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1	=head1 NAME	1	=head1 NAME
2		2
3	Coro - coroutine process abstraction	3	Coro - the only real threads in perl
4		4
5	=head1 SYNOPSIS	5	=head1 SYNOPSIS
6		6
7	use Coro;	7	use Coro;
8		8
…		…
11	print "2\n";	11	print "2\n";
12	cede; # yield back to main	12	cede; # yield back to main
13	print "4\n";	13	print "4\n";
14	};	14	};
15	print "1\n";	15	print "1\n";
16	cede; # yield to coroutine	16	cede; # yield to coro
17	print "3\n";	17	print "3\n";
18	cede; # and again	18	cede; # and again
19		19
20	# use locking	20	# use locking
21	my $lock = new Coro::Semaphore;	21	my $lock = new Coro::Semaphore;
…		…
25	$locked = 1;	25	$locked = 1;
26	$lock->up;	26	$lock->up;
27		27
28	=head1 DESCRIPTION	28	=head1 DESCRIPTION
29		29
30	This module collection manages coroutines. Coroutines are similar to	30	For a tutorial-style introduction, please read the L<Coro::Intro>
31	threads but don't (in general) run in parallel at the same time even	31	manpage. This manpage mainly contains reference information.
32	on SMP machines. The specific flavor of coroutine used in this module
33	also guarantees you that it will not switch between coroutines unless
34	necessary, at easily-identified points in your program, so locking and
35	parallel access are rarely an issue, making coroutine programming much
36	safer and easier than threads programming.
37		32
38	Unlike a normal perl program, however, coroutines allow you to have	33	This module collection manages continuations in general, most often in
39	multiple running interpreters that share data, which is especially useful	34	the form of cooperative threads (also called coros, or simply "coro"
40	to code pseudo-parallel processes and for event-based programming, such as	35	in the documentation). They are similar to kernel threads but don't (in
41	multiple HTTP-GET requests running concurrently. See L<Coro::AnyEvent> to	36	general) run in parallel at the same time even on SMP machines. The
42	learn more.	37	specific flavor of thread offered by this module also guarantees you that
		38	it will not switch between threads unless necessary, at easily-identified
		39	points in your program, so locking and parallel access are rarely an
		40	issue, making thread programming much safer and easier than using other
		41	thread models.
43		42
44	Coroutines are also useful because Perl has no support for threads (the so	43	Unlike the so-called "Perl threads" (which are not actually real threads
45	called "threads" that perl offers are nothing more than the (bad) process	44	but only the windows process emulation (see section of same name for
46	emulation coming from the Windows platform: On standard operating systems	45	more details) ported to UNIX, and as such act as processes), Coro
47	they serve no purpose whatsoever, except by making your programs slow and	46	provides a full shared address space, which makes communication between
48	making them use a lot of memory. Best disable them when building perl, or	47	threads very easy. And coro threads are fast, too: disabling the Windows
49	aks your software vendor/distributor to do it for you).	48	process emulation code in your perl and using Coro can easily result in
		49	a two to four times speed increase for your programs. A parallel matrix
		50	multiplication benchmark (very communication-intensive) runs over 300
		51	times faster on a single core than perls pseudo-threads on a quad core
		52	using all four cores.
50		53
		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
51	In this module, coroutines are defined as "callchain + lexical variables +	60	In this module, a thread is defined as "callchain + lexical variables +
52	@_ + $_ + $@ + $/ + C stack), that is, a coroutine has its own callchain,	61	some package variables + C stack), that is, a thread has its own callchain,
53	its own set of lexicals and its own set of perls most important global	62	its own set of lexicals and its own set of perls most important global
54	variables (see L<Coro::State> for more configuration).	63	variables (see L<Coro::State> for more configuration and background info).
		64
		65	See also the C<SEE ALSO> section at the end of this document - the Coro
		66	module family is quite large.
		67
		68	=head1 CORO THREAD LIFE CYCLE
		69
		70	During the long and exciting (or not) life of a coro thread, it goes
		71	through a number of states:
		72
		73	=over 4
		74
		75	=item 1. Creation
		76
		77	The first thing in the life of a coro thread is it's creation -
		78	obviously. The typical way to create a thread is to call the C<async
		79	BLOCK> function:
		80
		81	async {
		82	# thread code goes here
		83	};
		84
		85	You can also pass arguments, which are put in C<@_>:
		86
		87	async {
		88	print $_[1]; # prints 2
		89	} 1, 2, 3;
		90
		91	This creates a new coro thread and puts it into the ready queue, meaning
		92	it will run as soon as the CPU is free for it.
		93
		94	C<async> will return a Coro object - you can store this for future
		95	reference or ignore it - a thread that is running, ready to run or waiting
		96	for some event is alive on it's own.
		97
		98	Another way to create a thread is to call the C<new> constructor with a
		99	code-reference:
		100
		101	new Coro sub {
		102	# thread code goes here
		103	}, @optional_arguments;
		104
		105	This is quite similar to calling C<async>, but the important difference is
		106	that the new thread is not put into the ready queue, so the thread will
		107	not run until somebody puts it there. C<async> is, therefore, identical to
		108	this sequence:
		109
		110	my $coro = new Coro sub {
		111	# thread code goes here
		112	};
		113	$coro->ready;
		114	return $coro;
		115
		116	=item 2. Startup
		117
		118	When a new coro thread is created, only a copy of the code reference
		119	and the arguments are stored, no extra memory for stacks and so on is
		120	allocated, keeping the coro thread in a low-memory state.
		121
		122	Only when it actually starts executing will all the resources be finally
		123	allocated.
		124
		125	The optional arguments specified at coro creation are available in C<@_>,
		126	similar to function calls.
		127
		128	=item 3. Running / Blocking
		129
		130	A lot can happen after the coro thread has started running. Quite usually,
		131	it will not run to the end in one go (because you could use a function
		132	instead), but it will give up the CPU regularly because it waits for
		133	external events.
		134
		135	As long as a coro thread runs, its Coro object is available in the global
		136	variable C<$Coro::current>.
		137
		138	The low-level way to give up the CPU is to call the scheduler, which
		139	selects a new coro thread to run:
		140
		141	Coro::schedule;
		142
		143	Since running threads are not in the ready queue, calling the scheduler
		144	without doing anything else will block the coro thread forever - you need
		145	to arrange either for the coro to put woken up (readied) by some other
		146	event or some other thread, or you can put it into the ready queue before
		147	scheduling:
		148
		149	# this is exactly what Coro::cede does
		150	$Coro::current->ready;
		151	Coro::schedule;
		152
		153	All the higher-level synchronisation methods (Coro::Semaphore,
		154	Coro::rouse_*...) are actually implemented via C<< ->ready >> and C<<
		155	Coro::schedule >>.
		156
		157	While the coro thread is running it also might get assigned a C-level
		158	thread, or the C-level thread might be unassigned from it, as the Coro
		159	runtime wishes. A C-level thread needs to be assigned when your perl
		160	thread calls into some C-level function and that function in turn calls
		161	perl and perl then wants to switch coroutines. This happens most often
		162	when you run an event loop and block in the callback, or when perl
		163	itself calls some function such as C<AUTOLOAD> or methods via the C<tie>
		164	mechanism.
		165
		166	=item 4. Termination
		167
		168	Many threads actually terminate after some time. There are a number of
		169	ways to terminate a coro thread, the simplest is returning from the
		170	top-level code reference:
		171
		172	async {
		173	# after returning from here, the coro thread is terminated
		174	};
		175
		176	async {
		177	return if 0.5 < rand; # terminate a little earlier, maybe
		178	print "got a chance to print this\n";
		179	# or here
		180	};
		181
		182	Any values returned from the coroutine can be recovered using C<< ->join
		183	>>:
		184
		185	my $coro = async {
		186	"hello, world\n" # return a string
		187	};
		188
		189	my $hello_world = $coro->join;
		190
		191	print $hello_world;
		192
		193	Another way to terminate is to call C<< Coro::terminate >>, which at any
		194	subroutine call nesting level:
		195
		196	async {
		197	Coro::terminate "return value 1", "return value 2";
		198	};
		199
		200	Yet another way is to C<< ->cancel >> (or C<< ->safe_cancel >>) the coro
		201	thread from another thread:
		202
		203	my $coro = async {
		204	exit 1;
		205	};
		206
		207	$coro->cancel; # also accepts values for ->join to retrieve
		208
		209	Cancellation I<can> be dangerous - it's a bit like calling C<exit> without
		210	actually exiting, and might leave C libraries and XS modules in a weird
		211	state. Unlike other thread implementations, however, Coro is exceptionally
		212	safe with regards to cancellation, as perl will always be in a consistent
		213	state, and for those cases where you want to do truly marvellous things
		214	with your coro while it is being cancelled - that is, make sure all
		215	cleanup code is executed from the thread being cancelled - there is even a
		216	C<< ->safe_cancel >> method.
		217
		218	So, cancelling a thread that runs in an XS event loop might not be the
		219	best idea, but any other combination that deals with perl only (cancelling
		220	when a thread is in a C<tie> method or an C<AUTOLOAD> for example) is
		221	safe.
