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Revision 1.252 by root, Thu Apr 16 20:07:21 2009 UTC

1=head1 NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3Coro - coroutine process abstraction 3Coro - the only real threads in perl
4 4
5=head1 SYNOPSIS 5=head1 SYNOPSIS
6 6
7 use Coro; 7 use Coro;
8 8
9 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
23This module collection manages coroutines. Coroutines are similar to 31For a tutorial-style introduction, please read the L<Coro::Intro>
24threads but don't run in parallel. 32manpage. This manpage mainly contains reference information.
25 33
34This module collection manages continuations in general, most often in
35the form of cooperative threads (also called coros, or simply "coro"
36in the documentation). They are similar to kernel threads but don't (in
37general) run in parallel at the same time even on SMP machines. The
38specific flavor of thread offered by this module also guarantees you that
39it will not switch between threads unless necessary, at easily-identified
40points in your program, so locking and parallel access are rarely an
41issue, making thread programming much safer and easier than using other
42thread models.
43
44Unlike the so-called "Perl threads" (which are not actually real threads
45but only the windows process emulation ported to unix, and as such act
46as processes), Coro provides a full shared address space, which makes
47communication between threads very easy. And Coro's threads are fast,
48too: disabling the Windows process emulation code in your perl and using
49Coro can easily result in a two to four times speed increase for your
50programs. A parallel matrix multiplication benchmark runs over 300 times
51faster on a single core than perl's pseudo-threads on a quad core using
52all four cores.
53
54Coro achieves that by supporting multiple running interpreters that share
55data, which is especially useful to code pseudo-parallel processes and
56for event-based programming, such as multiple HTTP-GET requests running
57concurrently. See L<Coro::AnyEvent> to learn more on how to integrate Coro
58into an event-based environment.
59
26In this module, coroutines are defined as "callchain + lexical variables 60In this module, a thread is defined as "callchain + lexical variables +
27+ @_ + $_ + $@ + $^W + C stack), that is, a coroutine has it's own 61some package variables + C stack), that is, a thread has its own callchain,
28callchain, it's own set of lexicals and it's own set of perl's most 62its own set of lexicals and its own set of perls most important global
29important global variables. 63variables (see L<Coro::State> for more configuration and background info).
64
65See also the C<SEE ALSO> section at the end of this document - the Coro
66module family is quite large.
30 67
31=cut 68=cut
32 69
33package Coro; 70package Coro;
34 71
35BEGIN { eval { require warnings } && warnings->unimport ("uninitialized") } 72use strict qw(vars subs);
73no warnings "uninitialized";
74
75use Guard ();
36 76
37use Coro::State; 77use Coro::State;
38 78
39use vars qw($idle $main $current); 79use base qw(Coro::State Exporter);
40 80
41use base Exporter; 81our $idle; # idle handler
82our $main; # main coro
83our $current; # current coro
42 84
43$VERSION = 1.11; 85our $VERSION = 5.131;
44 86
45@EXPORT = qw(async cede schedule terminate current); 87our @EXPORT = qw(async async_pool cede schedule terminate current unblock_sub);
46%EXPORT_TAGS = ( 88our %EXPORT_TAGS = (
47 prio => [qw(PRIO_MAX PRIO_HIGH PRIO_NORMAL PRIO_LOW PRIO_IDLE PRIO_MIN)], 89 prio => [qw(PRIO_MAX PRIO_HIGH PRIO_NORMAL PRIO_LOW PRIO_IDLE PRIO_MIN)],
48); 90);
49@EXPORT_OK = @{$EXPORT_TAGS{prio}}; 91our @EXPORT_OK = (@{$EXPORT_TAGS{prio}}, qw(nready));
50 92
51{ 93=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 94
82=over 4 95=over 4
83 96
84=item $main 97=item $Coro::main
85 98
86This coroutine represents the main program. 99This variable stores the Coro object that represents the main
100program. While you cna C<ready> it and do most other things you can do to
101coro, it is mainly useful to compare again C<$Coro::current>, to see
102whether you are running in the main program or not.
87 103
88=cut 104=cut
89 105
90$main = new Coro; 106# $main is now being initialised by Coro::State
91 107
92=item $current (or as function: current) 108=item $Coro::current
93 109
94The current coroutine (the last coroutine switched to). The initial value is C<$main> (of course). 110The Coro object representing the current coro (the last
111coro that the Coro scheduler switched to). The initial value is
112C<$Coro::main> (of course).
