[ViewVC] Diff of: cvs/Coro/Coro.pm

Comparing Coro/Coro.pm (file contents):
Revision 1.61 by pcg, Fri May 14 13:25:08 2004 UTC vs.
Revision 1.272 by root, Tue Nov 24 06:13:01 2009 UTC

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
9	async {	9	async {
10	# some asynchronous thread of execution	10	# some asynchronous thread of execution
		11	print "2\n";
		12	cede; # yield back to main
		13	print "4\n";
11	};	14	};
12		15	print "1\n";
13	# alternatively create an async process like this:	16	cede; # yield to coro
14		17	print "3\n";
15	sub some_func : Coro {	18	cede; # and again
16	# some more async code	19
17	}	20	# use locking
18		21	use Coro::Semaphore;
19	cede;	22	my $lock = new Coro::Semaphore;
		23	my $locked;
		24
		25	$lock->down;
		26	$locked = 1;
		27	$lock->up;
20		28
21	=head1 DESCRIPTION	29	=head1 DESCRIPTION
22		30
23	This module collection manages coroutines. Coroutines are similar to	31	For a tutorial-style introduction, please read the L<Coro::Intro>
24	threads but don't run in parallel.	32	manpage. This manpage mainly contains reference information.
25		33
		34	This module collection manages continuations in general, most often in
		35	the form of cooperative threads (also called coros, or simply "coro"
		36	in the documentation). They are similar to kernel threads but don't (in
		37	general) run in parallel at the same time even on SMP machines. The
		38	specific flavor of thread offered by this module also guarantees you that
		39	it will not switch between threads unless necessary, at easily-identified
		40	points in your program, so locking and parallel access are rarely an
		41	issue, making thread programming much safer and easier than using other
		42	thread models.
		43
		44	Unlike the so-called "Perl threads" (which are not actually real threads
		45	but only the windows process emulation (see section of same name for more
		46	details) ported to unix, and as such act as processes), Coro provides
		47	a full shared address space, which makes communication between threads
		48	very easy. And Coro's threads are fast, too: disabling the Windows
		49	process emulation code in your perl and using Coro can easily result in
		50	a two to four times speed increase for your programs. A parallel matrix
		51	multiplication benchmark runs over 300 times faster on a single core than
		52	perl's pseudo-threads on a quad core using all four cores.
		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
26	In this module, coroutines are defined as "callchain + lexical variables	60	In this module, a thread is defined as "callchain + lexical variables +
27	+ @_ + $_ + $@ + $^W + C stack), that is, a coroutine has it's own	61	some package variables + C stack), that is, a thread has its own callchain,
28	callchain, it's own set of lexicals and it's own set of perl's most	62	its own set of lexicals and its own set of perls most important global
29	important global variables.	63	variables (see L<Coro::State> for more configuration and background info).
		64
		65	See also the C<SEE ALSO> section at the end of this document - the Coro
		66	module family is quite large.
30		67
31	=cut	68	=cut
32		69
33	package Coro;	70	package Coro;
34		71
35	BEGIN { eval { require warnings } && warnings->unimport ("uninitialized") }	72	use common::sense;
		73
		74	use Carp ();
		75
		76	use Guard ();
36		77
37	use Coro::State;	78	use Coro::State;
38		79
39	use vars qw($idle $main $current);	80	use base qw(Coro::State Exporter);
40		81
41	use base Exporter;	82	our $idle; # idle handler
		83	our $main; # main coro
		84	our $current; # current coro
42		85
43	$VERSION = 0.97;	86	our $VERSION = 5.2;
44		87
45	@EXPORT = qw(async cede schedule terminate current);	88	our @EXPORT = qw(async async_pool cede schedule terminate current unblock_sub rouse_cb rouse_wait);
46	%EXPORT_TAGS = (	89	our %EXPORT_TAGS = (
47	prio => [qw(PRIO_MAX PRIO_HIGH PRIO_NORMAL PRIO_LOW PRIO_IDLE PRIO_MIN)],	90	prio => [qw(PRIO_MAX PRIO_HIGH PRIO_NORMAL PRIO_LOW PRIO_IDLE PRIO_MIN)],
48	);	91	);
49	@EXPORT_OK = @{$EXPORT_TAGS{prio}};	92	our @EXPORT_OK = (@{$EXPORT_TAGS{prio}}, qw(nready));
50		93
51	{	94	=head1 GLOBAL VARIABLES
52	my @async;
53	my $init;
54
55	# this way of handling attributes simply is NOT scalable ;()
56	sub import {
57	Coro->export_to_level(1, @_);
58	my $old = *{(caller)[0]."::MODIFY_CODE_ATTRIBUTES"}{CODE};
59	*{(caller)[0]."::MODIFY_CODE_ATTRIBUTES"} = sub {
60	my ($package, $ref) = (shift, shift);
61	my @attrs;
62	for (@_) {
63	if ($_ eq "Coro") {
64	push @async, $ref;
65	unless ($init++) {
66	eval q{
67	sub INIT {
68	&async(pop @async) while @async;
69	}
70	};
71	}
72	} else {
73	push @attrs, $_;
74	}
75	}
76	return $old ? $old->($package, $ref, @attrs) : @attrs;
77	};
78	}
79
80	}
81		95
82	=over 4	96	=over 4
83		97
84	=item $main	98	=item $Coro::main
85		99
86	This coroutine represents the main program.	100	This variable stores the Coro object that represents the main
		101	program. While you cna C<ready> it and do most other things you can do to
		102	coro, it is mainly useful to compare again C<$Coro::current>, to see
		103	whether you are running in the main program or not.