		222
		223	Last not least, a coro thread object that isn't referenced is C<<
		224	->cancel >>'ed automatically - just like other objects in Perl. This
		225	is not such a common case, however - a running thread is referencedy by
		226	C<$Coro::current>, a thread ready to run is referenced by the ready queue,
		227	a thread waiting on a lock or semaphore is referenced by being in some
		228	wait list and so on. But a thread that isn't in any of those queues gets
		229	cancelled:
		230
		231	async {
		232	schedule; # cede to other coros, don't go into the ready queue
		233	};
		234
		235	cede;
		236	# now the async above is destroyed, as it is not referenced by anything.
		237
		238	A slightly embellished example might make it clearer:
		239
		240	async {
		241	my $guard = Guard::guard { print "destroyed\n" };
		242	schedule while 1;
		243	};
		244
		245	cede;
		246
		247	Superficially one might not expect any output - since the C<async>
		248	implements an endless loop, the C<$guard> will not be cleaned up. However,
		249	since the thread object returned by C<async> is not stored anywhere, the
		250	thread is initially referenced because it is in the ready queue, when it
		251	runs it is referenced by C<$Coro::current>, but when it calls C<schedule>,
		252	it gets C<cancel>ed causing the guard object to be destroyed (see the next
		253	section), and printing it's message.
		254
		255	If this seems a bit drastic, remember that this only happens when nothing
		256	references the thread anymore, which means there is no way to further
		257	execute it, ever. The only options at this point are leaking the thread,
		258	or cleaning it up, which brings us to...
		259
		260	=item 5. Cleanup
		261
		262	Threads will allocate various resources. Most but not all will be returned
		263	when a thread terminates, during clean-up.
		264
		265	Cleanup is quite similar to throwing an uncaught exception: perl will
		266	work it's way up through all subroutine calls and blocks. On it's way, it
		267	will release all C<my> variables, undo all C<local>'s and free any other
		268	resources truly local to the thread.
		269
		270	So, a common way to free resources is to keep them referenced only by my
		271	variables:
		272
		273	async {
		274	my $big_cache = new Cache ...;
		275	};
		276
		277	If there are no other references, then the C<$big_cache> object will be
		278	freed when the thread terminates, regardless of how it does so.
		279
		280	What it does C<NOT> do is unlock any Coro::Semaphores or similar
		281	resources, but that's where the C<guard> methods come in handy:
		282
		283	my $sem = new Coro::Semaphore;
		284
		285	async {
		286	my $lock_guard = $sem->guard;
		287	# if we return, or die or get cancelled, here,
		288	# then the semaphore will be "up"ed.
		289	};
		290
		291	The C<Guard::guard> function comes in handy for any custom cleanup you
		292	might want to do (but you cannot switch to other coroutines from those
		293	code blocks):
		294
		295	async {
		296	my $window = new Gtk2::Window "toplevel";
		297	# The window will not be cleaned up automatically, even when $window
		298	# gets freed, so use a guard to ensure it's destruction
		299	# in case of an error:
		300	my $window_guard = Guard::guard { $window->destroy };
		301
		302	# we are safe here
		303	};
		304
		305	Last not least, C<local> can often be handy, too, e.g. when temporarily
		306	replacing the coro thread description:
		307
		308	sub myfunction {
		309	local $Coro::current->{desc} = "inside myfunction(@_)";
		310
		311	# if we return or die here, the description will be restored
		312	}
		313
		314	=item 6. Viva La Zombie Muerte
		315
		316	Even after a thread has terminated and cleaned up its resources, the Coro
		317	object still is there and stores the return values of the thread.
		318
		319	When there are no other references, it will simply be cleaned up and
		320	freed.
		321
		322	If there areany references, the Coro object will stay around, and you
		323	can call C<< ->join >> as many times as you wish to retrieve the result
		324	values:
		325
		326	async {
		327	print "hi\n";
		328	1
		329	};
		330
		331	# run the async above, and free everything before returning
		332	# from Coro::cede:
		333	Coro::cede;
		334
		335	{
		336	my $coro = async {
		337	print "hi\n";
		338	1
		339	};
		340
		341	# run the async above, and clean up, but do not free the coro
		342	# object:
		343	Coro::cede;
		344
		345	# optionally retrieve the result values
		346	my @results = $coro->join;
		347
		348	# now $coro goes out of scope, and presumably gets freed
		349	};
		350
		351	=back
55		352
56	=cut	353	=cut
57		354
58	package Coro;	355	package Coro;
59		356
60	use strict;	357	use common::sense;
61	no warnings "uninitialized";	358
		359	use Carp ();
		360
		361	use Guard ();
62		362
63	use Coro::State;	363	use Coro::State;
64		364
65	use base qw(Coro::State Exporter);	365	use base qw(Coro::State Exporter);
66		366
67	our $idle; # idle handler	367	our $idle; # idle handler
68	our $main; # main coroutine	368	our $main; # main coro
69	our $current; # current coroutine	369	our $current; # current coro
70		370
71	our $VERSION = '4.72';	371	our $VERSION = 6.41;
72		372
73	our @EXPORT = qw(async async_pool cede schedule terminate current unblock_sub);	373	our @EXPORT = qw(async async_pool cede schedule terminate current unblock_sub rouse_cb rouse_wait);
74	our %EXPORT_TAGS = (	374	our %EXPORT_TAGS = (
75	prio => [qw(PRIO_MAX PRIO_HIGH PRIO_NORMAL PRIO_LOW PRIO_IDLE PRIO_MIN)],	375	prio => [qw(PRIO_MAX PRIO_HIGH PRIO_NORMAL PRIO_LOW PRIO_IDLE PRIO_MIN)],
76	);	376	);
77	our @EXPORT_OK = (@{$EXPORT_TAGS{prio}}, qw(nready));	377	our @EXPORT_OK = (@{$EXPORT_TAGS{prio}}, qw(nready));
78		378
		379	=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES
		380
79	=over 4	381	=over 4
80		382
81	=item $Coro::main	383	=item $Coro::main
82		384
83	This variable stores the coroutine object that represents the main	385	This variable stores the Coro object that represents the main
84	program. While you cna C<ready> it and do most other things you can do to	386	program. While you can C<ready> it and do most other things you can do to
85	coroutines, it is mainly useful to compare again C<$Coro::current>, to see	387	coro, it is mainly useful to compare again C<$Coro::current>, to see
86	wether you are running in the main program or not.	388	whether you are running in the main program or not.
87		389
88	=cut	390	=cut
89		391
90	$main = new Coro;	392	# $main is now being initialised by Coro::State
91		393
92	=item $Coro::current	394	=item $Coro::current
93		395
94	The coroutine object representing the current coroutine (the last	396	The Coro object representing the current coro (the last
95	coroutine that the Coro scheduler switched to). The initial value is	397	coro that the Coro scheduler switched to). The initial value is
96	C<$main> (of course).	398	C<$Coro::main> (of course).
97		399
98	This variable is B<strictly> I<read-only>. You can take copies of the	400	This variable is B<strictly> I<read-only>. You can take copies of the
99	value stored in it and use it as any other coroutine object, but you must	401	value stored in it and use it as any other Coro object, but you must
100	not otherwise modify the variable itself.	402	not otherwise modify the variable itself.
101		403
102	=cut	404	=cut
103		405
104	$main->{desc} = "[main::]";
105
106	# maybe some other module used Coro::Specific before...
107	$main->{_specific} = $current->{_specific}
108	if $current;
109
110	_set_current $main;
111
112	sub current() { $current } # [DEPRECATED]	406	sub current() { $current } # [DEPRECATED]
113		407
114	=item $Coro::idle	408	=item $Coro::idle
115		409
116	This variable is mainly useful to integrate Coro into event loops. It is	410	This variable is mainly useful to integrate Coro into event loops. It is
117	usually better to rely on L<Coro::AnyEvent> or LC<Coro::EV>, as this is	411	usually better to rely on L<Coro::AnyEvent> or L<Coro::EV>, as this is
118	pretty low-level functionality.	412	pretty low-level functionality.
119		413
120	This variable stores a callback that is called whenever the scheduler	414	This variable stores a Coro object that is put into the ready queue when
121	finds no ready coroutines to run. The default implementation prints	415	there are no other ready threads (without invoking any ready hooks).