95 113
96=cut 114This variable is B<strictly> I<read-only>. You can take copies of the
115value stored in it and use it as any other Coro object, but you must
116not otherwise modify the variable itself.
97 117
98# maybe some other module used Coro::Specific before... 118=cut
99if ($current) {
100 $main->{specific} = $current->{specific};
101}
102 119
103$current = $main;
104
105sub current() { $current } 120sub current() { $current } # [DEPRECATED]
106 121
107=item $idle 122=item $Coro::idle
108 123
109The coroutine to switch to when no other coroutine is running. The default 124This variable is mainly useful to integrate Coro into event loops. It is
110implementation prints "FATAL: deadlock detected" and exits. 125usually better to rely on L<Coro::AnyEvent> or L<Coro::EV>, as this is
126pretty low-level functionality.
111 127
112=cut 128This variable stores either a Coro object or a callback.
113 129
114# should be done using priorities :( 130If it is a callback, the it is called whenever the scheduler finds no
115$idle = new Coro sub { 131ready coros to run. The default implementation prints "FATAL:
116 print STDERR "FATAL: deadlock detected\n"; 132deadlock detected" and exits, because the program has no other way to
117 exit(51); 133continue.
134
135If it is a coro object, then this object will be readied (without
136invoking any ready hooks, however) when the scheduler finds no other ready
137coros to run.
138
139This hook is overwritten by modules such as C<Coro::EV> and
140C<Coro::AnyEvent> to wait on an external event that hopefully wake up a
141coro so the scheduler can run it.
142
143Note that the callback I<must not>, under any circumstances, block
144the current coro. Normally, this is achieved by having an "idle
145coro" that calls the event loop and then blocks again, and then
146readying that coro in the idle handler, or by simply placing the idle
147coro in this variable.
148
149See L<Coro::Event> or L<Coro::AnyEvent> for examples of using this
150technique.
151
152Please note that if your callback recursively invokes perl (e.g. for event
153handlers), then it must be prepared to be called recursively itself.
154
155=cut
156
157$idle = sub {
158 require Carp;
159 Carp::croak ("FATAL: deadlock detected");
118}; 160};
119 161
120# this coroutine is necessary because a coroutine 162# this coro is necessary because a coro
121# cannot destroy itself. 163# cannot destroy itself.
122my @destroy; 164our @destroy;
123my $manager; 165our $manager;
166
124$manager = new Coro sub { 167$manager = new Coro sub {
125 while () { 168 while () {
126 # by overwriting the state object with the manager we destroy it 169 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) { 170 while @destroy;
132 my $coro = pop @destroy;
133 $coro->{status} ||= [];
134 $_->ready for @{delete $coro->{join} || []};
135 171
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} = $manager->{_coro_state};
141 }
142 &schedule; 172 &schedule;
143 } 173 }
144}; 174};
145 175$manager->{desc} = "[coro manager]";
146# static methods. not really. 176$manager->prio (PRIO_MAX);
147 177
148=back 178=back
149 179
150=head2 STATIC METHODS 180=head1 SIMPLE CORO CREATION
151
152Static methods are actually functions that operate on the current process only.
153 181
154=over 4 182=over 4
155 183
156=item async { ... } [@args...] 184=item async { ... } [@args...]
157 185
158Create a new asynchronous process and return it's process object 186Create a new coro and return its Coro object (usually
159(usually unused). When the sub returns the new process is automatically 187unused). The coro will be put into the ready queue, so
188it will start running automatically on the next scheduler run.
189
190The first argument is a codeblock/closure that should be executed in the
191coro. When it returns argument returns the coro is automatically
160terminated. 192terminated.
161 193
194The remaining arguments are passed as arguments to the closure.
195
196See the C<Coro::State::new> constructor for info about the coro
197environment in which coro are executed.
198
199Calling C<exit> in a coro will do the same as calling exit outside
200the coro. Likewise, when the coro dies, the program will exit,
201just as it would in the main program.
202
203If you do not want that, you can provide a default C<die> handler, or
204simply avoid dieing (by use of C<eval>).
