NAME

perlfilter - ソースフィルタ


DESCRIPTION

この記事は、ほとんど知られていない Perl の機能である ソースフィルタ に 関するものです。 C プリプロセッサが C プログラムのソーステキストをコンパイラが見る前に 変更するように、ソースフィルタはモジュールのプログラム文を Perl が 見る前に変更します。 この記事は、ソースフィルタとは何か、どのように動作するのか、自分自身で 書くにはどうすればいいかについての情報を提供します。

ソースフィルタの本来の目的は、カジュアルな盗み見を防ぐためにプログラム ソースを暗号化するためでした。 これから学ぶように、出来ることはこれだけではありません。 しかしまずは基本からです。


コンセプト

Perl インタプリタが Perl スクリプトを実行できるようにする前に、 パースとコンパイルのためにまずファイルをメモリに読み込まなければなりません。 このスクリプト自身が use 文や require 文で他のスクリプトを インクルードしているなら、それらのスクリプトも同様にファイルから読み込む 必要があります。

Now think of each logical connection between the Perl parser and an individual file as a source stream. A source stream is created when the Perl parser opens a file, it continues to exist as the source code is read into memory, and it is destroyed when Perl is finished parsing the file. If the parser encounters a require or use statement in a source stream, a new and distinct stream is created just for that file. (TBT)

The diagram below represents a single source stream, with the flow of source from a Perl script file on the left into the Perl parser on the right. This is how Perl normally operates. (TBT)

    file -------> parser

覚えておくべき重要なポイントが二つあります:

  1. 同時に任意の数のソースストリームが存在できますが、一つだけが アクティブとなります。

  2. 各ソースストリームはただ一つのファイルと関連づけられます。

ソースフィルタは、ソースストリームがパーサに届く前に捕まえて修正する、 特別な種類の Perl モジュールです。 ソースフィルタは以下のようにダイアグラムを変更します:

    file ----> filter ----> parser

これにあまり納得が出来ないなら、コマンドパイプラインの例えを 考えてみてください。 圧縮されたファイル trial.gz に補完されたシェルスクリプトを 考えてみてください。 後述の単純なパイプラインコマンドは展開されたファイルを保管するための 一時ファイルを作ることなくスクリプトを実行します。

    gunzip -c trial.gz | sh

この場合、パイプラインからのデータフローは以下のように表現できます:

    trial.gz ----> gunzip ----> sh

ソースフィルタがあると、スクリプトのテキストを圧縮して、Perl パーサのために 展開するソースフィルタを使います:

     compressed           gunzip
    Perl program ---> source filter ---> parser


フィルタを使う

So how do you use a source filter in a Perl script? Above, I said that a source filter is just a special kind of module. Like all Perl modules, a source filter is invoked with a use statement. (TBT)

Say you want to pass your Perl source through the C preprocessor before execution. You could use the existing -P command line option to do this, but as it happens, the source filters distribution comes with a C preprocessor filter module called Filter::cpp. Let's use that instead. (TBT)

Below is an example program, cpp_test, which makes use of this filter. Line numbers have been added to allow specific lines to be referenced easily. (TBT)

    1: use Filter::cpp;
    2: #define TRUE 1
    3: $a = TRUE;
    4: print "a = $a\n";

When you execute this script, Perl creates a source stream for the file. Before the parser processes any of the lines from the file, the source stream looks like this: (TBT)

    cpp_test ---------> parser

Line 1, use Filter::cpp, includes and installs the cpp filter module. All source filters work this way. The use statement is compiled and executed at compile time, before any more of the file is read, and it attaches the cpp filter to the source stream behind the scenes. Now the data flow looks like this: (TBT)

    cpp_test ----> cpp filter ----> parser

As the parser reads the second and subsequent lines from the source stream, it feeds those lines through the cpp source filter before processing them. The cpp filter simply passes each line through the real C preprocessor. The output from the C preprocessor is then inserted back into the source stream by the filter. (TBT)

                  .-> cpp --.
                  |         |
                  |         |
                  |       <-'
   cpp_test ----> cpp filter ----> parser

それからパーサは以下のコードを見ます:

    use Filter::cpp;
    $a = 1;
    print "a = $a\n";

フィルタされたコードに use を使ったもう一つのモジュールを含んでいる 場合に何が起きるかを考えてみましょう:

    1: use Filter::cpp;
    2: #define TRUE 1
    3: use Fred;
    4: $a = TRUE;
    5: print "a = $a\n";

