qapi: New QMP command query-qmp-schema for QMP introspection

qapi/introspect.json defines the introspection schema.  It's designed
for QMP introspection, but should do for similar uses, such as QGA.

The introspection schema does not reflect all the rules and
restrictions that apply to QAPI schemata.  A valid QAPI schema has an
introspection value conforming to the introspection schema, but the
converse is not true.

Introspection lowers away a number of schema details, and makes
implicit things explicit:

* The built-in types are declared with their JSON type.

  All integer types are mapped to 'int', because how many bits we use
  internally is an implementation detail.  It could be pressed into
  external interface service as very approximate range information,
  but that's a bad idea.  If we need range information, we better do
  it properly.

* Implicit type definitions are made explicit, and given
  auto-generated names:

  - Array types, named by appending "List" to the name of their
    element type, like in generated C.

  - The enumeration types implicitly defined by simple union types,
    named by appending "Kind" to the name of their simple union type,
    like in generated C.

  - Types that don't occur in generated C.  Their names start with ':'
    so they don't clash with the user's names.

* All type references are by name.

* The struct and union types are generalized into an object type.

* Base types are flattened.

* Commands take a single argument and return a single result.

  Dictionary argument or list result is an implicit type definition.

  The empty object type is used when a command takes no arguments or
  produces no results.

  The argument is always of object type, but the introspection schema
  doesn't reflect that.

  The 'gen': false directive is omitted as implementation detail.

  The 'success-response' directive is omitted as well for now, even
  though it's not an implementation detail, because it's not used by
  QMP.

* Events carry a single data value.

  Implicit type definition and empty object type use, just like for
  commands.

  The value is of object type, but the introspection schema doesn't
  reflect that.

* Types not used by commands or events are omitted.

  Indirect use counts as use.

* Optional members have a default, which can only be null right now

  Instead of a mandatory "optional" flag, we have an optional default.
  No default means mandatory, default null means optional without
  default value.  Non-null is available for optional with default
  (possible future extension).

* Clients should *not* look up types by name, because type names are
  not ABI.  Look up the command or event you're interested in, then
  follow the references.

  TODO Should we hide the type names to eliminate the temptation?

New generator scripts/qapi-introspect.py computes an introspection
value for its input, and generates a C variable holding it.

It can generate awfully long lines.  Marked TODO.

A new test-qmp-input-visitor test case feeds its result for both
tests/qapi-schema/qapi-schema-test.json and qapi-schema.json to a
QmpInputVisitor to verify it actually conforms to the schema.

New QMP command query-qmp-schema takes its return value from that
variable.  Its reply is some 85KiBytes for me right now.

If this turns out to be too much, we have a couple of options:

* We can use shorter names in the JSON.  Not the QMP style.

* Optionally return the sub-schema for commands and events given as
  arguments.

  Right now qmp_query_schema() sends the string literal computed by
  qmp-introspect.py.  To compute sub-schema at run time, we'd have to
  duplicate parts of qapi-introspect.py in C.  Unattractive.

* Let clients cache the output of query-qmp-schema.

  It changes only on QEMU upgrades, i.e. rarely.  Provide a command
  query-qmp-schema-hash.  Clients can have a cache indexed by hash,
  and re-query the schema only when they don't have it cached.  Even
  simpler: put the hash in the QMP greeting.

Signed-off-by: Markus Armbruster <armbru@redhat.com>
Reviewed-by: Eric Blake <eblake@redhat.com>

1 files changed, 232 insertions, 5 deletions

diff --git a/docs/qapi-code-gen.txt b/docs/qapi-code-gen.txt
index b917962..f321d4b 100644
--- a/docs/qapi-code-gen.txt
+++ b/docs/qapi-code-gen.txt
@@ -502,13 +502,206 @@ Resulting in this JSON object:
   "timestamp": { "seconds": 1267020223, "microseconds": 435656 } }
 
 
+== Client JSON Protocol introspection ==
+
+Clients of a Client JSON Protocol commonly need to figure out what
+exactly the server (QEMU) supports.
+
+For this purpose, QMP provides introspection via command
+query-qmp-schema.  QGA currently doesn't support introspection.
+
+query-qmp-schema returns a JSON array of SchemaInfo objects.  These
+objects together describe the wire ABI, as defined in the QAPI schema.
+
+However, the SchemaInfo can't reflect all the rules and restrictions
+that apply to QMP.  It's interface introspection (figuring out what's
+there), not interface specification.  The specification is in the QAPI
+schema.  To understand how QMP is to be used, you need to study the
+QAPI schema.
+
+Like any other command, query-qmp-schema is itself defined in the QAPI
+schema, along with the SchemaInfo type.  This text attempts to give an
+overview how things work.  For details you need to consult the QAPI
+schema.
+
+SchemaInfo objects have common members "name" and "meta-type", and
+additional variant members depending on the value of meta-type.
+
+Each SchemaInfo object describes a wire ABI entity of a certain
+meta-type: a command, event or one of several kinds of type.
+
+SchemaInfo for entities defined in the QAPI schema have the same name
+as in the schema.  This is the case for all commands and events, and
+most types.
+
+Command and event names are part of the wire ABI, but type names are
+not.  Therefore, looking up a type by its name in the QAPI schema is
+wrong.  Look up the command or event, then follow references by name.
+
+QAPI schema definitions not reachable that way are omitted.
+
+The SchemaInfo for a command has meta-type "command", and variant
+members "arg-type" and "ret-type".  On the wire, the "arguments"
+member of a client's "execute" command must conform to the object type
+named by "arg-type".  The "return" member that the server passes in a
+success response conforms to the type named by "ret-type".
+
+If the command takes no arguments, "arg-type" names an object type
+without members.  Likewise, if the command returns nothing, "ret-type"
+names an object type without members.
+
+Example: the SchemaInfo for command query-qmp-schema
+
+    { "name": "query-qmp-schema", "meta-type": "command",
+      "arg-type": ":empty", "ret-type": "SchemaInfoList" }
+
+    Type ":empty" is an object type without members, and type
+    "SchemaInfoList" is the array of SchemaInfo type.
+
+The SchemaInfo for an event has meta-type "event", and variant member
+"arg-type".  On the wire, a "data" member that the server passes in an
+event conforms to the object type named by "arg-type".
+
+If the event carries no additional information, "arg-type" names an
+object type without members.  The event may not have a data member on
+the wire then.
+
+Each command or event defined with dictionary-valued 'data' in the
+QAPI schema implicitly defines an object type called ":obj-NAME-arg",
+where NAME is the command or event's name.
+
+Example: the SchemaInfo for EVENT_C from section Events
+
+    { "name": "EVENT_C", "meta-type": "event",
+      "arg-type": ":obj-EVENT_C-arg" }
+
+    Type ":obj-EVENT_C-arg" is an implicitly defined object type with
+    the two members from the event's definition.
+
+The SchemaInfo for struct and union types has meta-type "object".
+
+The SchemaInfo for a struct type has variant member "members".
+
+The SchemaInfo for a union type additionally has variant members "tag"
+and "variants".
+
+"members" is a JSON array describing the object's common members, if
+any.  Each element is a JSON object with members "name" (the member's
+name), "type" (the name of its type), and optionally "default".  The
+member is optional if "default" is present.  Currently, "default" can
+only have value null.  Other values are reserved for future
+extensions.
+
+Example: the SchemaInfo for MyType from section Struct types
+
+    { "name": "MyType", "meta-type": "object",
+      "members": [
+          { "name": "member1", "type": "str" },
+          { "name": "member2", "type": "int" },
+          { "name": "member3", "type": "str", "default": null } ] }
+
+"tag" is the name of the common member serving as type tag.
+"variants" is a JSON array describing the object's variant members.
+Each element is a JSON object with members "case" (the value of type
+tag this element applies to) and "type" (the name of an object type
+that provides the variant members for this type tag value).
+
+Example: the SchemaInfo for flat union BlockdevOptions from section
+Union types
+
+    { "name": "BlockdevOptions", "meta-type": "object",
+      "members": [
+          { "name": "driver", "type": "BlockdevDriver" },
+          { "name": "readonly", "type": "bool"} ],
+      "tag": "driver",
+      "variants": [
+          { "case": "file", "type": "FileOptions" },
+          { "case": "qcow2", "type": "Qcow2Options" } ] }
+
+Note that base types are "flattened": its members are included in the
+"members" array.
+
+A simple union implicitly defines an enumeration type for its implicit
+discriminator (called "type" on the wire, see section Union types).
+Such a type's name is made by appending "Kind" to the simple union's
+name.
+
+A simple union implicitly defines an object type for each of its
+variants.  The type's name is ":obj-NAME-wrapper", where NAME is the
+name of the name of the variant's type.
+
+Example: the SchemaInfo for simple union BlockdevOptions from section
+Union types
+
+    { "name": "BlockdevOptions", "meta-type": "object",
+      "members": [
+          { "name": "kind", "type": "BlockdevOptionsKind" } ],
+      "tag": "type",
+      "variants": [
+          { "case": "file", "type": ":obj-FileOptions-wrapper" },
+          { "case": "qcow2", "type": ":obj-Qcow2Options-wrapper" } ] }
+
+    Enumeration type "BlockdevOptionsKind" and the object types
+    ":obj-FileOptions-wrapper", ":obj-Qcow2Options-wrapper" are
+    implicitly defined.
+
+The SchemaInfo for an alternate type has meta-type "alternate", and
+variant member "members".  "members" is a JSON array.  Each element is
+a JSON object with member "type", which names a type.  Values of the
+alternate type conform to exactly one of its member types.
+
+Example: the SchemaInfo for BlockRef from section Alternate types
+
+    { "name": "BlockRef", "meta-type": "alternate",
+      "members": [
+          { "type": "BlockdevOptions" },
+          { "type": "str" } ] }
+
+The SchemaInfo for an array type has meta-type "array", and variant
+member "element-type", which names the array's element type.  Array
+types are implicitly defined.  An array type's name is made by
+appending "List" to its element type's name.
+
+Example: the SchemaInfo for ['str']
+
+    { "name": "strList", "meta-type": "array",
+      "element-type": "str" }
+
+The SchemaInfo for an enumeration type has meta-type "enum" and
+variant member "values".
+
+Example: the SchemaInfo for MyEnum from section Enumeration types
+
+    { "name": "MyEnum", "meta-type": "enum",
+      "values": [ "value1", "value2", "value3" ] }
+
+The SchemaInfo for a built-in type has the same name as the type in
+the QAPI schema (see section Built-in Types), with one exception
+detailed below.  It has variant member "json-type" that shows how
+values of this type are encoded on the wire.
+
+Example: the SchemaInfo for str
+
+    { "name": "str", "meta-type": "builtin", "json-type": "string" }
+
+The QAPI schema supports a number of integer types that only differ in
+how they map to C.  They are identical as far as SchemaInfo is
+concerned.  Therefore, they get all mapped to a single type "int" in
+SchemaInfo.
+
+As explained above, type names are not part of the wire ABI.  Not even
+the names of built-in types.  Clients should examine member
+"json-type" instead of hard-coding names of built-in types.
+
+
 == Code generation ==
 
