first shot at action state machine implemention (untested)

I am commiting it so that the code is visible, but will no begin
with the test environment.

4 files changed, 372 insertions, 132 deletions

diff --git a/action.c b/action.c
index 928b30dc..9ad05a9f 100644
--- a/action.c
+++ b/action.c
@@ -45,6 +45,8 @@
 #include "wti.h"
 #include "datetime.h"
 
+#define NO_TIME_PROVIDED 0 /* indicate we do not provide any cached time */
+
 /* forward definitions */
 rsRetVal actionCallDoActionMULTIQUEUE(action_t *pAction, aUsrp_t*);
 
@@ -310,87 +312,223 @@ finalize_it:
 }
 
 
-/* set an action back to active state -- rgerhards, 2007-08-02
+
+/* set the global resume interval
+ */
+rsRetVal actionSetGlobalResumeInterval(int iNewVal)
+{
+	glbliActionResumeInterval = iNewVal;
+	return RS_RET_OK;
+}
+
+
+/* returns the action state name in human-readable form
+ * returned string must not be modified.
+ * rgerhards, 2009-05-07
  */
-static rsRetVal actionResume(action_t *pThis)
+static uchar *getActStateName(action_t *pThis)
+{
+	switch(pThis->eState) {
+		case ACT_STATE_RDY:
+			return (uchar*) "rdy";
+		case ACT_STATE_ITX:
+			return (uchar*) "itx";
+		case ACT_STATE_RTRY:
+			return (uchar*) "rtry";
+		case ACT_STATE_SUSP:
+			return (uchar*) "susp";
+		case ACT_STATE_DIED:
+			return (uchar*) "died";
+		case ACT_STATE_COMM:
+			return (uchar*) "comm";
+		default:
+			return (uchar*) "ERROR/UNKNWON";
+	}
+}
+
+
+/* returns a suitable return code based on action state
+ * rgerhards, 2009-05-07
+ */
+static rsRetVal getReturnCode(action_t *pThis)
 {
 	DEFiRet;
 
 	ASSERT(pThis != NULL);
-	pThis->bSuspended = 0;
+	switch(pThis->eState) {
+		case ACT_STATE_RDY:
+			iRet = RS_RET_OK;
+			break;
+		case ACT_STATE_ITX:
+			if(pThis->bHadAutoCommit) {
+				pThis->bHadAutoCommit = 0; /* auto-reset */
+				iRet = RS_RET_PREVIOUS_COMMITTED;
+			} else {
+				iRet = RS_RET_DEFER_COMMIT;
+			}
+			break;
+		case ACT_STATE_RTRY:
+			iRet = RS_RET_SUSPENDED;
+			break;
+		case ACT_STATE_SUSP:
+			iRet = RS_RET_SUSPENDED;
+			break;
+		case ACT_STATE_DIED:
+			iRet = RS_RET_DISABLE_ACTION;
+			break;
+		default:
+			DBGPRINTF("Invalid action engine state %d, program error\n",
+					(int) pThis->eState);
+			iRet = RS_RET_ERR;
+			break;
+	}
 
 	RETiRet;
 }
 
 
-/* set the global resume interval
+/* Handles the transient commit state. So far, this is
+ * mostly a dummy...
+ * rgerhards, 2007-08-02
  */
-rsRetVal actionSetGlobalResumeInterval(int iNewVal)
+static void actionCommitted(action_t *pThis)
 {
-	glbliActionResumeInterval = iNewVal;
-	return RS_RET_OK;
+	pThis->eState = ACT_STATE_RDY;
+	DBGPRINTF("Action has committed.\n");
+}
+
+
+/* Disable action, this means it will never again be usable
+ * until rsyslog is reloaded. Use only as a last resort, but
+ * depends on output module.
+ * rgerhards, 2007-08-02
+ */
+static void actionDisable(action_t *pThis)
+{
+	pThis->eState = ACT_STATE_DIED;
+	DBGPRINTF("Action requested to be disabled, done that.\n");
+}
+
+
+/* Suspend action, this involves changing the acton state as well
+ * as setting the next retry time.
+ * if we have more than 10 retries, we prolong the
+ * retry interval. If something is really stalled, it will
+ * get re-tried only very, very seldom - but that saves
+ * CPU time. TODO: maybe a config option for that?
+ * rgerhards, 2007-08-02
+ */
+static inline void actionSuspend(action_t *pThis, time_t ttNow)
+{
+	if(ttNow == NO_TIME_PROVIDED)
+		time(&ttNow);
+	pThis->eState = ACT_STATE_SUSP;
+	pThis->ttResumeRtry = ttNow + pThis->iResumeInterval * (pThis->iNbrResRtry / 10 + 1);
+	DBGPRINTF("Action requested to be suspended, done that, retry=%d\n", (int) pThis->ttResumeRtry);
 }
 
