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1 root 1.1 =head1 NAME
2    
3 root 1.238 Coro - the only real threads in perl
4 root 1.1
5     =head1 SYNOPSIS
6    
7 root 1.179 use Coro;
8    
9     async {
10     # some asynchronous thread of execution
11     print "2\n";
12     cede; # yield back to main
13     print "4\n";
14     };
15     print "1\n";
16 root 1.248 cede; # yield to coro
17 root 1.179 print "3\n";
18     cede; # and again
19    
20     # use locking
21 root 1.197 use Coro::Semaphore;
22 root 1.179 my $lock = new Coro::Semaphore;
23     my $locked;
24    
25     $lock->down;
26     $locked = 1;
27     $lock->up;
28 root 1.2
29 root 1.1 =head1 DESCRIPTION
30    
31 root 1.237 For a tutorial-style introduction, please read the L<Coro::Intro>
32     manpage. This manpage mainly contains reference information.
33    
34 root 1.248 This module collection manages continuations in general, most often in
35     the form of cooperative threads (also called coros, or simply "coro"
36     in the documentation). They are similar to kernel threads but don't (in
37     general) run in parallel at the same time even on SMP machines. The
38     specific flavor of thread offered by this module also guarantees you that
39     it will not switch between threads unless necessary, at easily-identified
40     points in your program, so locking and parallel access are rarely an
41     issue, making thread programming much safer and easier than using other
42     thread models.
43 root 1.234
44     Unlike the so-called "Perl threads" (which are not actually real threads
45 root 1.249 but only the windows process emulation ported to unix, and as such act
46     as processes), Coro provides a full shared address space, which makes
47     communication between threads very easy. And Coro's threads are fast,
48     too: disabling the Windows process emulation code in your perl and using
49     Coro can easily result in a two to four times speed increase for your
50     programs. A parallel matrix multiplication benchmark runs over 300 times
51     faster on a single core than perl's pseudo-threads on a quad core using
52     all four cores.
53 root 1.234
54     Coro achieves that by supporting multiple running interpreters that share
55     data, which is especially useful to code pseudo-parallel processes and
56     for event-based programming, such as multiple HTTP-GET requests running
57     concurrently. See L<Coro::AnyEvent> to learn more on how to integrate Coro
58     into an event-based environment.
59    
60 root 1.238 In this module, a thread is defined as "callchain + lexical variables +
61 root 1.249 some package variables + C stack), that is, a thread has its own callchain,
62 root 1.238 its own set of lexicals and its own set of perls most important global
63     variables (see L<Coro::State> for more configuration and background info).
64 root 1.234
65     See also the C<SEE ALSO> section at the end of this document - the Coro
66     module family is quite large.
67 root 1.22
68 root 1.8 =cut
69    
70     package Coro;
71    
72 root 1.211 use strict qw(vars subs);
73 root 1.71 no warnings "uninitialized";
74 root 1.36
75 root 1.246 use Guard ();
76    
77 root 1.8 use Coro::State;
78    
79 root 1.83 use base qw(Coro::State Exporter);
80 pcg 1.55
81 root 1.83 our $idle; # idle handler
82 root 1.248 our $main; # main coro
83     our $current; # current coro
84 root 1.8
85 root 1.257 our $VERSION = 5.14;
86 root 1.8
87 root 1.105 our @EXPORT = qw(async async_pool cede schedule terminate current unblock_sub);
88 root 1.71 our %EXPORT_TAGS = (
89 root 1.31 prio => [qw(PRIO_MAX PRIO_HIGH PRIO_NORMAL PRIO_LOW PRIO_IDLE PRIO_MIN)],
90     );
91 root 1.97 our @EXPORT_OK = (@{$EXPORT_TAGS{prio}}, qw(nready));
92 root 1.8
93 root 1.234 =head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES
94    
95 root 1.43 =over 4
96    
97 root 1.181 =item $Coro::main
98 root 1.2
99 root 1.248 This variable stores the Coro object that represents the main
100 root 1.181 program. While you cna C<ready> it and do most other things you can do to
101 root 1.248 coro, it is mainly useful to compare again C<$Coro::current>, to see
102 root 1.196 whether you are running in the main program or not.
103 root 1.1
104     =cut
105    
106 root 1.220 # $main is now being initialised by Coro::State
107 root 1.8
108 root 1.181 =item $Coro::current
109 root 1.1
110 root 1.248 The Coro object representing the current coro (the last
111     coro that the Coro scheduler switched to). The initial value is
112 root 1.220 C<$Coro::main> (of course).