122	"FATAL: deadlock detected" and exits, because the program has no other way
123	to continue.
124		416
		417	The default implementation dies with "FATAL: deadlock detected.", followed
		418	by a thread listing, because the program has no other way to continue.
		419
125	This hook is overwritten by modules such as C<Coro::Timer> and	420	This hook is overwritten by modules such as C<Coro::EV> and
126	C<Coro::AnyEvent> to wait on an external event that hopefully wake up a	421	C<Coro::AnyEvent> to wait on an external event that hopefully wakes up a
127	coroutine so the scheduler can run it.	422	coro so the scheduler can run it.
128		423
129	Note that the callback I<must not>, under any circumstances, block
130	the current coroutine. Normally, this is achieved by having an "idle
131	coroutine" that calls the event loop and then blocks again, and then
132	readying that coroutine in the idle handler.
133
134	See L<Coro::Event> or L<Coro::AnyEvent> for examples of using this	424	See L<Coro::EV> or L<Coro::AnyEvent> for examples of using this technique.
135	technique.
136
137	Please note that if your callback recursively invokes perl (e.g. for event
138	handlers), then it must be prepared to be called recursively itself.
139		425
140	=cut	426	=cut
141		427
142	$idle = sub {	428	# ||= because other modules could have provided their own by now
143	require Carp;	429	$idle ||= new Coro sub {
144	Carp::croak ("FATAL: deadlock detected");	430	require Coro::Debug;
		431	die "FATAL: deadlock detected.\n"
		432	. Coro::Debug::ps_listing ();
145	};	433	};
146		434
147	sub _cancel {
148	my ($self) = @_;
149
150	# free coroutine data and mark as destructed
151	$self->_destroy
152	or return;
153
154	# call all destruction callbacks
155	$_->(@{$self->{_status}})
156	for @{(delete $self->{_on_destroy}) || []};
157	}
158
159	# this coroutine is necessary because a coroutine	435	# this coro is necessary because a coro
160	# cannot destroy itself.	436	# cannot destroy itself.
161	my @destroy;	437	our @destroy;
162	my $manager;	438	our $manager;
163		439
164	$manager = new Coro sub {	440	$manager = new Coro sub {
165	while () {	441	while () {
166	(shift @destroy)->_cancel	442	_destroy shift @destroy
167	while @destroy;	443	while @destroy;
168		444
169	&schedule;	445	&schedule;
170	}	446	}
171	};	447	};
172	$manager->desc ("[coro manager]");	448	$manager->{desc} = "[coro manager]";
173	$manager->prio (PRIO_MAX);	449	$manager->prio (PRIO_MAX);
174		450
175	=back	451	=back
176		452
177	=head2 SIMPLE COROUTINE CREATION	453	=head1 SIMPLE CORO CREATION
178		454
179	=over 4	455	=over 4
180		456
181	=item async { ... } [@args...]	457	=item async { ... } [@args...]
182		458
183	Create a new coroutine and return it's coroutine object (usually	459	Create a new coro and return its Coro object (usually
184	unused). The coroutine will be put into the ready queue, so	460	unused). The coro will be put into the ready queue, so
185	it will start running automatically on the next scheduler run.	461	it will start running automatically on the next scheduler run.
186		462
187	The first argument is a codeblock/closure that should be executed in the	463	The first argument is a codeblock/closure that should be executed in the
188	coroutine. When it returns argument returns the coroutine is automatically	464	coro. When it returns argument returns the coro is automatically
189	terminated.	465	terminated.
190		466
191	The remaining arguments are passed as arguments to the closure.	467	The remaining arguments are passed as arguments to the closure.
192		468
193	See the C<Coro::State::new> constructor for info about the coroutine	469	See the C<Coro::State::new> constructor for info about the coro
194	environment in which coroutines are executed.	470	environment in which coro are executed.
195		471
196	Calling C<exit> in a coroutine will do the same as calling exit outside	472	Calling C<exit> in a coro will do the same as calling exit outside
197	the coroutine. Likewise, when the coroutine dies, the program will exit,	473	the coro. Likewise, when the coro dies, the program will exit,
198	just as it would in the main program.	474	just as it would in the main program.
199		475
200	If you do not want that, you can provide a default C<die> handler, or	476	If you do not want that, you can provide a default C<die> handler, or
201	simply avoid dieing (by use of C<eval>).	477	simply avoid dieing (by use of C<eval>).
202		478
203	Example: Create a new coroutine that just prints its arguments.	479	Example: Create a new coro that just prints its arguments.
204		480
205	async {	481	async {
206	print "@_\n";	482	print "@_\n";
207	} 1,2,3,4;	483	} 1,2,3,4;
208		484
209	=cut
210
211	sub async(&@) {
212	my $coro = new Coro @_;
213	$coro->ready;
214	$coro
215	}
216
217	=item async_pool { ... } [@args...]	485	=item async_pool { ... } [@args...]
218		486
219	Similar to C<async>, but uses a coroutine pool, so you should not call	487	Similar to C<async>, but uses a coro pool, so you should not call
220	terminate or join on it (although you are allowed to), and you get a	488	terminate or join on it (although you are allowed to), and you get a
221	coroutine that might have executed other code already (which can be good	489	coro that might have executed other code already (which can be good
222	or bad :).	490	or bad :).
223		491
224	On the plus side, this function is faster than creating (and destroying)	492	On the plus side, this function is about twice as fast as creating (and
225	a completely new coroutine, so if you need a lot of generic coroutines in	493	destroying) a completely new coro, so if you need a lot of generic
226	quick successsion, use C<async_pool>, not C<async>.	494	coros in quick successsion, use C<async_pool>, not C<async>.
227		495
228	The code block is executed in an C<eval> context and a warning will be	496	The code block is executed in an C<eval> context and a warning will be
229	issued in case of an exception instead of terminating the program, as	497	issued in case of an exception instead of terminating the program, as
230	C<async> does. As the coroutine is being reused, stuff like C<on_destroy>	498	C<async> does. As the coro is being reused, stuff like C<on_destroy>
231	will not work in the expected way, unless you call terminate or cancel,	499	will not work in the expected way, unless you call terminate or cancel,
232	which somehow defeats the purpose of pooling (but is fine in the	500	which somehow defeats the purpose of pooling (but is fine in the
233	exceptional case).	501	exceptional case).
234		502
235	The priority will be reset to C<0> after each run, tracing will be	503	The priority will be reset to C<0> after each run, tracing will be
236	disabled, the description will be reset and the default output filehandle	504	disabled, the description will be reset and the default output filehandle
237	gets restored, so you can change all these. Otherwise the coroutine will	505	gets restored, so you can change all these. Otherwise the coro will
238	be re-used "as-is": most notably if you change other per-coroutine global	506	be re-used "as-is": most notably if you change other per-coro global
239	stuff such as C<$/> you I<must needs> to revert that change, which is most	507	stuff such as C<$/> you I<must needs> revert that change, which is most
240	simply done by using local as in: C< local $/ >.	508	simply done by using local as in: C<< local $/ >>.
241		509
242	The pool size is limited to C<8> idle coroutines (this can be adjusted by	510	The idle pool size is limited to C<8> idle coros (this can be
243	changing $Coro::POOL_SIZE), and there can be as many non-idle coros as	511	adjusted by changing $Coro::POOL_SIZE), but there can be as many non-idle
244	required.	512	coros as required.
245		513
246	If you are concerned about pooled coroutines growing a lot because a	514	If you are concerned about pooled coros growing a lot because a
247	single C<async_pool> used a lot of stackspace you can e.g. C<async_pool	515	single 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	516	{ terminate }> once per second or so to slowly replenish the pool. In
249	addition to that, when the stacks used by a handler grows larger than 16kb	517	addition to that, when the stacks used by a handler grows larger than 32kb
250	(adjustable via $Coro::POOL_RSS) it will also be destroyed.	518	(adjustable via $Coro::POOL_RSS) it will also be destroyed.