 
-/* suspend an action -- rgerhards, 2007-08-02
+/* actually do retry processing. Note that the function receives a timestamp so
+ * that we do not need to call the (expensive) time() API.
+ * Note that we do the full retry processing here, doing the configured number of
+ * iterations.
+ * rgerhards, 2009-05-07
  */
-static rsRetVal actionSuspend(action_t *pThis, time_t tNow)
+static rsRetVal actionDoRetry(action_t *pThis, time_t ttNow)
 {
+	int iRetries;
+	int iSleepPeriod;
 	DEFiRet;
 
 	ASSERT(pThis != NULL);
-	pThis->bSuspended = 1;
-	pThis->ttResumeRtry = tNow + pThis->iResumeInterval;
-	pThis->iNbrResRtry = 0; /* tell that we did not yet retry to resume */
+
+	iRetries = 0;
+	while(pThis->eState == ACT_STATE_RTRY) {
+		iRet = pThis->pMod->tryResume(pThis->pModData);
+		if(iRet == RS_RET_SUSPENDED) {
+			/* max retries reached? */
+			if((pThis->iResumeRetryCount != -1 && iRetries >= pThis->iResumeRetryCount)) {
+				actionSuspend(pThis, ttNow);
+			} else {
+				++pThis->iNbrResRtry;
+				++iRetries;
+				iSleepPeriod = pThis->iResumeInterval;
+				ttNow += iSleepPeriod; /* not truly exact, but sufficiently... */
+				srSleep(iSleepPeriod, 0);
+			}
+		} else if(iRet == RS_RET_DISABLE_ACTION) {
+			actionDisable(pThis);
+		}
+	}
+
+	if(pThis->eState == ACT_STATE_RDY) {
+		pThis->iNbrResRtry = 0;
+	}
 
 	RETiRet;
 }
 
 
 /* try to resume an action -- rgerhards, 2007-08-02
- * returns RS_RET_OK if resumption worked, RS_RET_SUSPEND if the
- * action is still suspended.
+ * changed to new action state engine -- rgerhards, 2009-05-07
  */
 static rsRetVal actionTryResume(action_t *pThis)
 {
 	DEFiRet;
-	time_t ttNow;
+	time_t ttNow = NO_TIME_PROVIDED;
 
 	ASSERT(pThis != NULL);
 
-	/* for resume handling, we must always obtain a fresh timestamp. We used
-	 * to use the action timestamp, but in this case we will never reach a
-	 * point where a resumption is actually tried, because the action timestamp
-	 * is always in the past. So we can not avoid doing a fresh time() call
-	 * here. -- rgerhards, 2009-03-18
-	 */
-	time(&ttNow); /* cache "now" */
-
-	/* first check if it is time for a re-try */
-	if(ttNow > pThis->ttResumeRtry) {
-		iRet = pThis->pMod->tryResume(pThis->pModData);
-		if(iRet == RS_RET_SUSPENDED) {
-			/* set new tryResume time */
-			++pThis->iNbrResRtry;
-			/* if we have more than 10 retries, we prolong the
-			 * retry interval. If something is really stalled, it will
-			 * get re-tried only very, very seldom - but that saves
-			 * CPU time. TODO: maybe a config option for that?
-			 * rgerhards, 2007-08-02
-			 */
-			pThis->ttResumeRtry = ttNow + pThis->iResumeInterval * (pThis->iNbrResRtry / 10 + 1);
+	if(pThis->eState == ACT_STATE_SUSP) {
+		/* if we are suspended, we need to check if the timeout expired.
+		 * for this handling, we must always obtain a fresh timestamp. We used
+		 * to use the action timestamp, but in this case we will never reach a
+		 * point where a resumption is actually tried, because the action timestamp
+		 * is always in the past. So we can not avoid doing a fresh time() call
+		 * here. -- rgerhards, 2009-03-18
+		 */
+		time(&ttNow); /* cache "now" */
+		if(ttNow > pThis->ttResumeRtry) {
+			pThis->eState = ACT_STATE_RTRY; /* back to retries */
 		}
-	} else {
-		/* it's too early, we are still suspended --> indicate this */
-		iRet = RS_RET_SUSPENDED;
 	}
 