113 root 1.181
114     This variable is B<strictly> I<read-only>. You can take copies of the
115 root 1.248 value stored in it and use it as any other Coro object, but you must
116 root 1.181 not otherwise modify the variable itself.
117 root 1.1
118 root 1.8 =cut
119    
120 root 1.181 sub current() { $current } # [DEPRECATED]
121 root 1.9
122 root 1.181 =item $Coro::idle
123 root 1.9
124 root 1.181 This variable is mainly useful to integrate Coro into event loops. It is
125 root 1.238 usually better to rely on L<Coro::AnyEvent> or L<Coro::EV>, as this is
126 root 1.181 pretty low-level functionality.
127    
128 root 1.248 This variable stores either a Coro object or a callback.
129 root 1.83
130 root 1.238 If it is a callback, the it is called whenever the scheduler finds no
131 root 1.248 ready coros to run. The default implementation prints "FATAL:
132 root 1.238 deadlock detected" and exits, because the program has no other way to
133     continue.
134    
135 root 1.248 If it is a coro object, then this object will be readied (without
136 root 1.238 invoking any ready hooks, however) when the scheduler finds no other ready
137 root 1.248 coros to run.
138 root 1.238
139     This hook is overwritten by modules such as C<Coro::EV> and
140 root 1.181 C<Coro::AnyEvent> to wait on an external event that hopefully wake up a
141 root 1.248 coro so the scheduler can run it.
142 root 1.91
143 root 1.181 Note that the callback I<must not>, under any circumstances, block
144 root 1.248 the current coro. Normally, this is achieved by having an "idle
145     coro" that calls the event loop and then blocks again, and then
146     readying that coro in the idle handler, or by simply placing the idle
147     coro in this variable.
148 root 1.181
149     See L<Coro::Event> or L<Coro::AnyEvent> for examples of using this
150     technique.
151    
152 root 1.91 Please note that if your callback recursively invokes perl (e.g. for event
153 root 1.152 handlers), then it must be prepared to be called recursively itself.
154 root 1.9
155     =cut
156    
157 root 1.83 $idle = sub {
158 root 1.96 require Carp;
159     Carp::croak ("FATAL: deadlock detected");
160 root 1.9 };
161 root 1.8
162 root 1.248 # this coro is necessary because a coro
163 root 1.24 # cannot destroy itself.
164 root 1.226 our @destroy;
165     our $manager;
166 root 1.103
167     $manager = new Coro sub {
168 pcg 1.57 while () {
169 root 1.248 Coro::State::cancel shift @destroy
170 root 1.103 while @destroy;
171    
172 root 1.24 &schedule;
173     }
174     };
175 root 1.208 $manager->{desc} = "[coro manager]";
176 root 1.103 $manager->prio (PRIO_MAX);
177    
178 root 1.43 =back
179 root 1.8
180 root 1.248 =head1 SIMPLE CORO CREATION
181 root 1.8
182     =over 4
183    
184 root 1.13 =item async { ... } [@args...]
185 root 1.8
186 root 1.248 Create a new coro and return its Coro object (usually
187     unused). The coro will be put into the ready queue, so
188 root 1.181 it will start running automatically on the next scheduler run.
189    
190     The first argument is a codeblock/closure that should be executed in the
191 root 1.248 coro. When it returns argument returns the coro is automatically
192 root 1.8 terminated.
193    
194 root 1.181 The remaining arguments are passed as arguments to the closure.
195    
196 root 1.248 See the C<Coro::State::new> constructor for info about the coro
197     environment in which coro are executed.
198 root 1.145
199 root 1.248 Calling C<exit> in a coro will do the same as calling exit outside
200     the coro. Likewise, when the coro dies, the program will exit,
201 root 1.122 just as it would in the main program.
202 root 1.79
203 root 1.181 If you do not want that, you can provide a default C<die> handler, or
204     simply avoid dieing (by use of C<eval>).
205    
206 root 1.248 Example: Create a new coro that just prints its arguments.
207 root 1.181
208 root 1.13 async {
209     print "@_\n";
210     } 1,2,3,4;
211    
212 root 1.8 =cut
213    
214 root 1.13 sub async(&@) {
215 root 1.104 my $coro = new Coro @_;
216     $coro->ready;
217     $coro
218 root 1.8 }
219 root 1.1
220 root 1.105 =item async_pool { ... } [@args...]
221    
222 root 1.248 Similar to C<async>, but uses a coro pool, so you should not call
223 root 1.181 terminate or join on it (although you are allowed to), and you get a
224 root 1.248 coro that might have executed other code already (which can be good
225 root 1.181 or bad :).
226    
227 root 1.228 On the plus side, this function is about twice as fast as creating (and
228 root 1.248 destroying) a completely new coro, so if you need a lot of generic
229     coros in quick successsion, use C<async_pool>, not C<async>.
230 root 1.105
231 root 1.181 The code block is executed in an C<eval> context and a warning will be
232 root 1.108 issued in case of an exception instead of terminating the program, as
233 root 1.248 C<async> does. As the coro is being reused, stuff like C<on_destroy>
234 root 1.108 will not work in the expected way, unless you call terminate or cancel,
235 root 1.181 which somehow defeats the purpose of pooling (but is fine in the
236     exceptional case).
237 root 1.105
238 root 1.181 The priority will be reset to C<0> after each run, tracing will be
239 root 1.146 disabled, the description will be reset and the default output filehandle
240 root 1.248 gets restored, so you can change all these. Otherwise the coro will
241     be re-used "as-is": most notably if you change other per-coro global
242 root 1.204 stuff such as C<$/> you I<must needs> revert that change, which is most
243     simply done by using local as in: C<< local $/ >>.
244 root 1.105
245 root 1.248 The idle pool size is limited to C<8> idle coros (this can be
246 root 1.204 adjusted by changing $Coro::POOL_SIZE), but there can be as many non-idle
247     coros as required.
248 root 1.105
249 root 1.248 If you are concerned about pooled coros growing a lot because a
250 root 1.133 single C<async_pool> used a lot of stackspace you can e.g. C<async_pool
251     { terminate }> once per second or so to slowly replenish the pool. In
252 root 1.232 addition to that, when the stacks used by a handler grows larger than 32kb
253 root 1.181 (adjustable via $Coro::POOL_RSS) it will also be destroyed.
254 root 1.105
255     =cut
256    
257     our $POOL_SIZE = 8;
258 root 1.232 our $POOL_RSS = 32 * 1024;
259 root 1.134 our @async_pool;
260 root 1.105
261     sub pool_handler {
262     while () {
263 root 1.134 eval {
264 root 1.227 &{&_pool_handler} while 1;
265 root 1.105 };
266 root 1.134
267 root 1.227 warn $@ if $@;
268 root 1.106 }
269     }
270 root 1.105
271 root 1.181 =back
272    
273 root 1.234 =head1 STATIC METHODS
274 root 1.181
275 root 1.234 Static methods are actually functions that implicitly operate on the
276 root 1.248 current coro.
277 root 1.181
278     =over 4
279    
280 root 1.8 =item schedule
281 root 1.6
282 root 1.248 Calls the scheduler. The scheduler will find the next coro that is
283     to be run from the ready queue and switches to it. The next coro
284 root 1.181 to be run is simply the one with the highest priority that is longest
285 root 1.248 in its ready queue. If there is no coro ready, it will clal the
286 root 1.181 C<$Coro::idle> hook.
287    
288 root 1.248 Please note that the current coro will I<not> be put into the ready
289 root 1.181 queue, so calling this function usually means you will never be called
290     again unless something else (e.g. an event handler) calls C<< ->ready >>,
291     thus waking you up.
292    
293     This makes C<schedule> I<the> generic method to use to block the current
294 root 1.248 coro and wait for events: first you remember the current coro in
295 root 1.181 a variable, then arrange for some callback of yours to call C<< ->ready
296     >> on that once some event happens, and last you call C<schedule> to put
297 root 1.248 yourself to sleep. Note that a lot of things can wake your coro up,
298 root 1.196 so you need to check whether the event indeed happened, e.g. by storing the
299 root 1.181 status in a variable.
300 root 1.91
301 root 1.224 See B<HOW TO WAIT FOR A CALLBACK>, below, for some ways to wait for callbacks.
302 root 1.1
303 root 1.22 =item cede
304 root 1.1
305 root 1.248 "Cede" to other coros. This function puts the current coro into
306 root 1.181 the ready queue and calls C<schedule>, which has the effect of giving
307 root 1.248 up the current "timeslice" to other coros of the same or higher
308     priority. Once your coro gets its turn again it will automatically be
309 root 1.181 resumed.
310    
311     This function is often called C<yield> in other languages.
312 root 1.7
313 root 1.102 =item Coro::cede_notself
314    
315 root 1.181 Works like cede, but is not exported by default and will cede to I<any>
316 root 1.248 coro, regardless of priority. This is useful sometimes to ensure
317 root 1.181 progress is made.
318 root 1.102
319 root 1.40 =item terminate [arg...]
320 root 1.7
321 root 1.248 Terminates the current coro with the given status values (see L<cancel>).
322 root 1.13
323 root 1.247 =item Coro::on_enter BLOCK, Coro::on_leave BLOCK
324    
325     These function install enter and leave winders in the current scope. The
326     enter block will be executed when on_enter is called and whenever the
327 root 1.248 current coro is re-entered by the scheduler, while the leave block is
328     executed whenever the current coro is blocked by the scheduler, and
329 root 1.247 also when the containing scope is exited (by whatever means, be it exit,
330     die, last etc.).
331    
332     I<Neither invoking the scheduler, nor exceptions, are allowed within those
333     BLOCKs>. That means: do not even think about calling C<die> without an
334     eval, and do not even think of entering the scheduler in any way.
335    
336     Since both BLOCKs are tied to the current scope, they will automatically
337     be removed when the current scope exits.
338    
339     These functions implement the same concept as C<dynamic-wind> in scheme
340     does, and are useful when you want to localise some resource to a specific
341 root 1.248 coro.
342 root 1.247
343 root 1.254 They slow down thread switching considerably for coros that use them
344     (about 40% for a BLOCK with a single assignment, so thread switching is
345     still reasonably fast if the handlers are fast).
346 root 1.247
347     These functions are best understood by an example: The following function
348     will change the current timezone to "Antarctica/South_Pole", which
349     requires a call to C<tzset>, but by using C<on_enter> and C<on_leave>,
350     which remember/change the current timezone and restore the previous
351 root 1.252 value, respectively, the timezone is only changed for the coro that
352 root 1.247 installed those handlers.
353    
354     use POSIX qw(tzset);
355    
356     async {
357     my $old_tz; # store outside TZ value here
358    
359     Coro::on_enter {
360     $old_tz = $ENV{TZ}; # remember the old value
361    
362     $ENV{TZ} = "Antarctica/South_Pole";
363     tzset; # enable new value
364     };
365    
366     Coro::on_leave {
367     $ENV{TZ} = $old_tz;
368     tzset; # restore old value
369     };
370    
371     # at this place, the timezone is Antarctica/South_Pole,
372 root 1.248 # without disturbing the TZ of any other coro.
373 root 1.247 };
374    
375     This can be used to localise about any resource (locale, uid, current
376     working directory etc.) to a block, despite the existance of other
377 root 1.248 coros.
378 root 1.247
379 root 1.255 Another interesting example implements time-sliced multitasking using
380     interval timers (this could obviously be optimised, but does the job):
381    
382     # "timeslice" the given block
383     sub timeslice(&) {
384     use Time::HiRes ();
385    
386     Coro::on_enter {
387     # on entering the thread, we set an VTALRM handler to cede
388     $SIG{VTALRM} = sub { cede };
389     # and then start the interval timer
390     Time::HiRes::setitimer &Time::HiRes::ITIMER_VIRTUAL, 0.01, 0.01;
391     };
392     Coro::on_leave {
393     # on leaving the thread, we stop the interval timer again
394     Time::HiRes::setitimer &Time::HiRes::ITIMER_VIRTUAL, 0, 0;
395     };
396    
397     &{+shift};
398     }
399    
400     # use like this:
401     timeslice {
402     # The following is an endless loop that would normally
403 root 1.256 # monopolise the process. Since it runs in a timesliced
404 root 1.255 # environment, it will regularly cede to other threads.
405     while () { }
406     };
407    
408    
409 root 1.141 =item killall
410    
411 root 1.248 Kills/terminates/cancels all coros except the currently running one.
412 root 1.247
413     Note that while this will try to free some of the main interpreter
414 root 1.248 resources if the calling coro isn't the main coro, but one
415     cannot free all of them, so if a coro that is not the main coro
416 root 1.247 calls this function, there will be some one-time resource leak.
417 root 1.181
418 root 1.1 =cut
419    
420 root 1.141 sub killall {
421     for (Coro::State::list) {
422     $_->cancel
423     if $_ != $current && UNIVERSAL::isa $_, "Coro";
424     }
425     }
426    
427 root 1.8 =back
428    
429 root 1.248 =head1 CORO OBJECT METHODS
430 root 1.8
431 root 1.248 These are the methods you can call on coro objects (or to create
432 root 1.181 them).
433 root 1.6
434 root 1.8 =over 4
435    
436 root 1.13 =item new Coro \&sub [, @args...]
437 root 1.8
438 root 1.248 Create a new coro and return it. When the sub returns, the coro
439 root 1.40 automatically terminates as if C<terminate> with the returned values were
440 root 1.248 called. To make the coro run you must first put it into the ready
441 root 1.181 queue by calling the ready method.
442 root 1.13
443 root 1.145 See C<async> and C<Coro::State::new> for additional info about the
444 root 1.248 coro environment.
445 root 1.89
446 root 1.6 =cut
447    
448 root 1.241 sub _coro_run {
449 root 1.13 terminate &{+shift};
450     }
451    
452 root 1.248 =item $success = $coro->ready
453 root 1.1
454 root 1.248 Put the given coro into the end of its ready queue (there is one
455     queue for each priority) and return true. If the coro is already in
456 root 1.181 the ready queue, do nothing and return false.
457    
458 root 1.248 This ensures that the scheduler will resume this coro automatically
459     once all the coro of higher priority and all coro of the same
460 root 1.181 priority that were put into the ready queue earlier have been resumed.
461 root 1.1
462 root 1.250 =item $coro->suspend
463    
464     Suspends the specified coro. A suspended coro works just like any other
465     coro, except that the scheduler will not select a suspended coro for
466     execution.
467    
468     Suspending a coro can be useful when you want to keep the coro from
469     running, but you don't want to destroy it, or when you want to temporarily
470     freeze a coro (e.g. for debugging) to resume it later.
471    
472     A scenario for the former would be to suspend all (other) coros after a
473     fork and keep them alive, so their destructors aren't called, but new
474     coros can be created.
475    
476     =item $coro->resume
477    
478     If the specified coro was suspended, it will be resumed. Note that when
479     the coro was in the ready queue when it was suspended, it might have been
480     unreadied by the scheduler, so an activation might have been lost.
481    
482     To avoid this, it is best to put a suspended coro into the ready queue
483     unconditionally, as every synchronisation mechanism must protect itself
484     against spurious wakeups, and the one in the Coro family certainly do
485     that.
486    
487 root 1.248 =item $is_ready = $coro->is_ready
488 root 1.90
489 root 1.248 Returns true iff the Coro object is in the ready queue. Unless the Coro
490     object gets destroyed, it will eventually be scheduled by the scheduler.
491 root 1.28
492 root 1.248 =item $is_running = $coro->is_running
493 root 1.28
494 root 1.248 Returns true iff the Coro object is currently running. Only one Coro object
495     can ever be in the running state (but it currently is possible to have
496     multiple running Coro::States).
497    
498     =item $is_suspended = $coro->is_suspended
499    
500     Returns true iff this Coro object has been suspended. Suspended Coros will
501     not ever be scheduled.
502    
503     =item $coro->cancel (arg...)
504    
505     Terminates the given Coro and makes it return the given arguments as
506     status (default: the empty list). Never returns if the Coro is the
507     current Coro.
508 root 1.28
509     =cut
510    
511     sub cancel {
512 pcg 1.59 my $self = shift;
513 root 1.103
514     if ($current == $self) {
515 root 1.226 terminate @_;
516 root 1.103 } else {
517 root 1.226 $self->{_status} = [@_];
518 root 1.248 Coro::State::cancel $self;
519 root 1.103 }
520 root 1.40 }
521    
522 root 1.248 =item $coro->schedule_to
523 root 1.229
524 root 1.248 Puts the current coro to sleep (like C<Coro::schedule>), but instead
525 root 1.229 of continuing with the next coro from the ready queue, always switch to
526 root 1.248 the given coro object (regardless of priority etc.). The readyness
527     state of that coro isn't changed.
528 root 1.229
529     This is an advanced method for special cases - I'd love to hear about any
530     uses for this one.
531    
532 root 1.248 =item $coro->cede_to
533 root 1.229
534 root 1.248 Like C<schedule_to>, but puts the current coro into the ready
535 root 1.229 queue. This has the effect of temporarily switching to the given
536 root 1.248 coro, and continuing some time later.
537 root 1.229
538     This is an advanced method for special cases - I'd love to hear about any
539     uses for this one.
540    
541 root 1.248 =item $coro->throw ([$scalar])
542 root 1.208
543     If C<$throw> is specified and defined, it will be thrown as an exception
544 root 1.248 inside the coro at the next convenient point in time. Otherwise
545 root 1.222 clears the exception object.
546    
547     Coro will check for the exception each time a schedule-like-function
548     returns, i.e. after each C<schedule>, C<cede>, C<< Coro::Semaphore->down
549 root 1.223 >>, C<< Coro::Handle->readable >> and so on. Most of these functions
550     detect this case and return early in case an exception is pending.
551 root 1.208
552     The exception object will be thrown "as is" with the specified scalar in
553     C<$@>, i.e. if it is a string, no line number or newline will be appended
554     (unlike with C<die>).