87		104
88	=cut	105	=cut
89		106
90	$main = new Coro;	107	# $main is now being initialised by Coro::State
91		108
92	=item $current (or as function: current)	109	=item $Coro::current
93		110
94	The current coroutine (the last coroutine switched to). The initial value is C<$main> (of course).	111	The Coro object representing the current coro (the last
		112	coro that the Coro scheduler switched to). The initial value is
		113	C<$Coro::main> (of course).
95		114
96	=cut	115	This variable is B<strictly> I<read-only>. You can take copies of the
		116	value stored in it and use it as any other Coro object, but you must
		117	not otherwise modify the variable itself.
97		118
98	# maybe some other module used Coro::Specific before...	119	=cut
99	if ($current) {
100	$main->{specific} = $current->{specific};
101	}
102		120
103	$current = $main;
104
105	sub current() { $current }	121	sub current() { $current } # [DEPRECATED]
106		122
107	=item $idle	123	=item $Coro::idle
108		124
109	The coroutine to switch to when no other coroutine is running. The default	125	This variable is mainly useful to integrate Coro into event loops. It is
110	implementation prints "FATAL: deadlock detected" and exits.	126	usually better to rely on L<Coro::AnyEvent> or L<Coro::EV>, as this is
		127	pretty low-level functionality.
111		128
112	=cut	129	This variable stores a Coro object that is put into the ready queue when
		130	there are no other ready threads (without invoking any ready hooks).
113		131
114	# should be done using priorities :(	132	The default implementation dies with "FATAL: deadlock detected.", followed
		133	by a thread listing, because the program has no other way to continue.
		134
		135	This hook is overwritten by modules such as C<Coro::EV> and
		136	C<Coro::AnyEvent> to wait on an external event that hopefully wake up a
		137	coro so the scheduler can run it.
		138
		139	See L<Coro::EV> or L<Coro::AnyEvent> for examples of using this technique.
		140
		141	=cut
		142
115	$idle = new Coro sub {	143	$idle = new Coro sub {
		144	require Coro::Debug;
116	print STDERR "FATAL: deadlock detected\n";	145	die "FATAL: deadlock detected.\n"
117	exit(51);	146	. Coro::Debug::ps_listing ();
118	};	147	};
119		148
120	# this coroutine is necessary because a coroutine	149	# this coro is necessary because a coro
121	# cannot destroy itself.	150	# cannot destroy itself.
122	my @destroy;	151	our @destroy;
123	my $manager;	152	our $manager;
		153
124	$manager = new Coro sub {	154	$manager = new Coro sub {
125	while () {	155	while () {
126	# by overwriting the state object with the manager we destroy it	156	Coro::State::cancel shift @destroy
127	# while still being able to schedule this coroutine (in case it has
128	# been readied multiple times. this is harmless since the manager
129	# can be called as many times as neccessary and will always
130	# remove itself from the runqueue
131	while (@destroy) {	157	while @destroy;
132	my $coro = pop @destroy;
133	$coro->{status} \|\|= [];
134	$_->ready for @{delete $coro->{join} \|\| []};
135		158
136	# the next line destroys the _coro_state, but keeps the
137	# process itself intact (we basically make it a zombie
138	# process that always runs the manager thread, so it's possible
139	# to transfer() to this process).
140	$coro->{_coro_state} = $manager->{_coro_state};
141	}
142	&schedule;	159	&schedule;
143	}	160	}
144	};	161	};
145		162	$manager->{desc} = "[coro manager]";
146	# static methods. not really.	163	$manager->prio (PRIO_MAX);
147		164
148	=back	165	=back
149		166
150	=head2 STATIC METHODS	167	=head1 SIMPLE CORO CREATION
151
152	Static methods are actually functions that operate on the current process only.
153		168
154	=over 4	169	=over 4
155		170
156	=item async { ... } [@args...]	171	=item async { ... } [@args...]
157		172
158	Create a new asynchronous process and return it's process object	173	Create a new coro and return its Coro object (usually
159	(usually unused). When the sub returns the new process is automatically	174	unused). The coro will be put into the ready queue, so
		175	it will start running automatically on the next scheduler run.
		176
		177	The first argument is a codeblock/closure that should be executed in the
		178	coro. When it returns argument returns the coro is automatically
160	terminated.	179	terminated.
161		180
		181	The remaining arguments are passed as arguments to the closure.
		182
		183	See the C<Coro::State::new> constructor for info about the coro
		184	environment in which coro are executed.
		185
		186	Calling C<exit> in a coro will do the same as calling exit outside
		187	the coro. Likewise, when the coro dies, the program will exit,
		188	just as it would in the main program.
		189
		190	If you do not want that, you can provide a default C<die> handler, or
		191	simply avoid dieing (by use of C<eval>).
		192
162	# create a new coroutine that just prints its arguments	193	Example: Create a new coro that just prints its arguments.
		194
163	async {	195	async {
164	print "@_\n";	196	print "@_\n";
165	} 1,2,3,4;	197	} 1,2,3,4;
166		198
167	=cut	199	=item async_pool { ... } [@args...]