251		519
252	=cut	520	=cut
253		521
254	our $POOL_SIZE = 8;	522	our $POOL_SIZE = 8;
255	our $POOL_RSS = 16 * 1024;	523	our $POOL_RSS = 32 * 1024;
256	our @async_pool;	524	our @async_pool;
257		525
258	sub pool_handler {	526	sub pool_handler {
259	my $cb;
260
261	while () {	527	while () {
262	eval {	528	eval {
263	while () {	529	&{&_pool_handler} while 1;
264	_pool_1 $cb;
265	&$cb;
266	_pool_2 $cb;
267	&schedule;
268	}
269	};	530	};
270		531
271	last if $@ eq "\3async_pool terminate\2\n";
272	warn $@ if $@;	532	warn $@ if $@;
273	}	533	}
274	}	534	}
275		535
276	sub async_pool(&@) {
277	# this is also inlined into the unlock_scheduler
278	my $coro = (pop @async_pool) || new Coro \&pool_handler;
279
280	$coro->{_invoke} = [@_];
281	$coro->ready;
282
283	$coro
284	}
285
286	=back	536	=back
287		537
288	=head2 STATIC METHODS	538	=head1 STATIC METHODS
289		539
290	Static methods are actually functions that operate on the current coroutine.	540	Static methods are actually functions that implicitly operate on the
		541	current coro.
291		542
292	=over 4	543	=over 4
293		544
294	=item schedule	545	=item schedule
295		546
296	Calls the scheduler. The scheduler will find the next coroutine that is	547	Calls the scheduler. The scheduler will find the next coro that is
297	to be run from the ready queue and switches to it. The next coroutine	548	to be run from the ready queue and switches to it. The next coro
298	to be run is simply the one with the highest priority that is longest	549	to be run is simply the one with the highest priority that is longest
299	in its ready queue. If there is no coroutine ready, it will clal the	550	in its ready queue. If there is no coro ready, it will call the
300	C<$Coro::idle> hook.	551	C<$Coro::idle> hook.
301		552
302	Please note that the current coroutine will I<not> be put into the ready	553	Please note that the current coro will I<not> be put into the ready
303	queue, so calling this function usually means you will never be called	554	queue, so calling this function usually means you will never be called
304	again unless something else (e.g. an event handler) calls C<< ->ready >>,	555	again unless something else (e.g. an event handler) calls C<< ->ready >>,
305	thus waking you up.	556	thus waking you up.
306		557
307	This makes C<schedule> I<the> generic method to use to block the current	558	This makes C<schedule> I<the> generic method to use to block the current
308	coroutine and wait for events: first you remember the current coroutine in	559	coro and wait for events: first you remember the current coro in
309	a variable, then arrange for some callback of yours to call C<< ->ready	560	a variable, then arrange for some callback of yours to call C<< ->ready
310	>> on that once some event happens, and last you call C<schedule> to put	561	>> on that once some event happens, and last you call C<schedule> to put
311	yourself to sleep. Note that a lot of things can wake your coroutine up,	562	yourself to sleep. Note that a lot of things can wake your coro up,
312	so you need to check wether the event indeed happened, e.g. by storing the	563	so you need to check whether the event indeed happened, e.g. by storing the
313	status in a variable.	564	status in a variable.
314		565
315	The canonical way to wait on external events is this:	566	See B<HOW TO WAIT FOR A CALLBACK>, below, for some ways to wait for callbacks.
316		567
317	{	568	=item cede
318	# remember current coroutine
319	my $current = $Coro::current;
320		569
321	# register a hypothetical event handler	570	"Cede" to other coros. This function puts the current coro into
322	on_event_invoke sub {	571	the ready queue and calls C<schedule>, which has the effect of giving
323	# wake up sleeping coroutine	572	up the current "timeslice" to other coros of the same or higher
324	$current->ready;	573	priority. Once your coro gets its turn again it will automatically be
325	undef $current;	574	resumed.
		575
		576	This function is often called C<yield> in other languages.
		577
		578	=item Coro::cede_notself
		579
		580	Works like cede, but is not exported by default and will cede to I<any>
		581	coro, regardless of priority. This is useful sometimes to ensure
		582	progress is made.
		583
		584	=item terminate [arg...]
		585
		586	Terminates the current coro with the given status values (see
		587	L<cancel>). The values will not be copied, but referenced directly.
		588
		589	=item Coro::on_enter BLOCK, Coro::on_leave BLOCK
		590
		591	These function install enter and leave winders in the current scope. The
		592	enter block will be executed when on_enter is called and whenever the
		593	current coro is re-entered by the scheduler, while the leave block is
		594	executed whenever the current coro is blocked by the scheduler, and
		595	also when the containing scope is exited (by whatever means, be it exit,
		596	die, last etc.).
		597
		598	I<Neither invoking the scheduler, nor exceptions, are allowed within those
		599	BLOCKs>. That means: do not even think about calling C<die> without an
		600	eval, and do not even think of entering the scheduler in any way.
		601
		602	Since both BLOCKs are tied to the current scope, they will automatically
		603	be removed when the current scope exits.
		604
		605	These functions implement the same concept as C<dynamic-wind> in scheme
		606	does, and are useful when you want to localise some resource to a specific
		607	coro.
		608
		609	They slow down thread switching considerably for coros that use them
		610	(about 40% for a BLOCK with a single assignment, so thread switching is
		611	still reasonably fast if the handlers are fast).
		612
		613	These functions are best understood by an example: The following function
		614	will change the current timezone to "Antarctica/South_Pole", which
		615	requires a call to C<tzset>, but by using C<on_enter> and C<on_leave>,
		616	which remember/change the current timezone and restore the previous
		617	value, respectively, the timezone is only changed for the coro that
		618	installed those handlers.
		619
		620	use POSIX qw(tzset);
		621
		622	async {
		623	my $old_tz; # store outside TZ value here
		624
		625	Coro::on_enter {
		626	$old_tz = $ENV{TZ}; # remember the old value
		627
		628	$ENV{TZ} = "Antarctica/South_Pole";
		629	tzset; # enable new value
326	};	630	};
327		631
328	# call schedule until event occurred.	632	Coro::on_leave {
329	# in case we are woken up for other reasons	633	$ENV{TZ} = $old_tz;
330	# (current still defined), loop.	634	tzset; # restore old value
331	Coro::schedule while $current;	635	};
		636
		637	# at this place, the timezone is Antarctica/South_Pole,
		638	# without disturbing the TZ of any other coro.
		639	};
		640
		641	This can be used to localise about any resource (locale, uid, current
		642	working directory etc.) to a block, despite the existance of other
		643	coros.
		644
		645	Another interesting example implements time-sliced multitasking using
		646	interval timers (this could obviously be optimised, but does the job):
		647
		648	# "timeslice" the given block
		649	sub timeslice(&) {
		650	use Time::HiRes ();
		651
		652	Coro::on_enter {
		653	# on entering the thread, we set an VTALRM handler to cede
		654	$SIG{VTALRM} = sub { cede };
		655	# and then start the interval timer
		656	Time::HiRes::setitimer &Time::HiRes::ITIMER_VIRTUAL, 0.01, 0.01;
		657	};
		658	Coro::on_leave {
		659	# on leaving the thread, we stop the interval timer again
		660	Time::HiRes::setitimer &Time::HiRes::ITIMER_VIRTUAL, 0, 0;
		661	};
		662
		663	&{+shift};
332	}	664	}
333		665
334	=item cede	666	# use like this:
		667	timeslice {
		668	# The following is an endless loop that would normally
		669	# monopolise the process. Since it runs in a timesliced
		670	# environment, it will regularly cede to other threads.
		671	while () { }
		672	};
335		673
336	"Cede" to other coroutines. This function puts the current coroutine into
337	the ready queue and calls C<schedule>, which has the effect of giving
338	up the current "timeslice" to other coroutines of the same or higher
339	priority. Once your coroutine gets its turn again it will automatically be
340	resumed.
341
342	This function is often called C<yield> in other languages.
343
344	=item Coro::cede_notself
345
346	Works like cede, but is not exported by default and will cede to I<any>
347	coroutine, regardless of priority. This is useful sometimes to ensure
348	progress is made.
349
350	=item terminate [arg...]
351
352	Terminates the current coroutine with the given status values (see L<cancel>).
353		674
354	=item killall	675	=item killall
355		676
356	Kills/terminates/cancels all coroutines except the currently running	677	Kills/terminates/cancels all coros except the currently running one.
357	one. This is useful after a fork, either in the child or the parent, as
358	usually only one of them should inherit the running coroutines.
359		678
360	Note that while this will try to free some of the main programs resources,	679	Note that while this will try to free some of the main interpreter
		680	resources if the calling coro isn't the main coro, but one
361	you cnanot free all of them, so if a coroutine that is not the main	681	cannot free all of them, so if a coro that is not the main coro
362	program calls this function, there will be some one-time resource leak.	682	calls this function, there will be some one-time resource leak.