555    
556 root 1.248 This can be used as a softer means than C<cancel> to ask a coro to
557 root 1.208 end itself, although there is no guarantee that the exception will lead to
558     termination, and if the exception isn't caught it might well end the whole
559     program.
560    
561     You might also think of C<throw> as being the moral equivalent of
562 root 1.248 C<kill>ing a coro with a signal (in this case, a scalar).
563 root 1.208
564 root 1.248 =item $coro->join
565 root 1.40
566 root 1.248 Wait until the coro terminates and return any values given to the
567 root 1.143 C<terminate> or C<cancel> functions. C<join> can be called concurrently
568 root 1.248 from multiple coro, and all will be resumed and given the status
569     return once the C<$coro> terminates.
570 root 1.40
571     =cut
572    
573     sub join {
574     my $self = shift;
575 root 1.103
576 root 1.142 unless ($self->{_status}) {
577 root 1.103 my $current = $current;
578    
579 root 1.142 push @{$self->{_on_destroy}}, sub {
580 root 1.103 $current->ready;
581     undef $current;
582     };
583    
584     &schedule while $current;
585 root 1.40 }
586 root 1.103
587 root 1.142 wantarray ? @{$self->{_status}} : $self->{_status}[0];
588 root 1.31 }
589    
590 root 1.248 =item $coro->on_destroy (\&cb)
591 root 1.101
592 root 1.248 Registers a callback that is called when this coro gets destroyed,
593 root 1.101 but before it is joined. The callback gets passed the terminate arguments,
594 root 1.181 if any, and I<must not> die, under any circumstances.
595 root 1.101
596     =cut
597    
598     sub on_destroy {
599     my ($self, $cb) = @_;
600    
601 root 1.142 push @{ $self->{_on_destroy} }, $cb;
602 root 1.101 }
603    
604 root 1.248 =item $oldprio = $coro->prio ($newprio)
605 root 1.31
606 root 1.41 Sets (or gets, if the argument is missing) the priority of the
607 root 1.248 coro. Higher priority coro get run before lower priority
608     coro. Priorities are small signed integers (currently -4 .. +3),
609 root 1.41 that you can refer to using PRIO_xxx constants (use the import tag :prio
610     to get then):
611 root 1.31
612     PRIO_MAX > PRIO_HIGH > PRIO_NORMAL > PRIO_LOW > PRIO_IDLE > PRIO_MIN
613     3 > 1 > 0 > -1 > -3 > -4
614    
615     # set priority to HIGH
616 root 1.248 current->prio (PRIO_HIGH);
617 root 1.31
618 root 1.248 The idle coro ($Coro::idle) always has a lower priority than any
619     existing coro.
620 root 1.31
621 root 1.248 Changing the priority of the current coro will take effect immediately,
622     but changing the priority of coro in the ready queue (but not
623 root 1.31 running) will only take effect after the next schedule (of that
624 root 1.248 coro). This is a bug that will be fixed in some future version.
625 root 1.31
626 root 1.248 =item $newprio = $coro->nice ($change)
627 root 1.31
628     Similar to C<prio>, but subtract the given value from the priority (i.e.
629     higher values mean lower priority, just as in unix).
630    
631 root 1.248 =item $olddesc = $coro->desc ($newdesc)
632 root 1.41
633     Sets (or gets in case the argument is missing) the description for this
634 root 1.248 coro. This is just a free-form string you can associate with a
635     coro.
636 root 1.150
637 root 1.248 This method simply sets the C<< $coro->{desc} >> member to the given
638 root 1.208 string. You can modify this member directly if you wish.
639 root 1.150
640 root 1.41 =cut
641    
642     sub desc {
643     my $old = $_[0]{desc};
644     $_[0]{desc} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
645     $old;
646 root 1.8 }
647 root 1.1
648 root 1.233 sub transfer {
649     require Carp;
650     Carp::croak ("You must not call ->transfer on Coro objects. Use Coro::State objects or the ->schedule_to method. Caught");
651     }
652    
653 root 1.8 =back
654 root 1.2
655 root 1.234 =head1 GLOBAL FUNCTIONS
656 root 1.92
657     =over 4
658    
659 root 1.97 =item Coro::nready
660    
661 root 1.248 Returns the number of coro that are currently in the ready state,
662 root 1.181 i.e. that can be switched to by calling C<schedule> directory or
663 root 1.248 indirectly. The value C<0> means that the only runnable coro is the
664 root 1.181 currently running one, so C<cede> would have no effect, and C<schedule>
665     would cause a deadlock unless there is an idle handler that wakes up some
666 root 1.248 coro.