168		200
169	sub async(&@) {	201	Similar to C<async>, but uses a coro pool, so you should not call
170	my $pid = new Coro @_;	202	terminate or join on it (although you are allowed to), and you get a
171	$manager->ready; # this ensures that the stack is cloned from the manager	203	coro that might have executed other code already (which can be good
172	$pid->ready;	204	or bad :).
173	$pid;	205
		206	On the plus side, this function is about twice as fast as creating (and
		207	destroying) a completely new coro, so if you need a lot of generic
		208	coros in quick successsion, use C<async_pool>, not C<async>.
		209
		210	The code block is executed in an C<eval> context and a warning will be
		211	issued in case of an exception instead of terminating the program, as
		212	C<async> does. As the coro is being reused, stuff like C<on_destroy>
		213	will not work in the expected way, unless you call terminate or cancel,
		214	which somehow defeats the purpose of pooling (but is fine in the
		215	exceptional case).
		216
		217	The priority will be reset to C<0> after each run, tracing will be
		218	disabled, the description will be reset and the default output filehandle
		219	gets restored, so you can change all these. Otherwise the coro will
		220	be re-used "as-is": most notably if you change other per-coro global
		221	stuff such as C<$/> you I<must needs> revert that change, which is most
		222	simply done by using local as in: C<< local $/ >>.
		223
		224	The idle pool size is limited to C<8> idle coros (this can be
		225	adjusted by changing $Coro::POOL_SIZE), but there can be as many non-idle
		226	coros as required.
		227
		228	If you are concerned about pooled coros growing a lot because a
		229	single C<async_pool> used a lot of stackspace you can e.g. C<async_pool
		230	{ terminate }> once per second or so to slowly replenish the pool. In
		231	addition to that, when the stacks used by a handler grows larger than 32kb
		232	(adjustable via $Coro::POOL_RSS) it will also be destroyed.
		233
		234	=cut
		235
		236	our $POOL_SIZE = 8;
		237	our $POOL_RSS = 32 * 1024;
		238	our @async_pool;
		239
		240	sub pool_handler {
		241	while () {
		242	eval {
		243	&{&_pool_handler} while 1;
		244	};
		245
		246	warn $@ if $@;
		247	}
174	}	248	}
175		249
		250	=back
		251
		252	=head1 STATIC METHODS
		253
		254	Static methods are actually functions that implicitly operate on the
		255	current coro.
		256
		257	=over 4
		258
176	=item schedule	259	=item schedule
177		260
178	Calls the scheduler. Please note that the current process will not be put	261	Calls the scheduler. The scheduler will find the next coro that is
		262	to be run from the ready queue and switches to it. The next coro
		263	to be run is simply the one with the highest priority that is longest
		264	in its ready queue. If there is no coro ready, it will call the
		265	C<$Coro::idle> hook.
		266
		267	Please note that the current coro will I<not> be put into the ready
179	into the ready queue, so calling this function usually means you will	268	queue, so calling this function usually means you will never be called
180	never be called again.	269	again unless something else (e.g. an event handler) calls C<< ->ready >>,
		270	thus waking you up.
181		271
182	=cut	272	This makes C<schedule> I<the> generic method to use to block the current
		273	coro and wait for events: first you remember the current coro in
		274	a variable, then arrange for some callback of yours to call C<< ->ready
		275	>> on that once some event happens, and last you call C<schedule> to put
		276	yourself to sleep. Note that a lot of things can wake your coro up,
		277	so you need to check whether the event indeed happened, e.g. by storing the
		278	status in a variable.
		279
		280	See B<HOW TO WAIT FOR A CALLBACK>, below, for some ways to wait for callbacks.
183		281
184	=item cede	282	=item cede
185		283
186	"Cede" to other processes. This function puts the current process into the	284	"Cede" to other coros. This function puts the current coro into
187	ready queue and calls C<schedule>, which has the effect of giving up the	285	the ready queue and calls C<schedule>, which has the effect of giving
188	current "timeslice" to other coroutines of the same or higher priority.	286	up the current "timeslice" to other coros of the same or higher
		287	priority. Once your coro gets its turn again it will automatically be
		288	resumed.
189		289
190	=cut	290	This function is often called C<yield> in other languages.
		291
		292	=item Coro::cede_notself
		293
		294	Works like cede, but is not exported by default and will cede to I<any>
		295	coro, regardless of priority. This is useful sometimes to ensure
		296	progress is made.
191		297
192	=item terminate [arg...]	298	=item terminate [arg...]
193		299
194	Terminates the current process with the given status values (see L<cancel>).	300	Terminates the current coro with the given status values (see L<cancel>).
195		301
196	=cut	302	=item Coro::on_enter BLOCK, Coro::on_leave BLOCK
197		303
198	sub terminate {	304	These function install enter and leave winders in the current scope. The
199	$current->cancel (@_);	305	enter block will be executed when on_enter is called and whenever the
		306	current coro is re-entered by the scheduler, while the leave block is
		307	executed whenever the current coro is blocked by the scheduler, and
		308	also when the containing scope is exited (by whatever means, be it exit,
		309	die, last etc.).
		310
		311	I<Neither invoking the scheduler, nor exceptions, are allowed within those
		312	BLOCKs>. That means: do not even think about calling C<die> without an
		313	eval, and do not even think of entering the scheduler in any way.