363		683
364	=cut	684	=cut
365
366	sub terminate {
367	$current->cancel (@_);
368	}
369		685
370	sub killall {	686	sub killall {
371	for (Coro::State::list) {	687	for (Coro::State::list) {
372	$_->cancel	688	$_->cancel
373	if $_ != $current && UNIVERSAL::isa $_, "Coro";	689	if $_ != $current && UNIVERSAL::isa $_, "Coro";
374	}	690	}
375	}	691	}
376		692
377	=back	693	=back
378		694
379	=head2 COROUTINE METHODS	695	=head1 CORO OBJECT METHODS
380		696
381	These are the methods you can call on coroutine objects (or to create	697	These are the methods you can call on coro objects (or to create
382	them).	698	them).
383		699
384	=over 4	700	=over 4
385		701
386	=item new Coro \&sub [, @args...]	702	=item new Coro \&sub [, @args...]
387		703
388	Create a new coroutine and return it. When the sub returns, the coroutine	704	Create a new coro and return it. When the sub returns, the coro
389	automatically terminates as if C<terminate> with the returned values were	705	automatically terminates as if C<terminate> with the returned values were
390	called. To make the coroutine run you must first put it into the ready	706	called. To make the coro run you must first put it into the ready
391	queue by calling the ready method.	707	queue by calling the ready method.
392		708
393	See C<async> and C<Coro::State::new> for additional info about the	709	See C<async> and C<Coro::State::new> for additional info about the
394	coroutine environment.	710	coro environment.
395		711
396	=cut	712	=cut
397		713
398	sub _run_coro {	714	sub _coro_run {
399	terminate &{+shift};	715	terminate &{+shift};
400	}	716	}
401		717
402	sub new {
403	my $class = shift;
404
405	$class->SUPER::new (\&_run_coro, @_)
406	}
407
408	=item $success = $coroutine->ready	718	=item $success = $coro->ready
409		719
410	Put the given coroutine into the end of its ready queue (there is one	720	Put the given coro into the end of its ready queue (there is one
411	queue for each priority) and return true. If the coroutine is already in	721	queue for each priority) and return true. If the coro is already in
412	the ready queue, do nothing and return false.	722	the ready queue, do nothing and return false.
413		723
414	This ensures that the scheduler will resume this coroutine automatically	724	This ensures that the scheduler will resume this coro automatically
415	once all the coroutines of higher priority and all coroutines of the same	725	once all the coro of higher priority and all coro of the same
416	priority that were put into the ready queue earlier have been resumed.	726	priority that were put into the ready queue earlier have been resumed.
417		727
		728	=item $coro->suspend
		729
		730	Suspends the specified coro. A suspended coro works just like any other
		731	coro, except that the scheduler will not select a suspended coro for
		732	execution.
		733
		734	Suspending a coro can be useful when you want to keep the coro from
		735	running, but you don't want to destroy it, or when you want to temporarily
		736	freeze a coro (e.g. for debugging) to resume it later.
		737
		738	A scenario for the former would be to suspend all (other) coros after a
		739	fork and keep them alive, so their destructors aren't called, but new
		740	coros can be created.
		741
		742	=item $coro->resume
		743
		744	If the specified coro was suspended, it will be resumed. Note that when
		745	the coro was in the ready queue when it was suspended, it might have been
		746	unreadied by the scheduler, so an activation might have been lost.
		747
		748	To avoid this, it is best to put a suspended coro into the ready queue
		749	unconditionally, as every synchronisation mechanism must protect itself
		750	against spurious wakeups, and the one in the Coro family certainly do
		751	that.
		752
		753	=item $state->is_new
		754
		755	Returns true iff this Coro object is "new", i.e. has never been run
		756	yet. Those states basically consist of only the code reference to call and
		757	the arguments, but consumes very little other resources. New states will
		758	automatically get assigned a perl interpreter when they are transfered to.
		759
		760	=item $state->is_zombie
		761
		762	Returns true iff the Coro object has been cancelled, i.e.
		763	it's resources freed because they were C<cancel>'ed, C<terminate>'d,
		764	C<safe_cancel>'ed or simply went out of scope.
		765
		766	The name "zombie" stems from UNIX culture, where a process that has
		767	exited and only stores and exit status and no other resources is called a
		768	"zombie".
		769
418	=item $is_ready = $coroutine->is_ready	770	=item $is_ready = $coro->is_ready
419		771
420	Return wether the coroutine is currently the ready queue or not,	772	Returns true iff the Coro object is in the ready queue. Unless the Coro
		773	object gets destroyed, it will eventually be scheduled by the scheduler.
421		774
		775	=item $is_running = $coro->is_running
		776
		777	Returns true iff the Coro object is currently running. Only one Coro object
		778	can ever be in the running state (but it currently is possible to have
		779	multiple running Coro::States).
		780
		781	=item $is_suspended = $coro->is_suspended
		782
		783	Returns true iff this Coro object has been suspended. Suspended Coros will
		784	not ever be scheduled.
		785
422	=item $coroutine->cancel (arg...)	786	=item $coro->cancel (arg...)
423		787
424	Terminates the given coroutine and makes it return the given arguments as	788	Terminates the given Coro thread and makes it return the given arguments as
425	status (default: the empty list). Never returns if the coroutine is the	789	status (default: an empty list). Never returns if the Coro is the
426	current coroutine.	790	current Coro.
427		791
428	=cut	792	This is a rather brutal way to free a coro, with some limitations - if
		793	the thread is inside a C callback that doesn't expect to be canceled,
		794	bad things can happen, or if the cancelled thread insists on running
		795	complicated cleanup handlers that rely on its thread context, things will
		796	not work.
429		797
430	sub cancel {	798	Any cleanup code being run (e.g. from C<guard> blocks, destructors and so
431	my $self = shift;	799	on) will be run without a thread context, and is not allowed to switch
432	$self->{_status} = [@_];	800	to other threads. A common mistake is to call C<< ->cancel >> from a
		801	destructor called by die'ing inside the thread to be cancelled for
		802	example.
433		803
434	if ($current == $self) {	804	On the plus side, C<< ->cancel >> will always clean up the thread, no
435	push @destroy, $self;	805	matter what. If your cleanup code is complex or you want to avoid
436	$manager->ready;	806	cancelling a C-thread that doesn't know how to clean up itself, it can be
437	&schedule while 1;	807	better to C<< ->throw >> an exception, or use C<< ->safe_cancel >>.
438	} else {	808
439	$self->_cancel;	809	The arguments to C<< ->cancel >> are not copied, but instead will
		810	be referenced directly (e.g. if you pass C<$var> and after the call
		811	change that variable, then you might change the return values passed to
		812	e.g. C<join>, so don't do that).
		813
		814	The resources of the Coro are usually freed (or destructed) before this
		815	call returns, but this can be delayed for an indefinite amount of time, as
		816	in some cases the manager thread has to run first to actually destruct the
		817	Coro object.
		818
		819	=item $coro->safe_cancel ($arg...)
		820
		821	Works mostly like C<< ->cancel >>, but is inherently "safer", and
		822	consequently, can fail with an exception in cases the thread is not in a
		823	cancellable state. Essentially, C<< ->safe_cancel >> is a C<< ->cancel >>
		824	with extra checks before canceling.
		825
		826	It works a bit like throwing an exception that cannot be caught -
		827	specifically, it will clean up the thread from within itself, so all
		828	cleanup handlers (e.g. C<guard> blocks) are run with full thread
		829	context and can block if they wish. The downside is that there is no
		830	guarantee that the thread can be cancelled when you call this method, and
		831	therefore, it might fail. It is also considerably slower than C<cancel> or
		832	C<terminate>.
		833
		834	A thread is in a safe-cancellable state if it either hasn't been run yet,
		835	or it has no C context attached and is inside an SLF function.
		836
		837	The latter two basically mean that the thread isn't currently inside a
		838	perl callback called from some C function (usually via some XS modules)
		839	and isn't currently executing inside some C function itself (via Coro's XS
		840	API).
		841
		842	This call returns true when it could cancel the thread, or croaks with an
		843	error otherwise (i.e. it either returns true or doesn't return at all).
		844
		845	Why the weird interface? Well, there are two common models on how and
		846	when to cancel things. In the first, you have the expectation that your
		847	coro thread can be cancelled when you want to cancel it - if the thread
		848	isn't cancellable, this would be a bug somewhere, so C<< ->safe_cancel >>
		849	croaks to notify of the bug.
		850
		851	In the second model you sometimes want to ask nicely to cancel a thread,
		852	but if it's not a good time, well, then don't cancel. This can be done
		853	relatively easy like this:
		854
		855	if (! eval { $coro->safe_cancel }) {
		856	warn "unable to cancel thread: $@";
440	}	857	}
441	}
442		858
443	=item $coroutine->join	859	However, what you never should do is first try to cancel "safely" and
		860	if that fails, cancel the "hard" way with C<< ->cancel >>. That makes
		861	no sense: either you rely on being able to execute cleanup code in your
		862	thread context, or you don't. If you do, then C<< ->safe_cancel >> is the
		863	only way, and if you don't, then C<< ->cancel >> is always faster and more
		864	direct.