-	if(iRet == RS_RET_OK)
-		actionResume(pThis);
+	if(pThis->eState == ACT_STATE_RTRY) {
+		if(ttNow == NO_TIME_PROVIDED) /* use cached result if we have it */
+			time(&ttNow);
+		CHKiRet(actionDoRetry(pThis, ttNow));
+	}
+
+	DBGPRINTF("actionTryResume: action state: %s, next retry (if applicable): %u [now %u]\n",
+		getActStateName(pThis), (unsigned) pThis->ttResumeRtry, (unsigned) ttNow);
+
+finalize_it:
+	RETiRet;
+}
+
+
+/* prepare an action for performing work. This involves trying to recover it,
+ * depending on its current state.
+ * rgerhards, 2009-05-07
+ */
+static rsRetVal actionPrepare(action_t *pThis)
+{
+	DEFiRet;
+
+	assert(pThis != NULL);
+	if(pThis->eState == ACT_STATE_RTRY) {
+		CHKiRet(actionTryResume(pThis));
+	}
 
-	dbgprintf("actionTryResume: iRet: %d, next retry (if applicable): %u [now %u]\n",
-		iRet, (unsigned) pThis->ttResumeRtry, (unsigned) ttNow);
+	/* if we are now ready, we initialize the transaction and advance
+	 * action state accordingly
+	 */
+	if(pThis->eState == ACT_STATE_RDY) {
+		CHKiRet(pThis->pMod->mod.om.beginTransaction(pThis->pModData));
+		pThis->eState = ACT_STATE_ITX;
+	}
 
+finalize_it:
 	RETiRet;
 }
 
@@ -407,12 +545,11 @@ rsRetVal actionDbgPrint(action_t *pThis)
 	dbgprintf("\n\tInstance data: 0x%lx\n", (unsigned long) pThis->pModData);
 	dbgprintf("\tRepeatedMsgReduction: %d\n", pThis->f_ReduceRepeated);
 	dbgprintf("\tResume Interval: %d\n", pThis->iResumeInterval);
-	dbgprintf("\tSuspended: %d", pThis->bSuspended);
-	if(pThis->bSuspended) {
-		dbgprintf(" next retry: %u, number retries: %d", (unsigned) pThis->ttResumeRtry, pThis->iNbrResRtry);
+	if(pThis->eState == ACT_STATE_SUSP) {
+		dbgprintf("\tresume next retry: %u, number retries: %d",
+			  (unsigned) pThis->ttResumeRtry, pThis->iNbrResRtry);
 	}
-	dbgprintf("\n");
-	dbgprintf("\tDisabled: %d\n", !pThis->bEnabled);
+	dbgprintf("\tState: %s\n", getActStateName(pThis));
 	dbgprintf("\tExec only when previous is suspended: %d\n", pThis->bExecWhenPrevSusp);
 	dbgprintf("\n");
 
@@ -420,25 +557,16 @@ rsRetVal actionDbgPrint(action_t *pThis)
 }
 
 
-//MULTIQUEUE: think about these two functions below
-/* call the DoAction output plugin entry point
- * rgerhards, 2008-01-28
+/* prepare the calling parameters for doAction()
+ * rgerhards, 2009-05-07
  */
-#pragma GCC diagnostic ignored "-Wempty-body"
-rsRetVal
-actionCallDoAction(action_t *pAction, msg_t *pMsg)
+static rsRetVal prepareDoActionParams(action_t *pAction, msg_t *pMsg, uchar ***pppMsgs)
 {
-	DEFiRet;
-	int iRetries;
+	uchar **ppMsgs = *pppMsgs;
 	int i;
-	int iArr;
-	int iSleepPeriod;
-	int bCallAction;
-	int iCancelStateSave;
-	uchar **ppMsgs;		/* array of message pointers for doAction */
+	DEFiRet;
 