The cpp filter does not apply to the text of the Fred module, only to the text of the file that used it (cpp_test). Although the use statement on line 3 will pass through the cpp filter, the module that gets included (Fred) will not. The source streams look like this after line 3 has been parsed and before line 4 is parsed: (TBT)

    cpp_test ---> cpp filter ---> parser (INACTIVE)
    Fred.pm ----> parser

As you can see, a new stream has been created for reading the source from Fred.pm. This stream will remain active until all of Fred.pm has been parsed. The source stream for cpp_test will still exist, but is inactive. Once the parser has finished reading Fred.pm, the source stream associated with it will be destroyed. The source stream for cpp_test then becomes active again and the parser reads line 4 and subsequent lines from cpp_test. (TBT)

You can use more than one source filter on a single file. Similarly, you can reuse the same filter in as many files as you like. (TBT)

For example, if you have a uuencoded and compressed source file, it is possible to stack a uudecode filter and an uncompression filter like this: (TBT)

    use Filter::uudecode; use Filter::uncompress;
    M'XL(".H<US4''V9I;F%L')Q;>7/;1I;_>_I3=&E=%:F*I"T?22Q/
    M6]9*<IQCO*XFT"0[PL%%'Y+IG?WN^ZYN-$'J.[.JE$,20/?K=_[>
    ...

最初の行が処理されると、フローは以下のようになります:

    file ---> uudecode ---> uncompress ---> parser
               filter         filter

Data flows through filters in the same order they appear in the source file. The uudecode filter appeared before the uncompress filter, so the source file will be uudecoded before it's uncompressed. (TBT)


ソースフィルタを書く

There are three ways to write your own source filter. You can write it in C, use an external program as a filter, or write the filter in Perl. I won't cover the first two in any great detail, so I'll get them out of the way first. Writing the filter in Perl is most convenient, so I'll devote the most space to it. (TBT)


C でソースフィルタを書く

The first of the three available techniques is to write the filter completely in C. The external module you create interfaces directly with the source filter hooks provided by Perl. (TBT)

The advantage of this technique is that you have complete control over the implementation of your filter. The big disadvantage is the increased complexity required to write the filter - not only do you need to understand the source filter hooks, but you also need a reasonable knowledge of Perl guts. One of the few times it is worth going to this trouble is when writing a source scrambler. The decrypt filter (which unscrambles the source before Perl parses it) included with the source filter distribution is an example of a C source filter (see Decryption Filters, below). (TBT)

Decryption Filters

All decryption filters work on the principle of "security through obscurity." Regardless of how well you write a decryption filter and how strong your encryption algorithm is, anyone determined enough can retrieve the original source code. The reason is quite simple - once the decryption filter has decrypted the source back to its original form, fragments of it will be stored in the computer's memory as Perl parses it. The source might only be in memory for a short period of time, but anyone possessing a debugger, skill, and lots of patience can eventually reconstruct your program. (TBT)

That said, there are a number of steps that can be taken to make life difficult for the potential cracker. The most important: Write your decryption filter in C and statically link the decryption module into the Perl binary. For further tips to make life difficult for the potential cracker, see the file decrypt.pm in the source filters module. (TBT)


独立した実行ファイルとしてソースフィルタとして作成する

An alternative to writing the filter in C is to create a separate executable in the language of your choice. The separate executable reads from standard input, does whatever processing is necessary, and writes the filtered data to standard output. Filter::cpp is an example of a source filter implemented as a separate executable - the executable is the C preprocessor bundled with your C compiler. (TBT)

The source filter distribution includes two modules that simplify this task: Filter::exec and Filter::sh. Both allow you to run any external executable. Both use a coprocess to control the flow of data into and out of the external executable. (For details on coprocesses, see Stephens, W.R. "Advanced Programming in the UNIX Environment." Addison-Wesley, ISBN 0-210-56317-7, pages 441-445.) The difference between them is that Filter::exec spawns the external command directly, while Filter::sh spawns a shell to execute the external command. (Unix uses the Bourne shell; NT uses the cmd shell.) Spawning a shell allows you to make use of the shell metacharacters and redirection facilities. (TBT)

Here is an example script that uses Filter::sh: (TBT)

    use Filter::sh 'tr XYZ PQR';
    $a = 1;
    print "XYZ a = $a\n";

スクリプトが実行されたときに得られる出力は:

    PQR a = 1

Writing a source filter as a separate executable works fine, but a small performance penalty is incurred. For example, if you execute the small example above, a separate subprocess will be created to run the Unix tr command. Each use of the filter requires its own subprocess. If creating subprocesses is expensive on your system, you might want to consider one of the other options for creating source filters. (TBT)


Perl でソースフィルタを書く

The easiest and most portable option available for creating your own source filter is to write it completely in Perl. To distinguish this from the previous two techniques, I'll call it a Perl source filter. (TBT)