444		865
445	Wait until the coroutine terminates and return any values given to the	866	=item $coro->schedule_to
446	C<terminate> or C<cancel> functions. C<join> can be called concurrently
447	from multiple coroutines, and all will be resumed and given the status
448	return once the C<$coroutine> terminates.
449		867
450	=cut	868	Puts the current coro to sleep (like C<Coro::schedule>), but instead
		869	of continuing with the next coro from the ready queue, always switch to
		870	the given coro object (regardless of priority etc.). The readyness
		871	state of that coro isn't changed.
451		872
452	sub join {	873	This is an advanced method for special cases - I'd love to hear about any
453	my $self = shift;	874	uses for this one.
454		875
455	unless ($self->{_status}) {	876	=item $coro->cede_to
456	my $current = $current;
457		877
458	push @{$self->{_on_destroy}}, sub {	878	Like C<schedule_to>, but puts the current coro into the ready
459	$current->ready;	879	queue. This has the effect of temporarily switching to the given
460	undef $current;	880	coro, and continuing some time later.
461	};
462		881
463	&schedule while $current;	882	This is an advanced method for special cases - I'd love to hear about any
464	}	883	uses for this one.
465		884
466	wantarray ? @{$self->{_status}} : $self->{_status}[0];
467	}
468
469	=item $coroutine->on_destroy (\&cb)
470
471	Registers a callback that is called when this coroutine gets destroyed,
472	but before it is joined. The callback gets passed the terminate arguments,
473	if any, and I<must not> die, under any circumstances.
474
475	=cut
476
477	sub on_destroy {
478	my ($self, $cb) = @_;
479
480	push @{ $self->{_on_destroy} }, $cb;
481	}
482
483	=item $oldprio = $coroutine->prio ($newprio)
484
485	Sets (or gets, if the argument is missing) the priority of the
486	coroutine. Higher priority coroutines get run before lower priority
487	coroutines. Priorities are small signed integers (currently -4 .. +3),
488	that you can refer to using PRIO_xxx constants (use the import tag :prio
489	to get then):
490
491	PRIO_MAX > PRIO_HIGH > PRIO_NORMAL > PRIO_LOW > PRIO_IDLE > PRIO_MIN
492	3 > 1 > 0 > -1 > -3 > -4
493
494	# set priority to HIGH
495	current->prio(PRIO_HIGH);
496
497	The idle coroutine ($Coro::idle) always has a lower priority than any
498	existing coroutine.
499
500	Changing the priority of the current coroutine will take effect immediately,
501	but changing the priority of coroutines in the ready queue (but not
502	running) will only take effect after the next schedule (of that
503	coroutine). This is a bug that will be fixed in some future version.
504
505	=item $newprio = $coroutine->nice ($change)
506
507	Similar to C<prio>, but subtract the given value from the priority (i.e.
508	higher values mean lower priority, just as in unix).
509
510	=item $olddesc = $coroutine->desc ($newdesc)
511
512	Sets (or gets in case the argument is missing) the description for this
513	coroutine. This is just a free-form string you can associate with a coroutine.
514
515	This method simply sets the C<< $coroutine->{desc} >> member to the given string. You
516	can modify this member directly if you wish.
517
518	=item $coroutine->throw ([$scalar])	885	=item $coro->throw ([$scalar])
519		886
520	If C<$throw> is specified and defined, it will be thrown as an exception	887	If C<$throw> is specified and defined, it will be thrown as an exception
521	inside the coroutine at the next convinient point in time (usually after	888	inside the coro at the next convenient point in time. Otherwise
522	it gains control at the next schedule/transfer/cede). Otherwise clears the
523	exception object.	889	clears the exception object.
		890
		891	Coro will check for the exception each time a schedule-like-function
		892	returns, i.e. after each C<schedule>, C<cede>, C<< Coro::Semaphore->down
		893	>>, C<< Coro::Handle->readable >> and so on. Most of those functions (all
		894	that are part of Coro itself) detect this case and return early in case an
		895	exception is pending.
524		896
525	The exception object will be thrown "as is" with the specified scalar in	897	The exception object will be thrown "as is" with the specified scalar in
526	C<$@>, i.e. if it is a string, no line number or newline will be appended	898	C<$@>, i.e. if it is a string, no line number or newline will be appended
527	(unlike with C<die>).	899	(unlike with C<die>).
528		900
529	This can be used as a softer means than C<cancel> to ask a coroutine to	901	This can be used as a softer means than either C<cancel> or C<safe_cancel
530	end itself, although there is no guarentee that the exception will lead to	902	>to ask a coro to end itself, although there is no guarantee that the
531	termination, and if the exception isn't caught it might well end the whole	903	exception will lead to termination, and if the exception isn't caught it
532	program.	904	might well end the whole program.
		905
		906	You might also think of C<throw> as being the moral equivalent of
		907	C<kill>ing a coro with a signal (in this case, a scalar).
		908
		909	=item $coro->join
		910
		911	Wait until the coro terminates and return any values given to the
		912	C<terminate> or C<cancel> functions. C<join> can be called concurrently
		913	from multiple threads, and all will be resumed and given the status
		914	return once the C<$coro> terminates.
		915
		916	=item $coro->on_destroy (\&cb)
		917
		918	Registers a callback that is called when this coro thread gets destroyed,
		919	that is, after it's resources have been freed but before it is joined. The
		920	callback gets passed the terminate/cancel arguments, if any, and I<must
		921	not> die, under any circumstances.
		922
		923	There can be any number of C<on_destroy> callbacks per coro, and there is
		924	currently no way to remove a callback once added.
		925
		926	=item $oldprio = $coro->prio ($newprio)
		927
		928	Sets (or gets, if the argument is missing) the priority of the
		929	coro thread. Higher priority coro get run before lower priority
		930	coros. Priorities are small signed integers (currently -4 .. +3),
		931	that you can refer to using PRIO_xxx constants (use the import tag :prio
		932	to get then):
		933
		934	PRIO_MAX > PRIO_HIGH > PRIO_NORMAL > PRIO_LOW > PRIO_IDLE > PRIO_MIN
		935	3 > 1 > 0 > -1 > -3 > -4
		936
		937	# set priority to HIGH
		938	current->prio (PRIO_HIGH);
		939
		940	The idle coro thread ($Coro::idle) always has a lower priority than any
		941	existing coro.
		942
		943	Changing the priority of the current coro will take effect immediately,
		944	but changing the priority of a coro in the ready queue (but not running)
		945	will only take effect after the next schedule (of that coro). This is a
		946	bug that will be fixed in some future version.
		947
		948	=item $newprio = $coro->nice ($change)
		949
		950	Similar to C<prio>, but subtract the given value from the priority (i.e.
		951	higher values mean lower priority, just as in UNIX's nice command).
		952
		953	=item $olddesc = $coro->desc ($newdesc)
		954
		955	Sets (or gets in case the argument is missing) the description for this
		956	coro thread. This is just a free-form string you can associate with a
		957	coro.
		958
		959	This method simply sets the C<< $coro->{desc} >> member to the given
		960	string. You can modify this member directly if you wish, and in fact, this
		961	is often preferred to indicate major processing states that can then be
		962	seen for example in a L<Coro::Debug> session:
		963
		964	sub my_long_function {
		965	local $Coro::current->{desc} = "now in my_long_function";
		966	...
		967	$Coro::current->{desc} = "my_long_function: phase 1";
		968	...
		969	$Coro::current->{desc} = "my_long_function: phase 2";
		970	...
		971	}
533		972
534	=cut	973	=cut
535		974
536	sub desc {	975	sub desc {
537	my $old = $_[0]{desc};	976	my $old = $_[0]{desc};
538	$_[0]{desc} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;	977	$_[0]{desc} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
539	$old;	978	$old;
540	}	979	}
541		980
		981	sub transfer {
		982	require Carp;
		983	Carp::croak ("You must not call ->transfer on Coro objects. Use Coro::State objects or the ->schedule_to method. Caught");
		984	}
		985
542	=back	986	=back
543		987
544	=head2 GLOBAL FUNCTIONS	988	=head1 GLOBAL FUNCTIONS
545		989
546	=over 4	990	=over 4
547		991
548	=item Coro::nready	992	=item Coro::nready
549		993
550	Returns the number of coroutines that are currently in the ready state,	994	Returns the number of coro that are currently in the ready state,
551	i.e. that can be switched to by calling C<schedule> directory or	995	i.e. that can be switched to by calling C<schedule> directory or
552	indirectly. The value C<0> means that the only runnable coroutine is the	996	indirectly. The value C<0> means that the only runnable coro is the
553	currently running one, so C<cede> would have no effect, and C<schedule>	997	currently running one, so C<cede> would have no effect, and C<schedule>
554	would cause a deadlock unless there is an idle handler that wakes up some	998	would cause a deadlock unless there is an idle handler that wakes up some
555	coroutines.	999	coro.