		314
		315	Since both BLOCKs are tied to the current scope, they will automatically
		316	be removed when the current scope exits.
		317
		318	These functions implement the same concept as C<dynamic-wind> in scheme
		319	does, and are useful when you want to localise some resource to a specific
		320	coro.
		321
		322	They slow down thread switching considerably for coros that use them
		323	(about 40% for a BLOCK with a single assignment, so thread switching is
		324	still reasonably fast if the handlers are fast).
		325
		326	These functions are best understood by an example: The following function
		327	will change the current timezone to "Antarctica/South_Pole", which
		328	requires a call to C<tzset>, but by using C<on_enter> and C<on_leave>,
		329	which remember/change the current timezone and restore the previous
		330	value, respectively, the timezone is only changed for the coro that
		331	installed those handlers.
		332
		333	use POSIX qw(tzset);
		334
		335	async {
		336	my $old_tz; # store outside TZ value here
		337
		338	Coro::on_enter {
		339	$old_tz = $ENV{TZ}; # remember the old value
		340
		341	$ENV{TZ} = "Antarctica/South_Pole";
		342	tzset; # enable new value
		343	};
		344
		345	Coro::on_leave {
		346	$ENV{TZ} = $old_tz;
		347	tzset; # restore old value
		348	};
		349
		350	# at this place, the timezone is Antarctica/South_Pole,
		351	# without disturbing the TZ of any other coro.
		352	};
		353
		354	This can be used to localise about any resource (locale, uid, current
		355	working directory etc.) to a block, despite the existance of other
		356	coros.
		357
		358	Another interesting example implements time-sliced multitasking using
		359	interval timers (this could obviously be optimised, but does the job):
		360
		361	# "timeslice" the given block
		362	sub timeslice(&) {
		363	use Time::HiRes ();
		364
		365	Coro::on_enter {
		366	# on entering the thread, we set an VTALRM handler to cede
		367	$SIG{VTALRM} = sub { cede };
		368	# and then start the interval timer
		369	Time::HiRes::setitimer &Time::HiRes::ITIMER_VIRTUAL, 0.01, 0.01;
		370	};
		371	Coro::on_leave {
		372	# on leaving the thread, we stop the interval timer again
		373	Time::HiRes::setitimer &Time::HiRes::ITIMER_VIRTUAL, 0, 0;
		374	};
		375
		376	&{+shift};
		377	}
		378
		379	# use like this:
		380	timeslice {
		381	# The following is an endless loop that would normally
		382	# monopolise the process. Since it runs in a timesliced
		383	# environment, it will regularly cede to other threads.
		384	while () { }
		385	};
		386
		387
		388	=item killall
		389
		390	Kills/terminates/cancels all coros except the currently running one.
		391
		392	Note that while this will try to free some of the main interpreter
		393	resources if the calling coro isn't the main coro, but one
		394	cannot free all of them, so if a coro that is not the main coro
		395	calls this function, there will be some one-time resource leak.
		396
		397	=cut
		398
		399	sub killall {
		400	for (Coro::State::list) {
		401	$_->cancel
		402	if $_ != $current && UNIVERSAL::isa $_, "Coro";
		403	}
200	}	404	}
201		405
202	=back	406	=back
203		407
204	# dynamic methods	408	=head1 CORO OBJECT METHODS
205		409
206	=head2 PROCESS METHODS
207
208	These are the methods you can call on process objects.	410	These are the methods you can call on coro objects (or to create
		411	them).
209		412
210	=over 4	413	=over 4
211		414
212	=item new Coro \&sub [, @args...]	415	=item new Coro \&sub [, @args...]
213		416
214	Create a new process and return it. When the sub returns the process	417	Create a new coro and return it. When the sub returns, the coro
215	automatically terminates as if C<terminate> with the returned values were	418	automatically terminates as if C<terminate> with the returned values were
216	called. To make the process run you must first put it into the ready queue	419	called. To make the coro run you must first put it into the ready
217	by calling the ready method.	420	queue by calling the ready method.
218		421
219	=cut	422	See C<async> and C<Coro::State::new> for additional info about the
		423	coro environment.
220		424
		425	=cut
		426
221	sub _newcoro {	427	sub _coro_run {
222	terminate &{+shift};	428	terminate &{+shift};
223	}	429	}
224		430
225	sub new {	431	=item $success = $coro->ready
226	my $class = shift;
227	bless {
228	_coro_state => (new Coro::State $_[0] && \&_newcoro, @_),
229	}, $class;
230	}
231		432
232	=item $process->ready	433	Put the given coro into the end of its ready queue (there is one
		434	queue for each priority) and return true. If the coro is already in
		435	the ready queue, do nothing and return false.
233		436
234	Put the given process into the ready queue.	437	This ensures that the scheduler will resume this coro automatically
		438	once all the coro of higher priority and all coro of the same
		439	priority that were put into the ready queue earlier have been resumed.
235		440
236	=cut	441	=item $coro->suspend
237		442
		443	Suspends the specified coro. A suspended coro works just like any other
		444	coro, except that the scheduler will not select a suspended coro for
		445	execution.
		446
		447	Suspending a coro can be useful when you want to keep the coro from
		448	running, but you don't want to destroy it, or when you want to temporarily
		449	freeze a coro (e.g. for debugging) to resume it later.
		450
		451	A scenario for the former would be to suspend all (other) coros after a
		452	fork and keep them alive, so their destructors aren't called, but new
		453	coros can be created.
		454
		455	=item $coro->resume
		456
		457	If the specified coro was suspended, it will be resumed. Note that when
		458	the coro was in the ready queue when it was suspended, it might have been
		459	unreadied by the scheduler, so an activation might have been lost.
		460
		461	To avoid this, it is best to put a suspended coro into the ready queue
		462	unconditionally, as every synchronisation mechanism must protect itself
		463	against spurious wakeups, and the one in the Coro family certainly do
		464	that.
		465
		466	=item $is_ready = $coro->is_ready
		467
		468	Returns true iff the Coro object is in the ready queue. Unless the Coro
		469	object gets destroyed, it will eventually be scheduled by the scheduler.
		470
		471	=item $is_running = $coro->is_running
		472
		473	Returns true iff the Coro object is currently running. Only one Coro object
		474	can ever be in the running state (but it currently is possible to have
		475	multiple running Coro::States).
		476
		477	=item $is_suspended = $coro->is_suspended
		478
		479	Returns true iff this Coro object has been suspended. Suspended Coros will
		480	not ever be scheduled.
		481
238	=item $process->cancel (arg...)	482	=item $coro->cancel (arg...)
239		483
240	Temrinates the given process and makes it return the given arguments as	484	Terminates the given Coro and makes it return the given arguments as
241	status (default: the empty list).	485	status (default: the empty list). Never returns if the Coro is the
		486	current Coro.
242		487
243	=cut	488	=cut
244		489
245	sub cancel {	490	sub cancel {
246	my $self = shift;	491	my $self = shift;
		492
		493	if ($current == $self) {
		494	terminate @_;
		495	} else {
247	$self->{status} = [@_];	496	$self->{_status} = [@_];
248	push @destroy, $self;	497	Coro::State::cancel $self;
249	$manager->ready;	498	}
250	&schedule if $current == $self;
251	}	499	}
252		500
		501	=item $coro->schedule_to
		502
		503	Puts the current coro to sleep (like C<Coro::schedule>), but instead
		504	of continuing with the next coro from the ready queue, always switch to
		505	the given coro object (regardless of priority etc.). The readyness
		506	state of that coro isn't changed.
		507
		508	This is an advanced method for special cases - I'd love to hear about any
		509	uses for this one.
		510
		511	=item $coro->cede_to
		512
		513	Like C<schedule_to>, but puts the current coro into the ready
		514	queue. This has the effect of temporarily switching to the given
		515	coro, and continuing some time later.
		516
		517	This is an advanced method for special cases - I'd love to hear about any
		518	uses for this one.
		519
		520	=item $coro->throw ([$scalar])
		521
		522	If C<$throw> is specified and defined, it will be thrown as an exception
		523	inside the coro at the next convenient point in time. Otherwise
		524	clears the exception object.
		525
		526	Coro will check for the exception each time a schedule-like-function
		527	returns, i.e. after each C<schedule>, C<cede>, C<< Coro::Semaphore->down
		528	>>, C<< Coro::Handle->readable >> and so on. Most of these functions
		529	detect this case and return early in case an exception is pending.
		530
		531	The exception object will be thrown "as is" with the specified scalar in
		532	C<$@>, i.e. if it is a string, no line number or newline will be appended
		533	(unlike with C<die>).
		534
		535	This can be used as a softer means than C<cancel> to ask a coro to
		536	end itself, although there is no guarantee that the exception will lead to
		537	termination, and if the exception isn't caught it might well end the whole
		538	program.
		539
		540	You might also think of C<throw> as being the moral equivalent of
		541	C<kill>ing a coro with a signal (in this case, a scalar).
		542
253	=item $process->join	543	=item $coro->join
254		544
255	Wait until the coroutine terminates and return any values given to the	545	Wait until the coro terminates and return any values given to the
256	C<terminate> or C<cancel> functions. C<join> can be called multiple times	546	C<terminate> or C<cancel> functions. C<join> can be called concurrently
257	from multiple processes.	547	from multiple coro, and all will be resumed and given the status
		548	return once the C<$coro> terminates.
258		549
259	=cut	550	=cut
260		551
261	sub join {	552	sub join {
262	my $self = shift;	553	my $self = shift;
		554
263	unless ($self->{status}) {	555	unless ($self->{_status}) {
264	push @{$self->{join}}, $current;	556	my $current = $current;
265	&schedule;	557
		558	push @{$self->{_on_destroy}}, sub {
		559	$current->ready;
		560	undef $current;
		561	};
		562
		563	&schedule while $current;
266	}	564	}
		565
267	wantarray ? @{$self->{status}} : $self->{status}[0];	566	wantarray ? @{$self->{_status}} : $self->{_status}[0];
268	}	567	}
269		568
		569	=item $coro->on_destroy (\&cb)
		570
		571	Registers a callback that is called when this coro gets destroyed,
		572	but before it is joined. The callback gets passed the terminate arguments,
		573	if any, and I<must not> die, under any circumstances.
		574
		575	=cut
		576
		577	sub on_destroy {
		578	my ($self, $cb) = @_;
		579
		580	push @{ $self->{_on_destroy} }, $cb;
		581	}
		582
270	=item $oldprio = $process->prio($newprio)	583	=item $oldprio = $coro->prio ($newprio)
271		584
272	Sets (or gets, if the argument is missing) the priority of the	585	Sets (or gets, if the argument is missing) the priority of the
273	process. Higher priority processes get run before lower priority	586	coro. Higher priority coro get run before lower priority
274	processes. Priorities are small signed integers (currently -4 .. +3),	587	coro. Priorities are small signed integers (currently -4 .. +3),
275	that you can refer to using PRIO_xxx constants (use the import tag :prio	588	that you can refer to using PRIO_xxx constants (use the import tag :prio
276	to get then):	589	to get then):
277		590
278	PRIO_MAX > PRIO_HIGH > PRIO_NORMAL > PRIO_LOW > PRIO_IDLE > PRIO_MIN	591	PRIO_MAX > PRIO_HIGH > PRIO_NORMAL > PRIO_LOW > PRIO_IDLE > PRIO_MIN
279	3 > 1 > 0 > -1 > -3 > -4	592	3 > 1 > 0 > -1 > -3 > -4
280		593
281	# set priority to HIGH	594	# set priority to HIGH
282	current->prio(PRIO_HIGH);	595	current->prio (PRIO_HIGH);
283		596
284	The idle coroutine ($Coro::idle) always has a lower priority than any	597	The idle coro ($Coro::idle) always has a lower priority than any
285	existing coroutine.	598	existing coro.
286		599
287	Changing the priority of the current process will take effect immediately,	600	Changing the priority of the current coro will take effect immediately,
288	but changing the priority of processes in the ready queue (but not	601	but changing the priority of coro in the ready queue (but not
289	running) will only take effect after the next schedule (of that	602	running) will only take effect after the next schedule (of that
290	process). This is a bug that will be fixed in some future version.	603	coro). This is a bug that will be fixed in some future version.
291		604
292	=cut
293
294	sub prio {
295	my $old = $_[0]{prio};
296	$_[0]{prio} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
297	$old;
298	}
299
300	=item $newprio = $process->nice($change)	605	=item $newprio = $coro->nice ($change)
301		606
302	Similar to C<prio>, but subtract the given value from the priority (i.e.	607	Similar to C<prio>, but subtract the given value from the priority (i.e.
303	higher values mean lower priority, just as in unix).	608	higher values mean lower priority, just as in unix).
304		609
305	=cut
306
307	sub nice {
308	$_[0]{prio} -= $_[1];
309	}
310
311	=item $olddesc = $process->desc($newdesc)	610	=item $olddesc = $coro->desc ($newdesc)
312		611
313	Sets (or gets in case the argument is missing) the description for this	612	Sets (or gets in case the argument is missing) the description for this
314	process. This is just a free-form string you can associate with a process.	613	coro. This is just a free-form string you can associate with a
		614	coro.
		615
		616	This method simply sets the C<< $coro->{desc} >> member to the given
		617	string. You can modify this member directly if you wish.
315		618
316	=cut	619	=cut
317		620
318	sub desc {	621	sub desc {
319	my $old = $_[0]{desc};	622	my $old = $_[0]{desc};
320	$_[0]{desc} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;	623	$_[0]{desc} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
321	$old;	624	$old;
322	}	625	}
323		626
		627	sub transfer {
		628	require Carp;
		629	Carp::croak ("You must not call ->transfer on Coro objects. Use Coro::State objects or the ->schedule_to method. Caught");
		630	}
		631
324	=back	632	=back
325		633
		634	=head1 GLOBAL FUNCTIONS
		635
		636	=over 4
		637
		638	=item Coro::nready
		639
		640	Returns the number of coro that are currently in the ready state,
		641	i.e. that can be switched to by calling C<schedule> directory or
		642	indirectly. The value C<0> means that the only runnable coro is the
		643	currently running one, so C<cede> would have no effect, and C<schedule>
		644	would cause a deadlock unless there is an idle handler that wakes up some
		645	coro.
		646
		647	=item my $guard = Coro::guard { ... }
		648
		649	This function still exists, but is deprecated. Please use the
		650	C<Guard::guard> function instead.
		651
		652	=cut
		653
		654	BEGIN { *guard = \&Guard::guard }
		655
		656	=item unblock_sub { ... }
		657
		658	This utility function takes a BLOCK or code reference and "unblocks" it,
		659	returning a new coderef. Unblocking means that calling the new coderef
		660	will return immediately without blocking, returning nothing, while the
		661	original code ref will be called (with parameters) from within another
		662	coro.
		663
		664	The reason this function exists is that many event libraries (such as the
		665	venerable L<Event\|Event> module) are not thread-safe (a weaker form
		666	of reentrancy). This means you must not block within event callbacks,
		667	otherwise you might suffer from crashes or worse. The only event library
		668	currently known that is safe to use without C<unblock_sub> is L<EV>.
		669
		670	This function allows your callbacks to block by executing them in another
		671	coro where it is safe to block. One example where blocking is handy
		672	is when you use the L<Coro::AIO\|Coro::AIO> functions to save results to
		673	disk, for example.
		674
		675	In short: simply use C<unblock_sub { ... }> instead of C<sub { ... }> when
		676	creating event callbacks that want to block.
		677
		678	If your handler does not plan to block (e.g. simply sends a message to
		679	another coro, or puts some other coro into the ready queue), there is
		680	no reason to use C<unblock_sub>.
		681
		682	Note that you also need to use C<unblock_sub> for any other callbacks that
		683	are indirectly executed by any C-based event loop. For example, when you
		684	use a module that uses L<AnyEvent> (and you use L<Coro::AnyEvent>) and it
		685	provides callbacks that are the result of some event callback, then you
		686	must not block either, or use C<unblock_sub>.
		687
		688	=cut
		689
		690	our @unblock_queue;
		691
		692	# we create a special coro because we want to cede,
		693	# to reduce pressure on the coro pool (because most callbacks
		694	# return immediately and can be reused) and because we cannot cede
		695	# inside an event callback.
		696	our $unblock_scheduler = new Coro sub {
		697	while () {
		698	while (my $cb = pop @unblock_queue) {
		699	&async_pool (@$cb);
		700
		701	# for short-lived callbacks, this reduces pressure on the coro pool
		702	# as the chance is very high that the async_poll coro will be back
		703	# in the idle state when cede returns
		704	cede;
		705	}
		706	schedule; # sleep well
		707	}
		708	};
		709	$unblock_scheduler->{desc} = "[unblock_sub scheduler]";
		710
		711	sub unblock_sub(&) {
		712	my $cb = shift;
		713
		714	sub {
		715	unshift @unblock_queue, [$cb, @_];
		716	$unblock_scheduler->ready;
		717	}
		718	}
		719
		720	=item $cb = rouse_cb
		721
		722	Create and return a "rouse callback". That's a code reference that,
		723	when called, will remember a copy of its arguments and notify the owner
		724	coro of the callback.
		725
		726	See the next function.
		727
		728	=item @args = rouse_wait [$cb]
		729
		730	Wait for the specified rouse callback (or the last one that was created in
		731	this coro).
		732
		733	As soon as the callback is invoked (or when the callback was invoked
		734	before C<rouse_wait>), it will return the arguments originally passed to
		735	the rouse callback. In scalar context, that means you get the I<last>
		736	argument, just as if C<rouse_wait> had a C<return ($a1, $a2, $a3...)>
		737	statement at the end.
		738
		739	See the section B<HOW TO WAIT FOR A CALLBACK> for an actual usage example.
		740
		741	=back
		742
326	=cut	743	=cut
327		744
328	1;	745	1;
329		746
		747	=head1 HOW TO WAIT FOR A CALLBACK
		748
		749	It is very common for a coro to wait for some callback to be
		750	called. This occurs naturally when you use coro in an otherwise
		751	event-based program, or when you use event-based libraries.
		752
		753	These typically register a callback for some event, and call that callback
		754	when the event occured. In a coro, however, you typically want to
		755	just wait for the event, simplyifying things.
		756
		757	For example C<< AnyEvent->child >> registers a callback to be called when
		758	a specific child has exited:
		759
		760	my $child_watcher = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub { ... });
		761
		762	But from within a coro, you often just want to write this:
		763
		764	my $status = wait_for_child $pid;
		765
		766	Coro offers two functions specifically designed to make this easy,
		767	C<Coro::rouse_cb> and C<Coro::rouse_wait>.
		768
		769	The first function, C<rouse_cb>, generates and returns a callback that,
		770	when invoked, will save its arguments and notify the coro that
		771	created the callback.
		772
		773	The second function, C<rouse_wait>, waits for the callback to be called
		774	(by calling C<schedule> to go to sleep) and returns the arguments
		775	originally passed to the callback.
		776
		777	Using these functions, it becomes easy to write the C<wait_for_child>
		778	function mentioned above:
		779
		780	sub wait_for_child($) {
		781	my ($pid) = @_;
		782
		783	my $watcher = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => Coro::rouse_cb);
		784
		785	my ($rpid, $rstatus) = Coro::rouse_wait;
		786	$rstatus
		787	}
		788
		789	In the case where C<rouse_cb> and C<rouse_wait> are not flexible enough,
		790	you can roll your own, using C<schedule>:
		791
		792	sub wait_for_child($) {
		793	my ($pid) = @_;
		794
		795	# store the current coro in $current,
		796	# and provide result variables for the closure passed to ->child
		797	my $current = $Coro::current;
		798	my ($done, $rstatus);
		799
		800	# pass a closure to ->child
		801	my $watcher = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub {
		802	$rstatus = $_[1]; # remember rstatus
		803	$done = 1; # mark $rstatus as valud
		804	});
		805
		806	# wait until the closure has been called
		807	schedule while !$done;
		808
		809	$rstatus
		810	}
		811
		812
330	=head1 BUGS/LIMITATIONS	813	=head1 BUGS/LIMITATIONS
331		814
332	- you must make very sure that no coro is still active on global	815	=over 4
333	destruction. very bad things might happen otherwise (usually segfaults).
334		816
		817	=item fork with pthread backend
		818
		819	When Coro is compiled using the pthread backend (which isn't recommended
		820	but required on many BSDs as their libcs are completely broken), then
		821	coro will not survive a fork. There is no known workaround except to
		822	fix your libc and use a saner backend.
		823
		824	=item perl process emulation ("threads")
		825
335	- this module is not thread-safe. You should only ever use this module	826	This module is not perl-pseudo-thread-safe. You should only ever use this
336	from the same thread (this requirement might be losened in the future	827	module from the first thread (this requirement might be removed in the
337	to allow per-thread schedulers, but Coro::State does not yet allow	828	future to allow per-thread schedulers, but Coro::State does not yet allow
338	this).	829	this). I recommend disabling thread support and using processes, as having
		830	the windows process emulation enabled under unix roughly halves perl
		831	performance, even when not used.