 	ASSERT(pAction != NULL);
-
 	/* create the array for doAction() message pointers */
 	if((ppMsgs = calloc(pAction->iNumTpls, sizeof(uchar *))) == NULL) {
 		ABORT_FINALIZE(RS_RET_OUT_OF_MEMORY);
@@ -456,87 +584,154 @@ actionCallDoAction(action_t *pAction, msg_t *pMsg)
 			default:assert(0); /* software bug if this happens! */
 		}
 	}
-	iRetries = 0;
-	/* We now must guard the output module against execution by multiple threads. The
-	 * plugin interface specifies that output modules must not be thread-safe (except
-	 * if they notify us they are - functionality not yet implemented...).
-	 * rgerhards, 2008-01-30
-	 */
-	pthread_setcancelstate(PTHREAD_CANCEL_DISABLE, &iCancelStateSave);
-	d_pthread_mutex_lock(&pAction->mutActExec);
-	pthread_cleanup_push(mutexCancelCleanup, &pAction->mutActExec);
-	pthread_setcancelstate(iCancelStateSave, NULL);
-	do {	/* on first invocation, this if should never be true. We just put it at the top
-		 * of the loop so that processing (and code) is simplified. This code is actually
-		 * triggered on the 2nd+ invocation. -- rgerhards, 2008-01-30
-		 */
-		if(iRet == RS_RET_SUSPENDED) {
-			/* ok, this calls for our retry logic... */
-			++iRetries;
-			iSleepPeriod = pAction->iResumeInterval;
-			srSleep(iSleepPeriod, 0);
-		}
-		/* first check if we are suspended and, if so, retry */
-		if(actionIsSuspended(pAction)) {
-			iRet = actionTryResume(pAction);
-			if(iRet == RS_RET_OK)
-				bCallAction = 1;
-			else
-				bCallAction = 0;
-		} else {
-			bCallAction = 1;
-		}
 
-		if(bCallAction) {
-			/* call configured action */
-		/* MULTIQUEUE: TODO: and this now gets us in trouble. If it was suspended, we can
-		 * assume (and must so) that the action did not succeed. So we now need to redo all
-		 * those messages from the batch that are not yet processed.
-		 */
-			iRet = pAction->pMod->mod.om.doAction(ppMsgs, pMsg->msgFlags, pAction->pModData);
-			if(iRet == RS_RET_SUSPENDED) {
-				dbgprintf("Action requested to be suspended, done that.\n");
-				actionSuspend(pAction, getActNow(pAction));
-			}
-		}
+finalize_it:
+	*pppMsgs = ppMsgs;
+	RETiRet;
+}
 
-	} while(   iRet == RS_RET_SUSPENDED
-		&& (pAction->iResumeRetryCount == -1 || iRetries < pAction->iResumeRetryCount)); /* do...while! */
 
-	if(iRet == RS_RET_DISABLE_ACTION) {
-		dbgprintf("Action requested to be disabled, done that.\n");
-		pAction->bEnabled = 0; /* that's it... */
-	}
-
-	pthread_cleanup_pop(1); /* unlock mutex */
+/* cleanup doAction calling parameters
+ * rgerhards, 2009-05-07
+ */
+static rsRetVal cleanupDoActionParams(action_t *pAction, uchar ***pppMsgs)
+{
+	uchar **ppMsgs = *pppMsgs;
+	int i;
+	int iArr;
+	DEFiRet;
 
-finalize_it:
-	/* cleanup */
+	ASSERT(pAction != NULL);
 	for(i = 0 ; i < pAction->iNumTpls ; ++i) {
 		if(ppMsgs[i] != NULL) {
 			switch(pAction->eParamPassing) {
 			case ACT_ARRAY_PASSING:
 				iArr = 0;
 				while(((char **)ppMsgs[i])[iArr] != NULL)
-					d_free(((char **)ppMsgs[i])[iArr++]);
-				d_free(ppMsgs[i]);
+					free(((char **)ppMsgs[i])[iArr++]);
+				free(ppMsgs[i]);
 				break;
 			case ACT_STRING_PASSING:
-				d_free(ppMsgs[i]);
+				free(ppMsgs[i]);
 				break;
 			default:
 				assert(0);
 			}
 		}
 	}
-	d_free(ppMsgs);
-	msgDestruct(&pMsg); /* we are now finished with the message */
+	free(ppMsgs);
+	*pppMsgs = NULL;
 