205
162 # create a new coroutine that just prints its arguments 206Example: Create a new coro that just prints its arguments.
207
163 async { 208 async {
164 print "@_\n"; 209 print "@_\n";
165 } 1,2,3,4; 210 } 1,2,3,4;
166 211
167=cut 212=cut
168 213
169sub async(&@) { 214sub async(&@) {
170 my $pid = new Coro @_; 215 my $coro = new Coro @_;
171 $manager->ready; # this ensures that the stack is cloned from the manager
172 $pid->ready; 216 $coro->ready;
173 $pid; 217 $coro
174} 218}
219
220=item async_pool { ... } [@args...]
221
222Similar to C<async>, but uses a coro pool, so you should not call
223terminate or join on it (although you are allowed to), and you get a
224coro that might have executed other code already (which can be good
225or bad :).
226
227On the plus side, this function is about twice as fast as creating (and
228destroying) a completely new coro, so if you need a lot of generic
229coros in quick successsion, use C<async_pool>, not C<async>.
230
231The code block is executed in an C<eval> context and a warning will be
232issued in case of an exception instead of terminating the program, as
233C<async> does. As the coro is being reused, stuff like C<on_destroy>
234will not work in the expected way, unless you call terminate or cancel,
235which somehow defeats the purpose of pooling (but is fine in the
236exceptional case).
237
238The priority will be reset to C<0> after each run, tracing will be
239disabled, the description will be reset and the default output filehandle
240gets restored, so you can change all these. Otherwise the coro will
241be re-used "as-is": most notably if you change other per-coro global
242stuff such as C<$/> you I<must needs> revert that change, which is most
243simply done by using local as in: C<< local $/ >>.
244
245The idle pool size is limited to C<8> idle coros (this can be
246adjusted by changing $Coro::POOL_SIZE), but there can be as many non-idle
247coros as required.
248
249If you are concerned about pooled coros growing a lot because a
250single C<async_pool> used a lot of stackspace you can e.g. C<async_pool
251{ terminate }> once per second or so to slowly replenish the pool. In
252addition to that, when the stacks used by a handler grows larger than 32kb
253(adjustable via $Coro::POOL_RSS) it will also be destroyed.
254
255=cut
256
257our $POOL_SIZE = 8;
258our $POOL_RSS = 32 * 1024;
259our @async_pool;
260
261sub pool_handler {
262 while () {
263 eval {
264 &{&_pool_handler} while 1;
265 };
266
267 warn $@ if $@;
268 }
269}
270
271=back
272
273=head1 STATIC METHODS
274
275Static methods are actually functions that implicitly operate on the
276current coro.
277
278=over 4
175 279
176=item schedule 280=item schedule
177 281
178Calls the scheduler. Please note that the current process will not be put 282Calls the scheduler. The scheduler will find the next coro that is
283to be run from the ready queue and switches to it. The next coro
284to be run is simply the one with the highest priority that is longest
285in its ready queue. If there is no coro ready, it will clal the
286C<$Coro::idle> hook.
287
288Please note that the current coro will I<not> be put into the ready
179into the ready queue, so calling this function usually means you will 289queue, so calling this function usually means you will never be called
180never be called again. 290again unless something else (e.g. an event handler) calls C<< ->ready >>,
291thus waking you up.
181 292
182=cut 293This makes C<schedule> I<the> generic method to use to block the current
294coro and wait for events: first you remember the current coro in
295a variable, then arrange for some callback of yours to call C<< ->ready
296>> on that once some event happens, and last you call C<schedule> to put
297yourself to sleep. Note that a lot of things can wake your coro up,
298so you need to check whether the event indeed happened, e.g. by storing the
299status in a variable.
300
301See B<HOW TO WAIT FOR A CALLBACK>, below, for some ways to wait for callbacks.
183 302
184=item cede 303=item cede
185 304
186"Cede" to other processes. This function puts the current process into the 305"Cede" to other coros. This function puts the current coro into
187ready queue and calls C<schedule>, which has the effect of giving up the 306the ready queue and calls C<schedule>, which has the effect of giving
188current "timeslice" to other coroutines of the same or higher priority. 307up the current "timeslice" to other coros of the same or higher
308priority. Once your coro gets its turn again it will automatically be
309resumed.
189 310
190=cut 311This function is often called C<yield> in other languages.