556		1000
557	=item my $guard = Coro::guard { ... }	1001	=item my $guard = Coro::guard { ... }
558		1002
559	This creates and returns a guard object. Nothing happens until the object	1003	This function still exists, but is deprecated. Please use the
560	gets destroyed, in which case the codeblock given as argument will be	1004	C<Guard::guard> function instead.
561	executed. This is useful to free locks or other resources in case of a
562	runtime error or when the coroutine gets canceled, as in both cases the
563	guard block will be executed. The guard object supports only one method,
564	C<< ->cancel >>, which will keep the codeblock from being executed.
565
566	Example: set some flag and clear it again when the coroutine gets canceled
567	or the function returns:
568
569	sub do_something {
570	my $guard = Coro::guard { $busy = 0 };
571	$busy = 1;
572
573	# do something that requires $busy to be true
574	}
575		1005
576	=cut	1006	=cut
577		1007
578	sub guard(&) {	1008	BEGIN { *guard = \&Guard::guard }
579	bless \(my $cb = $_[0]), "Coro::guard"
580	}
581
582	sub Coro::guard::cancel {
583	${$_[0]} = sub { };
584	}
585
586	sub Coro::guard::DESTROY {
587	${$_[0]}->();
588	}
589
590		1009
591	=item unblock_sub { ... }	1010	=item unblock_sub { ... }
592		1011
593	This utility function takes a BLOCK or code reference and "unblocks" it,	1012	This utility function takes a BLOCK or code reference and "unblocks" it,
594	returning a new coderef. Unblocking means that calling the new coderef	1013	returning a new coderef. Unblocking means that calling the new coderef
595	will return immediately without blocking, returning nothing, while the	1014	will return immediately without blocking, returning nothing, while the
596	original code ref will be called (with parameters) from within another	1015	original code ref will be called (with parameters) from within another
597	coroutine.	1016	coro.
598		1017
599	The reason this function exists is that many event libraries (such as the	1018	The reason this function exists is that many event libraries (such as
600	venerable L<Event|Event> module) are not coroutine-safe (a weaker form	1019	the venerable L<Event|Event> module) are not thread-safe (a weaker form
601	of thread-safety). This means you must not block within event callbacks,	1020	of reentrancy). This means you must not block within event callbacks,
602	otherwise you might suffer from crashes or worse. The only event library	1021	otherwise you might suffer from crashes or worse. The only event library
603	currently known that is safe to use without C<unblock_sub> is L<EV>.	1022	currently known that is safe to use without C<unblock_sub> is L<EV> (but
		1023	you might still run into deadlocks if all event loops are blocked).
		1024
		1025	Coro will try to catch you when you block in the event loop
		1026	("FATAL:$Coro::IDLE blocked itself"), but this is just best effort and
		1027	only works when you do not run your own event loop.
604		1028
605	This function allows your callbacks to block by executing them in another	1029	This function allows your callbacks to block by executing them in another
606	coroutine where it is safe to block. One example where blocking is handy	1030	coro where it is safe to block. One example where blocking is handy
607	is when you use the L<Coro::AIO|Coro::AIO> functions to save results to	1031	is when you use the L<Coro::AIO|Coro::AIO> functions to save results to
608	disk, for example.	1032	disk, for example.
609		1033
610	In short: simply use C<unblock_sub { ... }> instead of C<sub { ... }> when	1034	In short: simply use C<unblock_sub { ... }> instead of C<sub { ... }> when
611	creating event callbacks that want to block.	1035	creating event callbacks that want to block.
612		1036
613	If your handler does not plan to block (e.g. simply sends a message to	1037	If your handler does not plan to block (e.g. simply sends a message to
614	another coroutine, or puts some other coroutine into the ready queue),	1038	another coro, or puts some other coro into the ready queue), there is
615	there is no reason to use C<unblock_sub>.	1039	no reason to use C<unblock_sub>.
616		1040
617	Note that you also need to use C<unblock_sub> for any other callbacks that	1041	Note that you also need to use C<unblock_sub> for any other callbacks that
618	are indirectly executed by any C-based event loop. For example, when you	1042	are indirectly executed by any C-based event loop. For example, when you
619	use a module that uses L<AnyEvent> (and you use L<Coro::AnyEvent>) and it	1043	use a module that uses L<AnyEvent> (and you use L<Coro::AnyEvent>) and it
620	provides callbacks that are the result of some event callback, then you	1044	provides callbacks that are the result of some event callback, then you
…		…
629	# return immediately and can be reused) and because we cannot cede	1053	# return immediately and can be reused) and because we cannot cede
630	# inside an event callback.	1054	# inside an event callback.
631	our $unblock_scheduler = new Coro sub {	1055	our $unblock_scheduler = new Coro sub {
632	while () {	1056	while () {
633	while (my $cb = pop @unblock_queue) {	1057	while (my $cb = pop @unblock_queue) {
634	# this is an inlined copy of async_pool	1058	&async_pool (@$cb);
635	my $coro = (pop @async_pool) || new Coro \&pool_handler;
636		1059
637	$coro->{_invoke} = $cb;
638	$coro->ready;
639	cede; # for short-lived callbacks, this reduces pressure on the coro pool	1060	# for short-lived callbacks, this reduces pressure on the coro pool
		1061	# as the chance is very high that the async_poll coro will be back
		1062	# in the idle state when cede returns
		1063	cede;
640	}	1064	}
641	schedule; # sleep well	1065	schedule; # sleep well
642	}	1066	}
643	};	1067	};
644	$unblock_scheduler->desc ("[unblock_sub scheduler]");	1068	$unblock_scheduler->{desc} = "[unblock_sub scheduler]";
645		1069
646	sub unblock_sub(&) {	1070	sub unblock_sub(&) {
647	my $cb = shift;	1071	my $cb = shift;
648		1072
649	sub {	1073	sub {
650	unshift @unblock_queue, [$cb, @_];	1074	unshift @unblock_queue, [$cb, @_];
651	$unblock_scheduler->ready;	1075	$unblock_scheduler->ready;
652	}	1076	}
653	}	1077	}
654		1078
		1079	=item $cb = rouse_cb
		1080
		1081	Create and return a "rouse callback". That's a code reference that,
		1082	when called, will remember a copy of its arguments and notify the owner
		1083	coro of the callback.
		1084
		1085	See the next function.
		1086
		1087	=item @args = rouse_wait [$cb]
		1088
		1089	Wait for the specified rouse callback (or the last one that was created in
		1090	this coro).
		1091
		1092	As soon as the callback is invoked (or when the callback was invoked
		1093	before C<rouse_wait>), it will return the arguments originally passed to
		1094	the rouse callback. In scalar context, that means you get the I<last>
		1095	argument, just as if C<rouse_wait> had a C<return ($a1, $a2, $a3...)>
		1096	statement at the end.
		1097
		1098	See the section B<HOW TO WAIT FOR A CALLBACK> for an actual usage example.
		1099
655	=back	1100	=back
656		1101
657	=cut	1102	=cut
658		1103
		1104	for my $module (qw(Channel RWLock Semaphore SemaphoreSet Signal Specific)) {
		1105	my $old = defined &{"Coro::$module\::new"} && \&{"Coro::$module\::new"};
		1106
		1107	*{"Coro::$module\::new"} = sub {
		1108	require "Coro/$module.pm";
		1109
		1110	# some modules have their new predefined in State.xs, some don't
		1111	*{"Coro::$module\::new"} = $old
		1112	if $old;
		1113
		1114	goto &{"Coro::$module\::new"};
		1115	};
		1116	}
		1117
659	1;	1118	1;
660		1119
		1120	=head1 HOW TO WAIT FOR A CALLBACK
		1121
		1122	It is very common for a coro to wait for some callback to be
		1123	called. This occurs naturally when you use coro in an otherwise
		1124	event-based program, or when you use event-based libraries.
		1125
		1126	These typically register a callback for some event, and call that callback
		1127	when the event occured. In a coro, however, you typically want to
		1128	just wait for the event, simplyifying things.