 	RETiRet;
 }
-#pragma GCC diagnostic warning "-Wempty-body"
 
 
+/* call the DoAction output plugin entry point
+ * Performance note: we build the action parameters here in this function. That
+ * means we do it while we hold the action look, potentially reducing concurrency
+ * (especially if the action queue is run in DIRECT mode). As an alternative, we
+ * may generate all params for the batch as whole before aquiring the action. However,
+ * that requires more memory, for large batches potentially a lot of memory. So for the
+ * time being, I am doing it here - the performance hit should be very minor and may even
+ * not be a hit because we may gain CPU cache locality gains with the "fewer memory"
+ * approach (I'd say that is rater likely).
+ * rgerhards, 2008-01-28
+ */
+rsRetVal
+actionCallDoAction(action_t *pThis, msg_t *pMsg)
+{
+	uchar **ppMsgs;		/* array of message pointers for doAction */
+	DEFiRet;
+
+	ASSERT(pThis != NULL);
+	ISOBJ_TYPE_assert(pMsg, msg);
+
+	CHKiRet(prepareDoActionParams(pThis, pMsg, &ppMsgs));
+
+	pThis->bHadAutoCommit = 0;
+	iRet = pThis->pMod->mod.om.doAction(ppMsgs, pMsg->msgFlags, pThis->pModData);
+	switch(iRet) {
+		case RS_RET_OK:
+			actionCommitted(pThis);
+			break;
+		case RS_RET_DEFER_COMMIT:
+			/* we are done, action state remains the same */
+			break;
+		case RS_RET_PREVIOUS_COMMITTED:
+			/* action state remains the same, but we had a commit. */
+			pThis->bHadAutoCommit = 1;
+			break;
+		case RS_RET_SUSPENDED:
+			actionSuspend(pThis, NO_TIME_PROVIDED);
+			break;
+		case RS_RET_DISABLE_ACTION:
+			actionDisable(pThis);
+			break;
+		default:/* permanent failure of this message - no sense in retrying. This is
+			 * not yet handled (but easy TODO)
+			 */
+			FINALIZE;
+	}
+	iRet = getReturnCode(pThis);
+
+finalize_it:
+	cleanupDoActionParams(pThis, &ppMsgs); /* iRet ignored! */
+
+	RETiRet;
+}
+
+
+/* finish processing a batch. Most importantly, that means we commit if we 
+ * need to do so.
+ * rgerhards, 2008-01-28
+ */
+static rsRetVal
+finishBatch(action_t *pThis)
+{
+	DEFiRet;
+
+	ASSERT(pThis != NULL);
+
+	if(pThis->eState == ACT_STATE_RDY)
+		FINALIZE; /* nothing to do */
+
+	CHKiRet(actionPrepare(pThis));
+	if(pThis->eState == ACT_STATE_ITX) {
+		iRet = pThis->pMod->mod.om.endTransaction(pThis->pModData);
+		switch(iRet) {
+			case RS_RET_OK:
+				actionCommitted(pThis);
+				break;
+			case RS_RET_SUSPENDED:
+				actionSuspend(pThis, NO_TIME_PROVIDED);
+				break;
+			case RS_RET_DISABLE_ACTION:
+				actionDisable(pThis);
+				break;
+			case RS_RET_DEFER_COMMIT:
+				DBGPRINTF("output plugin error: endTransaction() returns RS_RET_DEFER_COMMIT "
+					  "- ignored\n");
+				actionCommitted(pThis);
+				break;
+			case RS_RET_PREVIOUS_COMMITTED:
+				DBGPRINTF("output plugin error: endTransaction() returns RS_RET_PREVIOUS_COMMITTED "
+					  "- ignored\n");
+				actionCommitted(pThis);
+				break;
+			default:/* permanent failure of this message - no sense in retrying. This is
+				 * not yet handled (but easy TODO)
+				 */
+				FINALIZE;
+		}
+	}
+	iRet = getReturnCode(pThis);
+
+finalize_it:
+	RETiRet;
+}
+
+
+#pragma GCC diagnostic ignored "-Wempty-body"
 /* receive an array of to-process user pointers and submit them
  * for processing.
  * rgerhards, 2009-04-22
@@ -545,23 +740,36 @@ rsRetVal
 actionCallDoActionMULTIQUEUE(action_t *pAction, aUsrp_t *paUsrp)
 {
 	int i;
+	int iCancelStateSave;
 	msg_t *pMsg;
 	DEFiRet;
 
 	assert(paUsrp != NULL);
 