312
313=item Coro::cede_notself
314
315Works like cede, but is not exported by default and will cede to I<any>
316coro, regardless of priority. This is useful sometimes to ensure
317progress is made.
191 318
192=item terminate [arg...] 319=item terminate [arg...]
193 320
194Terminates the current process with the given status values (see L<cancel>). 321Terminates the current coro with the given status values (see L<cancel>).
195 322
196=cut 323=item Coro::on_enter BLOCK, Coro::on_leave BLOCK
197 324
198sub terminate { 325These function install enter and leave winders in the current scope. The
199 $current->cancel (@_); 326enter block will be executed when on_enter is called and whenever the
327current coro is re-entered by the scheduler, while the leave block is
328executed whenever the current coro is blocked by the scheduler, and
329also when the containing scope is exited (by whatever means, be it exit,
330die, last etc.).
331
332I<Neither invoking the scheduler, nor exceptions, are allowed within those
333BLOCKs>. That means: do not even think about calling C<die> without an
334eval, and do not even think of entering the scheduler in any way.
335
336Since both BLOCKs are tied to the current scope, they will automatically
337be removed when the current scope exits.
338
339These functions implement the same concept as C<dynamic-wind> in scheme
340does, and are useful when you want to localise some resource to a specific
341coro.
342
343They slow down coro switching considerably for coros that use
344them (But coro switching is still reasonably fast if the handlers are
345fast).
346
347These functions are best understood by an example: The following function
348will change the current timezone to "Antarctica/South_Pole", which
349requires a call to C<tzset>, but by using C<on_enter> and C<on_leave>,
350which remember/change the current timezone and restore the previous
351value, respectively, the timezone is only changed for the coro that
352installed those handlers.
353
354 use POSIX qw(tzset);
355
356 async {
357 my $old_tz; # store outside TZ value here
358
359 Coro::on_enter {
360 $old_tz = $ENV{TZ}; # remember the old value
361
362 $ENV{TZ} = "Antarctica/South_Pole";
363 tzset; # enable new value
364 };
365
366 Coro::on_leave {
367 $ENV{TZ} = $old_tz;
368 tzset; # restore old value
369 };
370
371 # at this place, the timezone is Antarctica/South_Pole,
372 # without disturbing the TZ of any other coro.
373 };
374
375This can be used to localise about any resource (locale, uid, current
376working directory etc.) to a block, despite the existance of other
377coros.
378
379=item killall
380
381Kills/terminates/cancels all coros except the currently running one.
382
383Note that while this will try to free some of the main interpreter
384resources if the calling coro isn't the main coro, but one
385cannot free all of them, so if a coro that is not the main coro
386calls this function, there will be some one-time resource leak.
387
388=cut
389
390sub killall {
391 for (Coro::State::list) {
392 $_->cancel
393 if $_ != $current && UNIVERSAL::isa $_, "Coro";
394 }
200} 395}
201 396
202=back 397=back
203 398
204# dynamic methods 399=head1 CORO OBJECT METHODS
205 400
206=head2 PROCESS METHODS
207
208These are the methods you can call on process objects. 401These are the methods you can call on coro objects (or to create
402them).
209 403
210=over 4 404=over 4
211 405
212=item new Coro \&sub [, @args...] 406=item new Coro \&sub [, @args...]
213 407
214Create a new process and return it. When the sub returns the process 408Create a new coro and return it. When the sub returns, the coro
215automatically terminates as if C<terminate> with the returned values were 409automatically terminates as if C<terminate> with the returned values were
216called. To make the process run you must first put it into the ready queue 410called. To make the coro run you must first put it into the ready
217by calling the ready method. 411queue by calling the ready method.
218 412
219=cut 413See C<async> and C<Coro::State::new> for additional info about the
414coro environment.
220 415
416=cut
417
221sub _newcoro { 418sub _coro_run {
222 terminate &{+shift}; 419 terminate &{+shift};
223} 420}
224 421
225sub new { 422=item $success = $coro->ready
226 my $class = shift;
227 bless {
228 _coro_state => (new Coro::State $_[0] && \&_newcoro, @_),
229 }, $class;
230}
231 423
232=item $process->ready 424Put the given coro into the end of its ready queue (there is one
425queue for each priority) and return true. If the coro is already in
426the ready queue, do nothing and return false.
