
  _adapter->activate();
}

For convenience I attached the source of the relevant part in ServiceManagerI.cpp below.

cheers
Michael

    bool started = false;
    try
    {
        info.service->start(name, info.communicator == 0 ? _sharedCommunicator : info.communicator, info.args);
        started = true;
    }
    catch(const Ice::Exception& ex)
    {
        Warning out(_logger);
        out << "ServiceManager: exception in start for service " << info.name << ":\n";
        out << ex;
    }
    catch(...)
    {
        Warning out(_logger);
        out << "ServiceManager: unknown exception in start for service " << info.name;
    }
    
    {
        IceUtil::Monitor<IceUtil::Mutex>::Lock lock(*this);

        vector<ServiceInfo>::iterator p;
        for(p = _services.begin(); p != _services.end(); ++p)
        {
            if(p->name == name)
            {
                if(started)
                {
                    p->status = Started;

                    vector<string> services;
                    services.push_back(name);
                    servicesStarted(services, _observers);
                }
                else
                {
                    p->status = Stopped;
                }
                break;
            }
        }
        _pendingStatusChanges = false;
        notifyAll();

[benoit]

Hi,

You can throw an IceBox::FailureException:

if (communicator->getProperties()->getProperty("ImportantProperty").empty())  
{
    throw IceBox::FailureException(__FILE__, __LINE__, "invalid property");
}

Cheers,
Benoit.

[grembo]

Hi Benoit

thanks for your answer, so would you recommend FailureException as best practice is that scenario? I think the IceBox manual could use a short paragraph on the topic.

Thanks
Michael

[mes]

thanks for your answer, so would you recommend FailureException as best practice is that scenario? I think the IceBox manual could use a short paragraph on the topic.

Yes, using FailureException is the simplest solution. We'll update the manual accordingly.

Mark

[grembo]

Will do, thanks.

[grembo]

Just realized, that FailureException is actually defined and documented in IceBox.ice

/**
 *
 * An application service managed by a {@link ServiceManager}.
 *
 **/
local interface Service
{
    /**
     *
     * Start the service. The given communicator is created by the
     * {@link ServiceManager} for use by the service. This communicator may
     * also be used by other services, depending on the service
     * configuration.
     *
     * <p class="Note">The {@link ServiceManager} owns this communicator, and is
     * responsible for destroying it.
     *
     * @param name The service's name, as determined by the
     * configuration.
     *
     * @param communicator A communicator for use by the service.
     *
     * @param args The service arguments that were not converted into
     * properties.
     *
     * @throws FailureException Raised if {@link #start} failed.
     *
     **/
    void start(string name, Ice::Communicator communicator, Ice::StringSeq args);

    /**
     *
     * Stop the service.
     *
     **/
    void stop();
};

I will make sure to consult the individual documentation in slices as well in the future.