-	if(pAction->pMod->mod.om.beginTransaction != NULL)
-		CHKiRet(pAction->pMod->mod.om.beginTransaction(pAction->pModData));
+	/* We now must guard the output module against execution by multiple threads. The
+	 * plugin interface specifies that output modules must not be thread-safe (except
+	 * if they notify us they are - functionality not yet implemented...).
+	 * rgerhards, 2008-01-30
+	 */
+	pthread_setcancelstate(PTHREAD_CANCEL_DISABLE, &iCancelStateSave);
+	d_pthread_mutex_lock(&pAction->mutActExec);
+	pthread_cleanup_push(mutexCancelCleanup, &pAction->mutActExec);
+	pthread_setcancelstate(iCancelStateSave, NULL);
+
 	for(i = 0 ; i < paUsrp->nElem ; i++) {
 		pMsg = (msg_t*) paUsrp->pUsrp[i];
 dbgprintf("actionCall..MULTIQUEUE: i: %d, pMsg: %p\n", i, pMsg);
 		CHKiRet(actionCallDoAction(pAction, pMsg));
+		msgDestruct(&pMsg); /* TODO: change: we are now finished with the message */
 	}
-	if(pAction->pMod->mod.om.endTransaction != NULL)
-		CHKiRet(pAction->pMod->mod.om.endTransaction(pAction->pModData));
+	iRet = finishBatch(pAction);
+
+	pthread_cleanup_pop(1); /* unlock mutex */
+
 finalize_it:
 	RETiRet;
 }
+#pragma GCC diagnostic warning "-Wempty-body"
 
 
 /* call the HUP handler for a given action, if such a handler is defined. The
@@ -799,8 +1007,8 @@ actionCallAction(action_t *pAction, msg_t *pMsg)
 	 * should check from time to time if affairs have improved.
 	 * rgerhards, 2007-07-24
 	 */
-	if(pAction->bEnabled == 0) {
-		ABORT_FINALIZE(RS_RET_OK);
+	if(pAction->eState == ACT_STATE_DIED) {
+		ABORT_FINALIZE(RS_RET_DISABLE_ACTION);
 	}
 
 	pAction->tActNow = -1; /* we do not yet know our current time (clear prev. value) */
@@ -983,7 +1191,7 @@ addAction(action_t **ppAction, modInfo_t *pMod, void *pModData, omodStringReques
 		dbgprintf("module is incompatible with RepeatedMsgReduction - turned off\n");
 		pAction->f_ReduceRepeated = 0;
 	}
-	pAction->bEnabled = 1; /* action is enabled */
+	pAction->eState = ACT_STATE_RDY; /* action is enabled */
 
 	if(bSuspended)
 		actionSuspend(pAction, time(NULL)); /* "good" time call, only during init and unavoidable */
diff --git a/action.h b/action.h
index f2706af6..69d6713c 100644
--- a/action.h
+++ b/action.h
@@ -36,6 +36,15 @@
 extern int glbliActionResumeRetryCount;
 