		1129
		1130	For example C<< AnyEvent->child >> registers a callback to be called when
		1131	a specific child has exited:
		1132
		1133	my $child_watcher = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub { ... });
		1134
		1135	But from within a coro, you often just want to write this:
		1136
		1137	my $status = wait_for_child $pid;
		1138
		1139	Coro offers two functions specifically designed to make this easy,
		1140	C<rouse_cb> and C<rouse_wait>.
		1141
		1142	The first function, C<rouse_cb>, generates and returns a callback that,
		1143	when invoked, will save its arguments and notify the coro that
		1144	created the callback.
		1145
		1146	The second function, C<rouse_wait>, waits for the callback to be called
		1147	(by calling C<schedule> to go to sleep) and returns the arguments
		1148	originally passed to the callback.
		1149
		1150	Using these functions, it becomes easy to write the C<wait_for_child>
		1151	function mentioned above:
		1152
		1153	sub wait_for_child($) {
		1154	my ($pid) = @_;
		1155
		1156	my $watcher = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => rouse_cb);
		1157
		1158	my ($rpid, $rstatus) = rouse_wait;
		1159	$rstatus
		1160	}
		1161
		1162	In the case where C<rouse_cb> and C<rouse_wait> are not flexible enough,
		1163	you can roll your own, using C<schedule> and C<ready>:
		1164
		1165	sub wait_for_child($) {
		1166	my ($pid) = @_;
		1167
		1168	# store the current coro in $current,
		1169	# and provide result variables for the closure passed to ->child
		1170	my $current = $Coro::current;
		1171	my ($done, $rstatus);
		1172
		1173	# pass a closure to ->child
		1174	my $watcher = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub {
		1175	$rstatus = $_[1]; # remember rstatus
		1176	$done = 1; # mark $rstatus as valid
		1177	$current->ready; # wake up the waiting thread
		1178	});
		1179
		1180	# wait until the closure has been called
		1181	schedule while !$done;
		1182
		1183	$rstatus
		1184	}
		1185
		1186
661	=head1 BUGS/LIMITATIONS	1187	=head1 BUGS/LIMITATIONS
662		1188
		1189	=over 4
		1190
		1191	=item fork with pthread backend
		1192
		1193	When Coro is compiled using the pthread backend (which isn't recommended
		1194	but required on many BSDs as their libcs are completely broken), then
		1195	coro will not survive a fork. There is no known workaround except to
		1196	fix your libc and use a saner backend.
		1197
		1198	=item perl process emulation ("threads")
		1199
663	This module is not perl-pseudo-thread-safe. You should only ever use this	1200	This module is not perl-pseudo-thread-safe. You should only ever use this
664	module from the same thread (this requirement might be removed in the	1201	module from the first thread (this requirement might be removed in the
665	future to allow per-thread schedulers, but Coro::State does not yet allow	1202	future to allow per-thread schedulers, but Coro::State does not yet allow
666	this). I recommend disabling thread support and using processes, as this	1203	this). I recommend disabling thread support and using processes, as having
667	is much faster and uses less memory.	1204	the windows process emulation enabled under unix roughly halves perl
		1205	performance, even when not used.
		1206
		1207	Attempts to use threads created in another emulated process will crash
		1208	("cleanly", with a null pointer exception).
		1209
		1210	=item coro switching is not signal safe
		1211
		1212	You must not switch to another coro from within a signal handler (only
		1213	relevant with %SIG - most event libraries provide safe signals), I<unless>
		1214	you are sure you are not interrupting a Coro function.
		1215
		1216	That means you I<MUST NOT> call any function that might "block" the
		1217	current coro - C<cede>, C<schedule> C<< Coro::Semaphore->down >> or
		1218	anything that calls those. Everything else, including calling C<ready>,
		1219	works.
		1220
		1221	=back
		1222
		1223
		1224	=head1 WINDOWS PROCESS EMULATION
		1225
		1226	A great many people seem to be confused about ithreads (for example, Chip
		1227	Salzenberg called me unintelligent, incapable, stupid and gullible,
		1228	while in the same mail making rather confused statements about perl
		1229	ithreads (for example, that memory or files would be shared), showing his
		1230	lack of understanding of this area - if it is hard to understand for Chip,
		1231	it is probably not obvious to everybody).
		1232
		1233	What follows is an ultra-condensed version of my talk about threads in
		1234	scripting languages given on the perl workshop 2009:
		1235
		1236	The so-called "ithreads" were originally implemented for two reasons:
		1237	first, to (badly) emulate unix processes on native win32 perls, and
		1238	secondly, to replace the older, real thread model ("5.005-threads").
		1239
		1240	It does that by using threads instead of OS processes. The difference
		1241	between processes and threads is that threads share memory (and other
		1242	state, such as files) between threads within a single process, while
		1243	processes do not share anything (at least not semantically). That
		1244	means that modifications done by one thread are seen by others, while
		1245	modifications by one process are not seen by other processes.
		1246
		1247	The "ithreads" work exactly like that: when creating a new ithreads
		1248	process, all state is copied (memory is copied physically, files and code
		1249	is copied logically). Afterwards, it isolates all modifications. On UNIX,
		1250	the same behaviour can be achieved by using operating system processes,
		1251	except that UNIX typically uses hardware built into the system to do this
		1252	efficiently, while the windows process emulation emulates this hardware in
		1253	software (rather efficiently, but of course it is still much slower than
		1254	dedicated hardware).
		1255
		1256	As mentioned before, loading code, modifying code, modifying data
		1257	structures and so on is only visible in the ithreads process doing the
		1258	modification, not in other ithread processes within the same OS process.
		1259
		1260	This is why "ithreads" do not implement threads for perl at all, only
		1261	processes. What makes it so bad is that on non-windows platforms, you can
		1262	actually take advantage of custom hardware for this purpose (as evidenced
		1263	by the forks module, which gives you the (i-) threads API, just much
		1264	faster).
		1265
		1266	Sharing data is in the i-threads model is done by transfering data
		1267	structures between threads using copying semantics, which is very slow -
		1268	shared data simply does not exist. Benchmarks using i-threads which are
		1269	communication-intensive show extremely bad behaviour with i-threads (in
		1270	fact, so bad that Coro, which cannot take direct advantage of multiple
		1271	CPUs, is often orders of magnitude faster because it shares data using
		1272	real threads, refer to my talk for details).
		1273
		1274	As summary, i-threads *use* threads to implement processes, while
		1275	the compatible forks module *uses* processes to emulate, uhm,
		1276	processes. I-threads slow down every perl program when enabled, and
		1277	outside of windows, serve no (or little) practical purpose, but
		1278	disadvantages every single-threaded Perl program.
		1279
		1280	This is the reason that I try to avoid the name "ithreads", as it is
		1281	misleading as it implies that it implements some kind of thread model for
		1282	perl, and prefer the name "windows process emulation", which describes the
		1283	actual use and behaviour of it much better.
668		1284
669	=head1 SEE ALSO	1285	=head1 SEE ALSO
670		1286
671	Event-Loop integration: L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>.	1287	Event-Loop integration: L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>.
672		1288
673	Debugging: L<Coro::Debug>.	1289	Debugging: L<Coro::Debug>.
674		1290
675	Support/Utility: L<Coro::Specific>, L<Coro::Util>.	1291	Support/Utility: L<Coro::Specific>, L<Coro::Util>.
676		1292
677	Locking/IPC: L<Coro::Signal>, L<Coro::Channel>, L<Coro::Semaphore>, L<Coro::SemaphoreSet>, L<Coro::RWLock>.	1293	Locking and IPC: L<Coro::Signal>, L<Coro::Channel>, L<Coro::Semaphore>,
		1294	L<Coro::SemaphoreSet>, L<Coro::RWLock>.
678		1295
679	IO/Timers: L<Coro::Timer>, L<Coro::Handle>, L<Coro::Socket>, L<Coro::AIO>.	1296	I/O and Timers: L<Coro::Timer>, L<Coro::Handle>, L<Coro::Socket>, L<Coro::AIO>.
680		1297
681	Compatibility: L<Coro::LWP>, L<Coro::BDB>, L<Coro::Storable>, L<Coro::Select>.	1298	Compatibility with other modules: L<Coro::LWP> (but see also L<AnyEvent::HTTP> for
		1299	a better-working alternative), L<Coro::BDB>, L<Coro::Storable>,
		1300	L<Coro::Select>.
682		1301
683	XS API: L<Coro::MakeMaker>.	1302	XS API: L<Coro::MakeMaker>.
684		1303
685	Low level Configuration, Coroutine Environment: L<Coro::State>.	1304	Low level Configuration, Thread Environment, Continuations: L<Coro::State>.
686		1305
687	=head1 AUTHOR	1306	=head1 AUTHOR
688		1307
689	Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>	1308	Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
690	http://home.schmorp.de/	1309	http://home.schmorp.de/

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