667 root 1.97
668 root 1.103 =item my $guard = Coro::guard { ... }
669    
670 root 1.243 This function still exists, but is deprecated. Please use the
671     C<Guard::guard> function instead.
672 root 1.103
673     =cut
674    
675 root 1.243 BEGIN { *guard = \&Guard::guard }
676 root 1.103
677 root 1.92 =item unblock_sub { ... }
678    
679     This utility function takes a BLOCK or code reference and "unblocks" it,
680 root 1.181 returning a new coderef. Unblocking means that calling the new coderef
681     will return immediately without blocking, returning nothing, while the
682     original code ref will be called (with parameters) from within another
683 root 1.248 coro.
684 root 1.92
685 root 1.124 The reason this function exists is that many event libraries (such as the
686 root 1.248 venerable L<Event|Event> module) are not thread-safe (a weaker form
687 root 1.238 of reentrancy). This means you must not block within event callbacks,
688 root 1.181 otherwise you might suffer from crashes or worse. The only event library
689     currently known that is safe to use without C<unblock_sub> is L<EV>.
690 root 1.92
691     This function allows your callbacks to block by executing them in another
692 root 1.248 coro where it is safe to block. One example where blocking is handy
693 root 1.92 is when you use the L<Coro::AIO|Coro::AIO> functions to save results to
694 root 1.181 disk, for example.
695 root 1.92
696     In short: simply use C<unblock_sub { ... }> instead of C<sub { ... }> when
697     creating event callbacks that want to block.
698    
699 root 1.181 If your handler does not plan to block (e.g. simply sends a message to
700 root 1.248 another coro, or puts some other coro into the ready queue), there is
701     no reason to use C<unblock_sub>.
702 root 1.181
703 root 1.183 Note that you also need to use C<unblock_sub> for any other callbacks that
704     are indirectly executed by any C-based event loop. For example, when you
705     use a module that uses L<AnyEvent> (and you use L<Coro::AnyEvent>) and it
706     provides callbacks that are the result of some event callback, then you
707     must not block either, or use C<unblock_sub>.
708    
709 root 1.92 =cut
710    
711     our @unblock_queue;
712    
713 root 1.105 # we create a special coro because we want to cede,
714     # to reduce pressure on the coro pool (because most callbacks
715     # return immediately and can be reused) and because we cannot cede
716     # inside an event callback.
717 root 1.132 our $unblock_scheduler = new Coro sub {
718 root 1.92 while () {
719     while (my $cb = pop @unblock_queue) {
720 root 1.227 &async_pool (@$cb);
721 root 1.105
722 root 1.227 # for short-lived callbacks, this reduces pressure on the coro pool
723     # as the chance is very high that the async_poll coro will be back
724     # in the idle state when cede returns
725     cede;
726 root 1.92 }
727 root 1.105 schedule; # sleep well
728 root 1.92 }
729     };
730 root 1.208 $unblock_scheduler->{desc} = "[unblock_sub scheduler]";
731 root 1.92
732     sub unblock_sub(&) {
733     my $cb = shift;
734    
735     sub {
736 root 1.105 unshift @unblock_queue, [$cb, @_];
737 root 1.92 $unblock_scheduler->ready;
738     }
739     }
740    
741 root 1.224 =item $cb = Coro::rouse_cb
742    
743 root 1.238 Create and return a "rouse callback". That's a code reference that,
744     when called, will remember a copy of its arguments and notify the owner
745 root 1.248 coro of the callback.
746 root 1.224
747     See the next function.
748    
749     =item @args = Coro::rouse_wait [$cb]
750    
751 root 1.238 Wait for the specified rouse callback (or the last one that was created in
752 root 1.248 this coro).
753 root 1.224
754 root 1.238 As soon as the callback is invoked (or when the callback was invoked
755     before C<rouse_wait>), it will return the arguments originally passed to
756 root 1.258 the rouse callback. In scalar context, that means you get the I<last>
757     argument, just as if C<rouse_wait> had a C<return ($a1, $a2, $a3...)>
758     statement at the end.
759 root 1.224
760     See the section B<HOW TO WAIT FOR A CALLBACK> for an actual usage example.
761    
762 root 1.92 =back
763    
764 root 1.8 =cut
765 root 1.2
766 root 1.8 1;
767 root 1.14
768 root 1.224 =head1 HOW TO WAIT FOR A CALLBACK
769    
770 root 1.248 It is very common for a coro to wait for some callback to be
771     called. This occurs naturally when you use coro in an otherwise
772 root 1.224 event-based program, or when you use event-based libraries.
773    
774     These typically register a callback for some event, and call that callback
775 root 1.248 when the event occured. In a coro, however, you typically want to
776 root 1.224 just wait for the event, simplyifying things.