 
+typedef enum {
+	ACT_STATE_DIED = 0,	/* action permanently failed and now disabled  - MUST BE ZEO! */
+	ACT_STATE_RDY  = 1,	/* action ready, waiting for new transaction */
+	ACT_STATE_ITX  = 2,	/* transaction active, waiting for new data or commit */
+	ACT_STATE_COMM = 3, 	/* transaction finished (a transient state) */
+	ACT_STATE_RTRY = 4,	/* failure occured, trying to restablish ready state */
+	ACT_STATE_SUSP = 5	/* suspended due to failure (return fail until timeout expired) */
+} action_state_t;
+
 /* the following struct defines the action object data structure
  */
 struct action_s {
@@ -45,8 +54,10 @@ struct action_s {
 	time_t	tLastExec;	/* time this action was last executed */
 	int	bExecWhenPrevSusp;/* execute only when previous action is suspended? */
 	int	iSecsExecOnceInterval; /* if non-zero, minimum seconds to wait until action is executed again */
-	short	bEnabled;	/* is the related action enabled (1) or disabled (0)? */
-	short	bSuspended;	/* is the related action temporarily suspended? */
+	action_state_t eState;	/* current state of action */
+	int	bHadAutoCommit;	/* did an auto-commit happen during doAction()? */
+	//short	bEnabled;	/* is the related action enabled (1) or disabled (0)? */
+	//short	bSuspended;	/* is the related action temporarily suspended? */
 	time_t	ttResumeRtry;	/* when is it time to retry the resume? */
 	int	iResumeInterval;/* resume interval for this action */
 	int	iResumeRetryCount;/* how often shall we retry a suspended action? (-1 --> eternal) */
diff --git a/runtime/conf.c b/runtime/conf.c
index 27ab8bb4..c776ef46 100644
--- a/runtime/conf.c
+++ b/runtime/conf.c
@@ -1080,7 +1080,7 @@ static rsRetVal cflineDoAction(uchar **p, action_t **ppAction)
 					dbgprintf("module is incompatible with RepeatedMsgReduction - turned off\n");
 					pAction->f_ReduceRepeated = 0;
 				}
-				pAction->bEnabled = 1; /* action is enabled */
+				pAction->eState = ACT_STATE_RDY; /* action is enabled */
 				iNbrActions++;	/* one more active action! */
 			}
 			break;
diff --git a/runtime/modules.c b/runtime/modules.c
index 024c1c9a..bfd87a71 100644
--- a/runtime/modules.c
+++ b/runtime/modules.c
@@ -68,6 +68,21 @@ static modInfo_t *pLoadedModulesLast = NULL;	/* tail-pointer */
 uchar	*pModDir = NULL; /* read-only after startup */
 
 
+/* we provide a set of dummy functions for output modules that do not support the
+ * transactional interface. As they do not do this, they commit each message they
+ * receive, and as such the dummies can always return RS_RET_OK without causing
+ * harm. This simplifies things as in action processing we do not need to check
+ * if the transactional entry points exist.
+ */
+static rsRetVal dummyBeginTransaction() 
+{
+	return RS_RET_OK;
+}
+static rsRetVal dummyEndTransaction() 
+{
+	return RS_RET_OK;
+}
+
 #ifdef DEBUG
 /* we add some home-grown support to track our users (and detect who does not free us). In
  * the long term, this should probably be migrated into debug.c (TODO). -- rgerhards, 2008-03-11
@@ -423,11 +438,17 @@ doModInit(rsRetVal (*modInit)(int, int*, rsRetVal(**)(), rsRetVal(*)(), modInfo_
 			localRet = (*pNew->modQueryEtryPt)((uchar*)"doHUP", &pNew->doHUP);
 			if(localRet != RS_RET_OK && localRet != RS_RET_MODULE_ENTRY_POINT_NOT_FOUND)
 				ABORT_FINALIZE(localRet);
+
 			localRet = (*pNew->modQueryEtryPt)((uchar*)"beginTransaction", &pNew->mod.om.beginTransaction);
-			if(localRet != RS_RET_OK && localRet != RS_RET_MODULE_ENTRY_POINT_NOT_FOUND)
+			if(localRet == RS_RET_MODULE_ENTRY_POINT_NOT_FOUND)
+				pNew->mod.om.beginTransaction = dummyBeginTransaction;
+			else if(localRet != RS_RET_OK)
 				ABORT_FINALIZE(localRet);
+
 			localRet = (*pNew->modQueryEtryPt)((uchar*)"endTransaction", &pNew->mod.om.endTransaction);
-			if(localRet != RS_RET_OK && localRet != RS_RET_MODULE_ENTRY_POINT_NOT_FOUND)
+			if(localRet == RS_RET_MODULE_ENTRY_POINT_NOT_FOUND)
+				pNew->mod.om.beginTransaction = dummyEndTransaction;
+			else if(localRet != RS_RET_OK)
 				ABORT_FINALIZE(localRet);
 			break;
 		case eMOD_LIB: