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1=head1 NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3Coro - create and manage coroutines 3Coro - the only real threads in perl
4 4
5=head1 SYNOPSIS 5=head1 SYNOPSIS
6 6
7 use Coro; 7 use Coro;
8 8
9 $new = new Coro sub { 9 async {
10 print "in coroutine, switching back\n"; 10 # some asynchronous thread of execution
11 $Coro::main->resume; 11 print "2\n";
12 print "in coroutine again, switching back\n"; 12 cede; # yield back to main
13 $Coro::main->resume; 13 print "4\n";
14 }; 14 };
15 15 print "1\n";
16 print "in main, switching to coroutine\n"; 16 cede; # yield to coro
17 $new->resume; 17 print "3\n";
18 print "back in main, switch to coroutine again\n"; 18 cede; # and again
19 $new->resume; 19
20 print "back in main\n"; 20 # use locking
21 use Coro::Semaphore;
22 my $lock = new Coro::Semaphore;
23 my $locked;
24
25 $lock->down;
26 $locked = 1;
27 $lock->up;
21 28
22=head1 DESCRIPTION 29=head1 DESCRIPTION
23 30
24This module implements coroutines. Coroutines, similar to continuations, 31For a tutorial-style introduction, please read the L<Coro::Intro>
25allow you to run more than one "thread of execution" in parallel. Unlike 32manpage. This manpage mainly contains reference information.
26threads this, only voluntary switching is used so locking problems are
27greatly reduced.
28 33
29Although this is the "main" module of the Coro family it provides only 34This module collection manages continuations in general, most often in
30low-level functionality. See L<Coro::Process> and related modules for a 35the form of cooperative threads (also called coros, or simply "coro"
31more useful process abstraction including scheduling. 36in the documentation). They are similar to kernel threads but don't (in
37general) run in parallel at the same time even on SMP machines. The
38specific flavor of thread offered by this module also guarantees you that
39it will not switch between threads unless necessary, at easily-identified
40points in your program, so locking and parallel access are rarely an
41issue, making thread programming much safer and easier than using other
42thread models.
43
44Unlike the so-called "Perl threads" (which are not actually real threads
45but only the windows process emulation ported to unix), Coro provides a
46full shared address space, which makes communication between threads
47very easy. And threads are fast, too: disabling the Windows process
48emulation code in your perl and using Coro can easily result in a two to
49four times speed increase for your programs.
50
51Coro achieves that by supporting multiple running interpreters that share
52data, which is especially useful to code pseudo-parallel processes and
53for event-based programming, such as multiple HTTP-GET requests running
54concurrently. See L<Coro::AnyEvent> to learn more on how to integrate Coro
55into an event-based environment.
56
57In this module, a thread is defined as "callchain + lexical variables +
58@_ + $_ + $@ + $/ + C stack), that is, a thread has its own callchain,
59its own set of lexicals and its own set of perls most important global
60variables (see L<Coro::State> for more configuration and background info).
61
62See also the C<SEE ALSO> section at the end of this document - the Coro
63module family is quite large.
64
65=cut
66
67package Coro;
68
69use strict qw(vars subs);
70no warnings "uninitialized";
71
72use Guard ();
73
74use Coro::State;
75
76use base qw(Coro::State Exporter);
77
78our $idle; # idle handler
79our $main; # main coro
80our $current; # current coro
81
82our $VERSION = 5.13;
83
84our @EXPORT = qw(async async_pool cede schedule terminate current unblock_sub);
85our %EXPORT_TAGS = (
86 prio => [qw(PRIO_MAX PRIO_HIGH PRIO_NORMAL PRIO_LOW PRIO_IDLE PRIO_MIN)],
87);
88our @EXPORT_OK = (@{$EXPORT_TAGS{prio}}, qw(nready));
89
90=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES
32 91
33=over 4 92=over 4
34 93
35=cut
36
37package Coro;
38
39BEGIN {
40 $VERSION = 0.03;
41
42 require XSLoader;
43 XSLoader::load Coro, $VERSION;
44}
45
46=item $main 94=item $Coro::main
47 95
48This coroutine represents the main program. 96This variable stores the Coro object that represents the main
97program. While you cna C<ready> it and do most other things you can do to
98coro, it is mainly useful to compare again C<$Coro::current>, to see
99whether you are running in the main program or not.
49 100
101=cut
102
103# $main is now being initialised by Coro::State
104
50=item $current 105=item $Coro::current
51 106
52The current coroutine (the last coroutine switched to). The initial value is C<$main> (of course). 107The Coro object representing the current coro (the last
108coro that the Coro scheduler switched to). The initial value is
109C<$Coro::main> (of course).
53 110
54=cut 111This variable is B<strictly> I<read-only>. You can take copies of the
112value stored in it and use it as any other Coro object, but you must
113not otherwise modify the variable itself.
55 114
56$main = $current = _newprocess { 115=cut
57 # never being called 116
117sub current() { $current } # [DEPRECATED]
118
119=item $Coro::idle
120
121This variable is mainly useful to integrate Coro into event loops. It is
122usually better to rely on L<Coro::AnyEvent> or L<Coro::EV>, as this is
123pretty low-level functionality.
124
125This variable stores either a Coro object or a callback.
126
127If it is a callback, the it is called whenever the scheduler finds no
128ready coros to run. The default implementation prints "FATAL:
129deadlock detected" and exits, because the program has no other way to
130continue.
131
132If it is a coro object, then this object will be readied (without
133invoking any ready hooks, however) when the scheduler finds no other ready
134coros to run.
135
136This hook is overwritten by modules such as C<Coro::EV> and
137C<Coro::AnyEvent> to wait on an external event that hopefully wake up a
138coro so the scheduler can run it.
139
140Note that the callback I<must not>, under any circumstances, block
141the current coro. Normally, this is achieved by having an "idle
142coro" that calls the event loop and then blocks again, and then
143readying that coro in the idle handler, or by simply placing the idle
144coro in this variable.
145
146See L<Coro::Event> or L<Coro::AnyEvent> for examples of using this
147technique.
148
149Please note that if your callback recursively invokes perl (e.g. for event
150handlers), then it must be prepared to be called recursively itself.
151
152=cut
153
154$idle = sub {
155 require Carp;
156 Carp::croak ("FATAL: deadlock detected");
58}; 157};
59 158
60=item $error, $error_msg, $error_coro 159# this coro is necessary because a coro
160# cannot destroy itself.
161our @destroy;
162our $manager;
61 163
62This coroutine will be called on fatal errors. C<$error_msg> and 164$manager = new Coro sub {
63C<$error_coro> return the error message and the error-causing coroutine, 165 while () {
64respectively. 166 Coro::State::cancel shift @destroy
167 while @destroy;
65 168
66=cut 169 &schedule;
67 170 }
68$error_msg =
69$error_coro = undef;
70
71$error = _newprocess {
72 print STDERR "FATAL: $error_msg\nprogram aborted\n";
73 exit 250;
74}; 171};
172$manager->{desc} = "[coro manager]";
173$manager->prio (PRIO_MAX);
75 174
76=item $coro = new $coderef [, @args] 175=back
77 176
78Create a new coroutine and return it. The first C<resume> call to this 177=head1 SIMPLE CORO CREATION
79coroutine will start execution at the given coderef. If it returns it
80should return a coroutine to switch to. If, after returning, the coroutine
81is C<resume>d again it starts execution again at the givne coderef.
82 178
83=cut 179=over 4
84 180
181=item async { ... } [@args...]
182
183Create a new coro and return its Coro object (usually
184unused). The coro will be put into the ready queue, so
185it will start running automatically on the next scheduler run.
186
187The first argument is a codeblock/closure that should be executed in the
188coro. When it returns argument returns the coro is automatically
189terminated.
190
191The remaining arguments are passed as arguments to the closure.
192
193See the C<Coro::State::new> constructor for info about the coro
194environment in which coro are executed.
195
196Calling C<exit> in a coro will do the same as calling exit outside
197the coro. Likewise, when the coro dies, the program will exit,
198just as it would in the main program.
199
200If you do not want that, you can provide a default C<die> handler, or
201simply avoid dieing (by use of C<eval>).
202
203Example: Create a new coro that just prints its arguments.
204
205 async {
206 print "@_\n";
207 } 1,2,3,4;
208
209=cut
210
211sub async(&@) {
212 my $coro = new Coro @_;
213 $coro->ready;
214 $coro
215}
216
217=item async_pool { ... } [@args...]
218
219Similar to C<async>, but uses a coro pool, so you should not call
220terminate or join on it (although you are allowed to), and you get a
221coro that might have executed other code already (which can be good
222or bad :).
223
224On the plus side, this function is about twice as fast as creating (and
225destroying) a completely new coro, so if you need a lot of generic
226coros in quick successsion, use C<async_pool>, not C<async>.
227
228The code block is executed in an C<eval> context and a warning will be
229issued in case of an exception instead of terminating the program, as
230C<async> does. As the coro is being reused, stuff like C<on_destroy>
231will not work in the expected way, unless you call terminate or cancel,
232which somehow defeats the purpose of pooling (but is fine in the
233exceptional case).
234
235The priority will be reset to C<0> after each run, tracing will be
236disabled, the description will be reset and the default output filehandle
237gets restored, so you can change all these. Otherwise the coro will
238be re-used "as-is": most notably if you change other per-coro global
239stuff such as C<$/> you I<must needs> revert that change, which is most
240simply done by using local as in: C<< local $/ >>.
241
242The idle pool size is limited to C<8> idle coros (this can be
243adjusted by changing $Coro::POOL_SIZE), but there can be as many non-idle
244coros as required.
245
246If you are concerned about pooled coros growing a lot because a
247single C<async_pool> used a lot of stackspace you can e.g. C<async_pool
248{ terminate }> once per second or so to slowly replenish the pool. In
249addition to that, when the stacks used by a handler grows larger than 32kb
250(adjustable via $Coro::POOL_RSS) it will also be destroyed.
251
252=cut
253
254our $POOL_SIZE = 8;
255our $POOL_RSS = 32 * 1024;
256our @async_pool;
257
258sub pool_handler {
259 while () {
260 eval {
261 &{&_pool_handler} while 1;
262 };
263
264 warn $@ if $@;
265 }
266}
267
268=back
269
270=head1 STATIC METHODS
271
272Static methods are actually functions that implicitly operate on the
273current coro.
274
275=over 4
276
277=item schedule
278
279Calls the scheduler. The scheduler will find the next coro that is
280to be run from the ready queue and switches to it. The next coro
281to be run is simply the one with the highest priority that is longest
282in its ready queue. If there is no coro ready, it will clal the
283C<$Coro::idle> hook.
284
285Please note that the current coro will I<not> be put into the ready
286queue, so calling this function usually means you will never be called
287again unless something else (e.g. an event handler) calls C<< ->ready >>,
288thus waking you up.
289
290This makes C<schedule> I<the> generic method to use to block the current
291coro and wait for events: first you remember the current coro in
292a variable, then arrange for some callback of yours to call C<< ->ready
293>> on that once some event happens, and last you call C<schedule> to put
294yourself to sleep. Note that a lot of things can wake your coro up,
295so you need to check whether the event indeed happened, e.g. by storing the
296status in a variable.
297
298See B<HOW TO WAIT FOR A CALLBACK>, below, for some ways to wait for callbacks.
299
300=item cede
301
302"Cede" to other coros. This function puts the current coro into
303the ready queue and calls C<schedule>, which has the effect of giving
304up the current "timeslice" to other coros of the same or higher
305priority. Once your coro gets its turn again it will automatically be
306resumed.
307
308This function is often called C<yield> in other languages.
309
310=item Coro::cede_notself
311
312Works like cede, but is not exported by default and will cede to I<any>
313coro, regardless of priority. This is useful sometimes to ensure
314progress is made.
315
316=item terminate [arg...]
317
318Terminates the current coro with the given status values (see L<cancel>).
319
320=item Coro::on_enter BLOCK, Coro::on_leave BLOCK
321
322These function install enter and leave winders in the current scope. The
323enter block will be executed when on_enter is called and whenever the
324current coro is re-entered by the scheduler, while the leave block is
325executed whenever the current coro is blocked by the scheduler, and
326also when the containing scope is exited (by whatever means, be it exit,
327die, last etc.).