777    
778     For example C<< AnyEvent->child >> registers a callback to be called when
779     a specific child has exited:
780    
781     my $child_watcher = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub { ... });
782    
783 root 1.248 But from within a coro, you often just want to write this:
784 root 1.224
785     my $status = wait_for_child $pid;
786    
787     Coro offers two functions specifically designed to make this easy,
788     C<Coro::rouse_cb> and C<Coro::rouse_wait>.
789    
790     The first function, C<rouse_cb>, generates and returns a callback that,
791 root 1.248 when invoked, will save its arguments and notify the coro that
792 root 1.224 created the callback.
793    
794     The second function, C<rouse_wait>, waits for the callback to be called
795     (by calling C<schedule> to go to sleep) and returns the arguments
796     originally passed to the callback.
797    
798     Using these functions, it becomes easy to write the C<wait_for_child>
799     function mentioned above:
800    
801     sub wait_for_child($) {
802     my ($pid) = @_;
803    
804     my $watcher = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => Coro::rouse_cb);
805    
806     my ($rpid, $rstatus) = Coro::rouse_wait;
807     $rstatus
808     }
809    
810     In the case where C<rouse_cb> and C<rouse_wait> are not flexible enough,
811     you can roll your own, using C<schedule>:
812    
813     sub wait_for_child($) {
814     my ($pid) = @_;
815    
816 root 1.248 # store the current coro in $current,
817 root 1.224 # and provide result variables for the closure passed to ->child
818     my $current = $Coro::current;
819     my ($done, $rstatus);
820    
821     # pass a closure to ->child
822     my $watcher = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub {
823     $rstatus = $_[1]; # remember rstatus
824     $done = 1; # mark $rstatus as valud
825     });
826    
827     # wait until the closure has been called
828     schedule while !$done;
829    
830     $rstatus
831     }
832    
833    
834 root 1.17 =head1 BUGS/LIMITATIONS
835 root 1.14
836 root 1.217 =over 4
837    
838 root 1.219 =item fork with pthread backend
839    
840     When Coro is compiled using the pthread backend (which isn't recommended
841     but required on many BSDs as their libcs are completely broken), then
842 root 1.248 coro will not survive a fork. There is no known workaround except to
843 root 1.219 fix your libc and use a saner backend.
844    
845 root 1.217 =item perl process emulation ("threads")
846    
847 root 1.181 This module is not perl-pseudo-thread-safe. You should only ever use this
848 root 1.238 module from the first thread (this requirement might be removed in the
849 root 1.181 future to allow per-thread schedulers, but Coro::State does not yet allow
850 root 1.217 this). I recommend disabling thread support and using processes, as having
851     the windows process emulation enabled under unix roughly halves perl
852     performance, even when not used.
853    
854 root 1.248 =item coro switching is not signal safe
855 root 1.217
856 root 1.248 You must not switch to another coro from within a signal handler
857 root 1.217 (only relevant with %SIG - most event libraries provide safe signals).
858    
859 root 1.221 That means you I<MUST NOT> call any function that might "block" the
860 root 1.248 current coro - C<cede>, C<schedule> C<< Coro::Semaphore->down >> or
861 root 1.217 anything that calls those. Everything else, including calling C<ready>,
862     works.
863    
864     =back
865    
866 root 1.9
867     =head1 SEE ALSO
868    
869 root 1.181 Event-Loop integration: L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>.
870 root 1.152
871     Debugging: L<Coro::Debug>.
872    
873     Support/Utility: L<Coro::Specific>, L<Coro::Util>.
874 root 1.67
875 root 1.238 Locking and IPC: L<Coro::Signal>, L<Coro::Channel>, L<Coro::Semaphore>,
876 root 1.235 L<Coro::SemaphoreSet>, L<Coro::RWLock>.
877 root 1.67
878 root 1.238 I/O and Timers: L<Coro::Timer>, L<Coro::Handle>, L<Coro::Socket>, L<Coro::AIO>.
879 root 1.181
880 root 1.238 Compatibility with other modules: L<Coro::LWP> (but see also L<AnyEvent::HTTP> for
881 root 1.235 a better-working alternative), L<Coro::BDB>, L<Coro::Storable>,
882     L<Coro::Select>.
883 root 1.152
884 root 1.181 XS API: L<Coro::MakeMaker>.
885 root 1.67
886 root 1.238 Low level Configuration, Thread Environment, Continuations: L<Coro::State>.
887 root 1.1
888     =head1 AUTHOR
889    
890 root 1.66 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
891 root 1.64 http://home.schmorp.de/
892 root 1.1
893     =cut
894