To help understand how to write a Perl source filter we need an example to study. Here is a complete source filter that performs rot13 decoding. (Rot13 is a very simple encryption scheme used in Usenet postings to hide the contents of offensive posts. It moves every letter forward thirteen places, so that A becomes N, B becomes O, and Z becomes M.) (TBT)

   package Rot13;
   use Filter::Util::Call;
   sub import {
      my ($type) = @_;
      my ($ref) = [];
      filter_add(bless $ref);
   }
   sub filter {
      my ($self) = @_;
      my ($status);
      tr/n-za-mN-ZA-M/a-zA-Z/
         if ($status = filter_read()) > 0;
      $status;
   }
   1;

All Perl source filters are implemented as Perl classes and have the same basic structure as the example above. (TBT)

First, we include the Filter::Util::Call module, which exports a number of functions into your filter's namespace. The filter shown above uses two of these functions, filter_add() and filter_read(). (TBT)

Next, we create the filter object and associate it with the source stream by defining the import function. If you know Perl well enough, you know that import is called automatically every time a module is included with a use statement. This makes import the ideal place to both create and install a filter object. (TBT)

In the example filter, the object ($ref) is blessed just like any other Perl object. Our example uses an anonymous array, but this isn't a requirement. Because this example doesn't need to store any context information, we could have used a scalar or hash reference just as well. The next section demonstrates context data. (TBT)

The association between the filter object and the source stream is made with the filter_add() function. This takes a filter object as a parameter ($ref in this case) and installs it in the source stream. (TBT)

Finally, there is the code that actually does the filtering. For this type of Perl source filter, all the filtering is done in a method called filter(). (It is also possible to write a Perl source filter using a closure. See the Filter::Util::Call manual page for more details.) It's called every time the Perl parser needs another line of source to process. The filter() method, in turn, reads lines from the source stream using the filter_read() function. (TBT)

If a line was available from the source stream, filter_read() returns a status value greater than zero and appends the line to $_. A status value of zero indicates end-of-file, less than zero means an error. The filter function itself is expected to return its status in the same way, and put the filtered line it wants written to the source stream in $_. The use of $_ accounts for the brevity of most Perl source filters. (TBT)

In order to make use of the rot13 filter we need some way of encoding the source file in rot13 format. The script below, mkrot13, does just that. (TBT)

    die "usage mkrot13 filename\n" unless @ARGV;
    my $in = $ARGV[0];
    my $out = "$in.tmp";
    open(IN, "<$in") or die "Cannot open file $in: $!\n";
    open(OUT, ">$out") or die "Cannot open file $out: $!\n";
    print OUT "use Rot13;\n";
    while (<IN>) {
       tr/a-zA-Z/n-za-mN-ZA-M/;
       print OUT;
    }
    close IN;
    close OUT;
    unlink $in;
    rename $out, $in;

これを mkrot13 で暗号化すると:

    print " hello fred \n";

結果は以下のようになります:

    use Rot13;
    cevag "uryyb serq\a";

これを実行すると以下の出力を生成します:

    hello fred


コンテキストを使う: デバッグフィルタ

The rot13 example was a trivial example. Here's another demonstration that shows off a few more features. (TBT)

Say you wanted to include a lot of debugging code in your Perl script during development, but you didn't want it available in the released product. Source filters offer a solution. In order to keep the example simple, let's say you wanted the debugging output to be controlled by an environment variable, DEBUG. Debugging code is enabled if the variable exists, otherwise it is disabled. (TBT)

Two special marker lines will bracket debugging code, like this: (TBT)

    ## DEBUG_BEGIN
    if ($year > 1999) {
       warn "Debug: millennium bug in year $year\n";
    }
    ## DEBUG_END

When the DEBUG environment variable exists, the filter ensures that Perl parses only the code between the DEBUG_BEGIN and DEBUG_END markers. That means that when DEBUG does exist, the code above should be passed through the filter unchanged. The marker lines can also be passed through as-is, because the Perl parser will see them as comment lines. When DEBUG isn't set, we need a way to disable the debug code. A simple way to achieve that is to convert the lines between the two markers into comments: (TBT)

    ## DEBUG_BEGIN
    #if ($year > 1999) {
    #     warn "Debug: millennium bug in year $year\n";
    #}
    ## DEBUG_END

以下は完全な Debug フィルタです:

    package Debug;
    use strict;
    use warnings;
    use Filter::Util::Call;
    use constant TRUE => 1;
    use constant FALSE => 0;
    sub import {
       my ($type) = @_;
       my (%context) = (
         Enabled => defined $ENV{DEBUG},
         InTraceBlock => FALSE,
         Filename => (caller)[1],
         LineNo => 0,
         LastBegin => 0,
       );
       filter_add(bless \%context);
    }
    sub Die {
       my ($self) = shift;
       my ($message) = shift;
       my ($line_no) = shift || $self->{LastBegin};
       die "$message at $self->{Filename} line $line_no.\n"
    }
    sub filter {
       my ($self) = @_;
       my ($status);
       $status = filter_read();
       ++ $self->{LineNo};
       # deal with EOF/error first
       if ($status <= 0) {
           $self->Die("DEBUG_BEGIN has no DEBUG_END")
               if $self->{InTraceBlock};
           return $status;
       }
       if ($self->{InTraceBlock}) {
          if (/^\s*##\s*DEBUG_BEGIN/ ) {
              $self->Die("Nested DEBUG_BEGIN", $self->{LineNo})
          } elsif (/^\s*##\s*DEBUG_END/) {
              $self->{InTraceBlock} = FALSE;
          }
          # comment out the debug lines when the filter is disabled
          s/^/#/ if ! $self->{Enabled};
       } elsif ( /^\s*##\s*DEBUG_BEGIN/ ) {
          $self->{InTraceBlock} = TRUE;
          $self->{LastBegin} = $self->{LineNo};
       } elsif ( /^\s*##\s*DEBUG_END/ ) {
          $self->Die("DEBUG_END has no DEBUG_BEGIN", $self->{LineNo});
       }
       return $status;
    }
    1;

The big difference between this filter and the previous example is the use of context data in the filter object. The filter object is based on a hash reference, and is used to keep various pieces of context information between calls to the filter function. All but two of the hash fields are used for error reporting. The first of those two, Enabled, is used by the filter to determine whether the debugging code should be given to the Perl parser. The second, InTraceBlock, is true when the filter has encountered a DEBUG_BEGIN line, but has not yet encountered the following DEBUG_END line. (TBT)

If you ignore all the error checking that most of the code does, the essence of the filter is as follows: (TBT)

    sub filter {
       my ($self) = @_;
       my ($status);
       $status = filter_read();
       # deal with EOF/error first
       return $status if $status <= 0;
       if ($self->{InTraceBlock}) {
          if (/^\s*##\s*DEBUG_END/) {
             $self->{InTraceBlock} = FALSE
          }
          # comment out debug lines when the filter is disabled
          s/^/#/ if ! $self->{Enabled};
       } elsif ( /^\s*##\s*DEBUG_BEGIN/ ) {
          $self->{InTraceBlock} = TRUE;
       }
       return $status;
    }

警告: C プリプロセッサが C のことを知らないのと同様、Debug フィルタは Perl のことを知りません。 簡単にだませます:

    print <<EOM;
    ##DEBUG_BEGIN
    EOM

Such things aside, you can see that a lot can be achieved with a modest amount of code. (TBT)


結び

You now have better understanding of what a source filter is, and you might even have a possible use for them. If you feel like playing with source filters but need a bit of inspiration, here are some extra features you could add to the Debug filter. (TBT)

First, an easy one. Rather than having debugging code that is all-or-nothing, it would be much more useful to be able to control which specific blocks of debugging code get included. Try extending the syntax for debug blocks to allow each to be identified. The contents of the DEBUG environment variable can then be used to control which blocks get included. (TBT)

Once you can identify individual blocks, try allowing them to be nested. That isn't difficult either. (TBT)

Here is an interesting idea that doesn't involve the Debug filter. Currently Perl subroutines have fairly limited support for formal parameter lists. You can specify the number of parameters and their type, but you still have to manually take them out of the @_ array yourself. Write a source filter that allows you to have a named parameter list. Such a filter would turn this: (TBT)

    sub MySub ($first, $second, @rest) { ... }

into this: (TBT)

    sub MySub($$@) {
       my ($first) = shift;
       my ($second) = shift;
       my (@rest) = @_;
       ...
    }

Finally, if you feel like a real challenge, have a go at writing a full-blown Perl macro preprocessor as a source filter. Borrow the useful features from the C preprocessor and any other macro processors you know. The tricky bit will be choosing how much knowledge of Perl's syntax you want your filter to have. (TBT)


注意するべきこと

Some Filters Clobber the DATA Handle

Some source filters use the DATA handle to read the calling program. When using these source filters you cannot rely on this handle, nor expect any particular kind of behavior when operating on it. Filters based on Filter::Util::Call (and therefore Filter::Simple) do not alter the DATA filehandle. (TBT)


必要なもの

ソースフィルタディストリビューションは CPAN の以下から利用可能です

    CPAN/modules/by-module/Filter

Starting from Perl 5.8 Filter::Util::Call (the core part of the Source Filters distribution) is part of the standard Perl distribution. Also included is a friendlier interface called Filter::Simple, by Damian Conway. (TBT)


AUTHOR

Paul Marquess <Paul.Marquess@btinternet.com>


Copyrights

This article originally appeared in The Perl Journal #11, and is copyright 1998 The Perl Journal. It appears courtesy of Jon Orwant and The Perl Journal. This document may be distributed under the same terms as Perl itself.