		832
		833	=item coro switching is not signal safe
		834
		835	You must not switch to another coro from within a signal handler (only
		836	relevant with %SIG - most event libraries provide safe signals), I<unless>
		837	you are sure you are not interrupting a Coro function.
		838
		839	That means you I<MUST NOT> call any function that might "block" the
		840	current coro - C<cede>, C<schedule> C<< Coro::Semaphore->down >> or
		841	anything that calls those. Everything else, including calling C<ready>,
		842	works.
		843
		844	=back
		845
		846
		847	=head1 WINDOWS PROCESS EMULATION
		848
		849	A great many people seem to be confused about ithreads (for example, Chip
		850	Salzenberg called me unintelligent, incapable, stupid and gullible,
		851	while in the same mail making rather confused statements about perl
		852	ithreads (for example, that memory or files would be shared), showing his
		853	lack of understanding of this area - if it is hard to understand for Chip,
		854	it is probably not obvious to everybody).
		855
		856	What follows is an ultra-condensed version of my talk about threads in
		857	scripting languages given onthe perl workshop 2009:
		858
		859	The so-called "ithreads" were originally implemented for two reasons:
		860	first, to (badly) emulate unix processes on native win32 perls, and
		861	secondly, to replace the older, real thread model ("5.005-threads").
		862
		863	It does that by using threads instead of OS processes. The difference
		864	between processes and threads is that threads share memory (and other
		865	state, such as files) between threads within a single process, while
		866	processes do not share anything (at least not semantically). That
		867	means that modifications done by one thread are seen by others, while
		868	modifications by one process are not seen by other processes.
		869
		870	The "ithreads" work exactly like that: when creating a new ithreads
		871	process, all state is copied (memory is copied physically, files and code
		872	is copied logically). Afterwards, it isolates all modifications. On UNIX,
		873	the same behaviour can be achieved by using operating system processes,
		874	except that UNIX typically uses hardware built into the system to do this
		875	efficiently, while the windows process emulation emulates this hardware in
		876	software (rather efficiently, but of course it is still much slower than
		877	dedicated hardware).
		878
		879	As mentioned before, loading code, modifying code, modifying data
		880	structures and so on is only visible in the ithreads process doing the
		881	modification, not in other ithread processes within the same OS process.
		882
		883	This is why "ithreads" do not implement threads for perl at all, only
		884	processes. What makes it so bad is that on non-windows platforms, you can
		885	actually take advantage of custom hardware for this purpose (as evidenced
		886	by the forks module, which gives you the (i-) threads API, just much
		887	faster).
		888
		889	Sharing data is in the i-threads model is done by transfering data
		890	structures between threads using copying semantics, which is very slow -
		891	shared data simply does not exist. Benchmarks using i-threads which are
		892	communication-intensive show extremely bad behaviour with i-threads (in
		893	fact, so bad that Coro, which cannot take direct advantage of multiple
		894	CPUs, is often orders of magnitude faster because it shares data using
		895	real threads, refer to my talk for details).
		896
		897	As summary, i-threads use threads to implement processes, while
		898	the compatible forks module uses processes to emulate, uhm,
		899	processes. I-threads slow down every perl program when enabled, and
		900	outside of windows, serve no (or little) practical purpose, but
		901	disadvantages every single-threaded Perl program.
		902
		903	This is the reason that I try to avoid the name "ithreads", as it is
		904	misleading as it implies that it implements some kind of thread model for
		905	perl, and prefer the name "windows process emulation", which describes the
		906	actual use and behaviour of it much better.
339		907
340	=head1 SEE ALSO	908	=head1 SEE ALSO
341		909
342	L<Coro::Channel>, L<Coro::Cont>, L<Coro::Specific>, L<Coro::Semaphore>,	910	Event-Loop integration: L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>.
343	L<Coro::Signal>, L<Coro::State>, L<Coro::Timer>, L<Coro::Event>,	911
344	L<Coro::L<Coro::RWLock>, Handle>, L<Coro::Socket>.	912	Debugging: L<Coro::Debug>.
		913
		914	Support/Utility: L<Coro::Specific>, L<Coro::Util>.
		915
		916	Locking and IPC: L<Coro::Signal>, L<Coro::Channel>, L<Coro::Semaphore>,
		917	L<Coro::SemaphoreSet>, L<Coro::RWLock>.
		918
		919	I/O and Timers: L<Coro::Timer>, L<Coro::Handle>, L<Coro::Socket>, L<Coro::AIO>.
		920
		921	Compatibility with other modules: L<Coro::LWP> (but see also L<AnyEvent::HTTP> for
		922	a better-working alternative), L<Coro::BDB>, L<Coro::Storable>,
		923	L<Coro::Select>.
		924
		925	XS API: L<Coro::MakeMaker>.
		926
		927	Low level Configuration, Thread Environment, Continuations: L<Coro::State>.
345		928
346	=head1 AUTHOR	929	=head1 AUTHOR
347		930
348	Marc Lehmann <pcg@goof.com>	931	Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
349	http://www.goof.com/pcg/marc/	932	http://home.schmorp.de/
350		933
351	=cut	934	=cut
352		935

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Revision 1.272 by root, Tue Nov 24 06:13:01 2009 UTC