-Schemas are fed into 3 scripts to generate all the code/files that, paired
-with the core QAPI libraries, comprise everything required to take JSON
-commands read in by a Client JSON Protocol server, unmarshal the arguments into
-the underlying C types, call into the corresponding C function, and map the
-response back to a Client JSON Protocol response to be returned to the user.
+Schemas are fed into four scripts to generate all the code/files that,
+paired with the core QAPI libraries, comprise everything required to
+take JSON commands read in by a Client JSON Protocol server, unmarshal
+the arguments into the underlying C types, call into the corresponding
+C function, and map the response back to a Client JSON Protocol
+response to be returned to the user.
 
 As an example, we'll use the following schema, which describes a single
 complex user-defined type (which will produce a C struct, along with a list
@@ -856,3 +1049,37 @@ Example:
     extern const char *const example_QAPIEvent_lookup[];
 
     #endif
+
+=== scripts/qapi-introspect.py ===
+
+Used to generate the introspection C code for a schema. The following
+files are created:
+
+$(prefix)qmp-introspect.c - Defines a string holding a JSON
+                            description of the schema.
+$(prefix)qmp-introspect.h - Declares the above string.
+
+Example:
+
+    $ python scripts/qapi-introspect.py --output-dir="qapi-generated"
+    --prefix="example-" example-schema.json
+    $ cat qapi-generated/example-qmp-introspect.c
+[Uninteresting stuff omitted...]
+
+    const char example_qmp_schema_json[] = "["
+        "{\"arg-type\": \":empty\", \"meta-type\": \"event\", \"name\": \"MY_EVENT\"}, "
+        "{\"json-type\": \"int\", \"meta-type\": \"builtin\", \"name\": \"int\"}, "
+        "{\"json-type\": \"string\", \"meta-type\": \"builtin\", \"name\": \"str\"}, "
+        "{\"members\": [], \"meta-type\": \"object\", \"name\": \":empty\"}, "
+        "{\"members\": [{\"name\": \"arg1\", \"type\": \"UserDefOne\"}], \"meta-type\": \"object\", \"name\": \":obj-my-command-arg\"}, "
+        "{\"members\": [{\"name\": \"integer\", \"type\": \"int\"}, {\"name\": \"string\", \"type\": \"str\"}], \"meta-type\": \"object\", \"name\": \"UserDefOne\"}, "
+        "{\"arg-type\": \":obj-my-command-arg\", \"meta-type\": \"command\", \"name\": \"my-command\", \"ret-type\": \"UserDefOne\"}]";
+    $ cat qapi-generated/example-qmp-introspect.h
+[Uninteresting stuff omitted...]
+
+    #ifndef EXAMPLE_QMP_INTROSPECT_H
+    #define EXAMPLE_QMP_INTROSPECT_H
+
+    extern const char example_qmp_schema_json[];
+
+    #endif