328
329I<Neither invoking the scheduler, nor exceptions, are allowed within those
330BLOCKs>. That means: do not even think about calling C<die> without an
331eval, and do not even think of entering the scheduler in any way.
332
333Since both BLOCKs are tied to the current scope, they will automatically
334be removed when the current scope exits.
335
336These functions implement the same concept as C<dynamic-wind> in scheme
337does, and are useful when you want to localise some resource to a specific
338coro.
339
340They slow down coro switching considerably for coros that use
341them (But coro switching is still reasonably fast if the handlers are
342fast).
343
344These functions are best understood by an example: The following function
345will change the current timezone to "Antarctica/South_Pole", which
346requires a call to C<tzset>, but by using C<on_enter> and C<on_leave>,
347which remember/change the current timezone and restore the previous
348value, respectively, the timezone is only changes for the coro that
349installed those handlers.
350
351 use POSIX qw(tzset);
352
353 async {
354 my $old_tz; # store outside TZ value here
355
356 Coro::on_enter {
357 $old_tz = $ENV{TZ}; # remember the old value
358
359 $ENV{TZ} = "Antarctica/South_Pole";
360 tzset; # enable new value
361 };
362
363 Coro::on_leave {
364 $ENV{TZ} = $old_tz;
365 tzset; # restore old value
366 };
367
368 # at this place, the timezone is Antarctica/South_Pole,
369 # without disturbing the TZ of any other coro.
370 };
371
372This can be used to localise about any resource (locale, uid, current
373working directory etc.) to a block, despite the existance of other
374coros.
375
376=item killall
377
378Kills/terminates/cancels all coros except the currently running one.
379
380Note that while this will try to free some of the main interpreter
381resources if the calling coro isn't the main coro, but one
382cannot free all of them, so if a coro that is not the main coro
383calls this function, there will be some one-time resource leak.
384
385=cut
386
387sub killall {
388 for (Coro::State::list) {
389 $_->cancel
390 if $_ != $current && UNIVERSAL::isa $_, "Coro";
391 }
392}
393
394=back
395
396=head1 CORO OBJECT METHODS
397
398These are the methods you can call on coro objects (or to create
399them).
400
401=over 4
402
403=item new Coro \&sub [, @args...]
404
405Create a new coro and return it. When the sub returns, the coro
406automatically terminates as if C<terminate> with the returned values were
407called. To make the coro run you must first put it into the ready
408queue by calling the ready method.
409
410See C<async> and C<Coro::State::new> for additional info about the
411coro environment.
412
413=cut
414
415sub _coro_run {
416 terminate &{+shift};
417}
418
419=item $success = $coro->ready
420
421Put the given coro into the end of its ready queue (there is one
422queue for each priority) and return true. If the coro is already in
423the ready queue, do nothing and return false.
424
425This ensures that the scheduler will resume this coro automatically
426once all the coro of higher priority and all coro of the same
427priority that were put into the ready queue earlier have been resumed.
428
429=item $is_ready = $coro->is_ready
430
431Returns true iff the Coro object is in the ready queue. Unless the Coro
432object gets destroyed, it will eventually be scheduled by the scheduler.
433
434=item $is_running = $coro->is_running
435
436Returns true iff the Coro object is currently running. Only one Coro object
437can ever be in the running state (but it currently is possible to have
438multiple running Coro::States).
439
440=item $is_suspended = $coro->is_suspended
441
442Returns true iff this Coro object has been suspended. Suspended Coros will
443not ever be scheduled.
444
445=item $coro->cancel (arg...)
446
447Terminates the given Coro and makes it return the given arguments as
448status (default: the empty list). Never returns if the Coro is the
449current Coro.
450
451=cut
452
85sub new { 453sub cancel {
86 my $class = $_[0]; 454 my $self = shift;
87 my $proc = $_[1]; 455
88 bless _newprocess { 456 if ($current == $self) {
89 do { 457 terminate @_;
90 eval { &$proc->resume }; 458 } else {
91 if ($@) { 459 $self->{_status} = [@_];
92 ($error_msg, $error_coro) = ($@, $current); 460 Coro::State::cancel $self;
93 $error->resume; 461 }
462}
463
464=item $coro->schedule_to
465
466Puts the current coro to sleep (like C<Coro::schedule>), but instead
467of continuing with the next coro from the ready queue, always switch to
468the given coro object (regardless of priority etc.). The readyness
469state of that coro isn't changed.
470
471This is an advanced method for special cases - I'd love to hear about any
472uses for this one.
473
474=item $coro->cede_to
475
476Like C<schedule_to>, but puts the current coro into the ready
477queue. This has the effect of temporarily switching to the given
478coro, and continuing some time later.
479
480This is an advanced method for special cases - I'd love to hear about any
481uses for this one.
482
483=item $coro->throw ([$scalar])
484
485If C<$throw> is specified and defined, it will be thrown as an exception
486inside the coro at the next convenient point in time. Otherwise
487clears the exception object.
488
489Coro will check for the exception each time a schedule-like-function
490returns, i.e. after each C<schedule>, C<cede>, C<< Coro::Semaphore->down
491>>, C<< Coro::Handle->readable >> and so on. Most of these functions
492detect this case and return early in case an exception is pending.
493
494The exception object will be thrown "as is" with the specified scalar in
495C<$@>, i.e. if it is a string, no line number or newline will be appended
496(unlike with C<die>).
497
498This can be used as a softer means than C<cancel> to ask a coro to
499end itself, although there is no guarantee that the exception will lead to
500termination, and if the exception isn't caught it might well end the whole
501program.
502
503You might also think of C<throw> as being the moral equivalent of
504C<kill>ing a coro with a signal (in this case, a scalar).
505
506=item $coro->join
507
508Wait until the coro terminates and return any values given to the
509C<terminate> or C<cancel> functions. C<join> can be called concurrently
510from multiple coro, and all will be resumed and given the status
511return once the C<$coro> terminates.
512
513=cut
514
515sub join {
516 my $self = shift;
517
518 unless ($self->{_status}) {
519 my $current = $current;
520
521 push @{$self->{_on_destroy}}, sub {
522 $current->ready;
523 undef $current;
524 };
525
526 &schedule while $current;
527 }
528
529 wantarray ? @{$self->{_status}} : $self->{_status}[0];
530}
531
532=item $coro->on_destroy (\&cb)
533
534Registers a callback that is called when this coro gets destroyed,
535but before it is joined. The callback gets passed the terminate arguments,
536if any, and I<must not> die, under any circumstances.
537
538=cut
539
540sub on_destroy {
541 my ($self, $cb) = @_;
542
543 push @{ $self->{_on_destroy} }, $cb;
544}
545
546=item $oldprio = $coro->prio ($newprio)
547
548Sets (or gets, if the argument is missing) the priority of the
549coro. Higher priority coro get run before lower priority
550coro. Priorities are small signed integers (currently -4 .. +3),
551that you can refer to using PRIO_xxx constants (use the import tag :prio
552to get then):
553
554 PRIO_MAX > PRIO_HIGH > PRIO_NORMAL > PRIO_LOW > PRIO_IDLE > PRIO_MIN
555 3 > 1 > 0 > -1 > -3 > -4
556
557 # set priority to HIGH
558 current->prio (PRIO_HIGH);
559
560The idle coro ($Coro::idle) always has a lower priority than any
561existing coro.
562
563Changing the priority of the current coro will take effect immediately,
564but changing the priority of coro in the ready queue (but not
565running) will only take effect after the next schedule (of that
566coro). This is a bug that will be fixed in some future version.
567
568=item $newprio = $coro->nice ($change)
569
570Similar to C<prio>, but subtract the given value from the priority (i.e.
571higher values mean lower priority, just as in unix).
572
573=item $olddesc = $coro->desc ($newdesc)
574
575Sets (or gets in case the argument is missing) the description for this
576coro. This is just a free-form string you can associate with a
577coro.
578
579This method simply sets the C<< $coro->{desc} >> member to the given
580string. You can modify this member directly if you wish.
581
582=cut
583
584sub desc {
585 my $old = $_[0]{desc};
586 $_[0]{desc} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
587 $old;
588}
589
590sub transfer {
591 require Carp;
592 Carp::croak ("You must not call ->transfer on Coro objects. Use Coro::State objects or the ->schedule_to method. Caught");
593}
594
595=back
596
597=head1 GLOBAL FUNCTIONS
598
599=over 4
600
601=item Coro::nready
602
603Returns the number of coro that are currently in the ready state,
604i.e. that can be switched to by calling C<schedule> directory or
605indirectly. The value C<0> means that the only runnable coro is the
606currently running one, so C<cede> would have no effect, and C<schedule>
607would cause a deadlock unless there is an idle handler that wakes up some
608coro.
609
610=item my $guard = Coro::guard { ... }
611
612This function still exists, but is deprecated. Please use the
613C<Guard::guard> function instead.
614
615=cut
616
617BEGIN { *guard = \&Guard::guard }
618
619=item unblock_sub { ... }
620
621This utility function takes a BLOCK or code reference and "unblocks" it,
622returning a new coderef. Unblocking means that calling the new coderef
623will return immediately without blocking, returning nothing, while the
624original code ref will be called (with parameters) from within another
625coro.
626
627The reason this function exists is that many event libraries (such as the
628venerable L<Event|Event> module) are not thread-safe (a weaker form
629of reentrancy). This means you must not block within event callbacks,
630otherwise you might suffer from crashes or worse. The only event library
631currently known that is safe to use without C<unblock_sub> is L<EV>.
632
633This function allows your callbacks to block by executing them in another
634coro where it is safe to block. One example where blocking is handy
635is when you use the L<Coro::AIO|Coro::AIO> functions to save results to
636disk, for example.
637
638In short: simply use C<unblock_sub { ... }> instead of C<sub { ... }> when
639creating event callbacks that want to block.
640
641If your handler does not plan to block (e.g. simply sends a message to
642another coro, or puts some other coro into the ready queue), there is
643no reason to use C<unblock_sub>.
644
645Note that you also need to use C<unblock_sub> for any other callbacks that
646are indirectly executed by any C-based event loop. For example, when you
647use a module that uses L<AnyEvent> (and you use L<Coro::AnyEvent>) and it
648provides callbacks that are the result of some event callback, then you
649must not block either, or use C<unblock_sub>.
650
651=cut
652
653our @unblock_queue;
654
655# we create a special coro because we want to cede,
656# to reduce pressure on the coro pool (because most callbacks
657# return immediately and can be reused) and because we cannot cede
658# inside an event callback.
659our $unblock_scheduler = new Coro sub {
660 while () {
661 while (my $cb = pop @unblock_queue) {
662 &async_pool (@$cb);
663
664 # for short-lived callbacks, this reduces pressure on the coro pool
665 # as the chance is very high that the async_poll coro will be back
666 # in the idle state when cede returns
667 cede;
94 } 668 }
95 } while (1); 669 schedule; # sleep well
96 }, $class; 670 }
97} 671};
672$unblock_scheduler->{desc} = "[unblock_sub scheduler]";
98 673
99=item $coro->resume 674sub unblock_sub(&) {
675 my $cb = shift;
100 676
101Resume execution at the given coroutine. 677 sub {
102 678 unshift @unblock_queue, [$cb, @_];
103=cut 679 $unblock_scheduler->ready;
104 680 }
105my $prev;
106
107# I call the _transfer function from a pelr function
108# because that way perl saves all important things on
109# the stack.
110sub resume {
111 $prev = $current; $current = $_[0];
112 _transfer($prev, $current);
113} 681}
682
683=item $cb = Coro::rouse_cb
684
685Create and return a "rouse callback". That's a code reference that,
686when called, will remember a copy of its arguments and notify the owner
687coro of the callback.
688
689See the next function.
690
691=item @args = Coro::rouse_wait [$cb]
692
693Wait for the specified rouse callback (or the last one that was created in
694this coro).
695
696As soon as the callback is invoked (or when the callback was invoked
697before C<rouse_wait>), it will return the arguments originally passed to
698the rouse callback.
699
700See the section B<HOW TO WAIT FOR A CALLBACK> for an actual usage example.
701
702=back
703
704=cut
114 705
1151; 7061;
116 707
708=head1 HOW TO WAIT FOR A CALLBACK
709
710It is very common for a coro to wait for some callback to be
711called. This occurs naturally when you use coro in an otherwise
712event-based program, or when you use event-based libraries.
713
714These typically register a callback for some event, and call that callback
715when the event occured. In a coro, however, you typically want to
716just wait for the event, simplyifying things.
717
718For example C<< AnyEvent->child >> registers a callback to be called when
719a specific child has exited:
720
721 my $child_watcher = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub { ... });
722
723But from within a coro, you often just want to write this:
724
725 my $status = wait_for_child $pid;
726
727Coro offers two functions specifically designed to make this easy,
728C<Coro::rouse_cb> and C<Coro::rouse_wait>.
729
730The first function, C<rouse_cb>, generates and returns a callback that,
731when invoked, will save its arguments and notify the coro that
732created the callback.
733
734The second function, C<rouse_wait>, waits for the callback to be called
735(by calling C<schedule> to go to sleep) and returns the arguments
736originally passed to the callback.
737
738Using these functions, it becomes easy to write the C<wait_for_child>
739function mentioned above:
740
741 sub wait_for_child($) {
742 my ($pid) = @_;
743
744 my $watcher = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => Coro::rouse_cb);
745
746 my ($rpid, $rstatus) = Coro::rouse_wait;
747 $rstatus
748 }
749
750In the case where C<rouse_cb> and C<rouse_wait> are not flexible enough,
751you can roll your own, using C<schedule>:
752
753 sub wait_for_child($) {
754 my ($pid) = @_;
755
756 # store the current coro in $current,
757 # and provide result variables for the closure passed to ->child
758 my $current = $Coro::current;
759 my ($done, $rstatus);
760
761 # pass a closure to ->child
762 my $watcher = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub {
763 $rstatus = $_[1]; # remember rstatus
764 $done = 1; # mark $rstatus as valud
765 });
766
767 # wait until the closure has been called
768 schedule while !$done;
769
770 $rstatus
771 }
772
773
774=head1 BUGS/LIMITATIONS
775
776=over 4
777
778=item fork with pthread backend
779
780When Coro is compiled using the pthread backend (which isn't recommended
781but required on many BSDs as their libcs are completely broken), then
782coro will not survive a fork. There is no known workaround except to
783fix your libc and use a saner backend.
784
785=item perl process emulation ("threads")
786
787This module is not perl-pseudo-thread-safe. You should only ever use this
788module from the first thread (this requirement might be removed in the
789future to allow per-thread schedulers, but Coro::State does not yet allow
790this). I recommend disabling thread support and using processes, as having
791the windows process emulation enabled under unix roughly halves perl
792performance, even when not used.
793
794=item coro switching is not signal safe
795
796You must not switch to another coro from within a signal handler
797(only relevant with %SIG - most event libraries provide safe signals).
798
799That means you I<MUST NOT> call any function that might "block" the
800current coro - C<cede>, C<schedule> C<< Coro::Semaphore->down >> or
801anything that calls those. Everything else, including calling C<ready>,
802works.
803
117=back 804=back
118 805
119=head1 BUGS
120
121This module has not yet been extensively tested.
122 806
123=head1 SEE ALSO 807=head1 SEE ALSO
124 808
125L<Coro::Process>, L<Coro::Signal>. 809Event-Loop integration: L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>.
810
811Debugging: L<Coro::Debug>.
812
813Support/Utility: L<Coro::Specific>, L<Coro::Util>.
814
815Locking and IPC: L<Coro::Signal>, L<Coro::Channel>, L<Coro::Semaphore>,
816L<Coro::SemaphoreSet>, L<Coro::RWLock>.
817
818I/O and Timers: L<Coro::Timer>, L<Coro::Handle>, L<Coro::Socket>, L<Coro::AIO>.
819
820Compatibility with other modules: L<Coro::LWP> (but see also L<AnyEvent::HTTP> for
821a better-working alternative), L<Coro::BDB>, L<Coro::Storable>,
822L<Coro::Select>.
823
824XS API: L<Coro::MakeMaker>.
825
826Low level Configuration, Thread Environment, Continuations: L<Coro::State>.
126 827
127=head1 AUTHOR 828=head1 AUTHOR
128 829
129 Marc Lehmann <pcg@goof.com> 830 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
130 http://www.goof.com/pcg/marc/ 831 http://home.schmorp.de/
131 832
132=cut 833=cut
133 834

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