233 427
234Put the given process into the ready queue. 428This ensures that the scheduler will resume this coro automatically
429once all the coro of higher priority and all coro of the same
430priority that were put into the ready queue earlier have been resumed.
235 431
236=cut 432=item $coro->suspend
237 433
434Suspends the specified coro. A suspended coro works just like any other
435coro, except that the scheduler will not select a suspended coro for
436execution.
437
438Suspending a coro can be useful when you want to keep the coro from
439running, but you don't want to destroy it, or when you want to temporarily
440freeze a coro (e.g. for debugging) to resume it later.
441
442A scenario for the former would be to suspend all (other) coros after a
443fork and keep them alive, so their destructors aren't called, but new
444coros can be created.
445
446=item $coro->resume
447
448If the specified coro was suspended, it will be resumed. Note that when
449the coro was in the ready queue when it was suspended, it might have been
450unreadied by the scheduler, so an activation might have been lost.
451
452To avoid this, it is best to put a suspended coro into the ready queue
453unconditionally, as every synchronisation mechanism must protect itself
454against spurious wakeups, and the one in the Coro family certainly do
455that.
456
457=item $is_ready = $coro->is_ready
458
459Returns true iff the Coro object is in the ready queue. Unless the Coro
460object gets destroyed, it will eventually be scheduled by the scheduler.
461
462=item $is_running = $coro->is_running
463
464Returns true iff the Coro object is currently running. Only one Coro object
465can ever be in the running state (but it currently is possible to have
466multiple running Coro::States).
467
468=item $is_suspended = $coro->is_suspended
469
470Returns true iff this Coro object has been suspended. Suspended Coros will
471not ever be scheduled.
472
238=item $process->cancel (arg...) 473=item $coro->cancel (arg...)
239 474
240Temrinates the given process and makes it return the given arguments as 475Terminates the given Coro and makes it return the given arguments as
241status (default: the empty list). 476status (default: the empty list). Never returns if the Coro is the
477current Coro.
242 478
243=cut 479=cut
244 480
245sub cancel { 481sub cancel {
246 my $self = shift; 482 my $self = shift;
483
484 if ($current == $self) {
485 terminate @_;
486 } else {
247 $self->{status} = [@_]; 487 $self->{_status} = [@_];
248 push @destroy, $self; 488 Coro::State::cancel $self;
249 $manager->ready; 489 }
250 &schedule if $current == $self;
251} 490}
252 491
492=item $coro->schedule_to
493
494Puts the current coro to sleep (like C<Coro::schedule>), but instead
495of continuing with the next coro from the ready queue, always switch to
496the given coro object (regardless of priority etc.). The readyness
497state of that coro isn't changed.
498
499This is an advanced method for special cases - I'd love to hear about any
500uses for this one.
501
502=item $coro->cede_to
503
504Like C<schedule_to>, but puts the current coro into the ready
505queue. This has the effect of temporarily switching to the given
506coro, and continuing some time later.
507
508This is an advanced method for special cases - I'd love to hear about any
509uses for this one.
510
511=item $coro->throw ([$scalar])
512
513If C<$throw> is specified and defined, it will be thrown as an exception
514inside the coro at the next convenient point in time. Otherwise
515clears the exception object.
516
517Coro will check for the exception each time a schedule-like-function
518returns, i.e. after each C<schedule>, C<cede>, C<< Coro::Semaphore->down
519>>, C<< Coro::Handle->readable >> and so on. Most of these functions
520detect this case and return early in case an exception is pending.
521
522The exception object will be thrown "as is" with the specified scalar in
523C<$@>, i.e. if it is a string, no line number or newline will be appended
524(unlike with C<die>).
525
526This can be used as a softer means than C<cancel> to ask a coro to
527end itself, although there is no guarantee that the exception will lead to
528termination, and if the exception isn't caught it might well end the whole
529program.
530
531You might also think of C<throw> as being the moral equivalent of
532C<kill>ing a coro with a signal (in this case, a scalar).
533
253=item $process->join 534=item $coro->join
254 535
255Wait until the coroutine terminates and return any values given to the 536Wait until the coro terminates and return any values given to the
256C<terminate> or C<cancel> functions. C<join> can be called multiple times 537C<terminate> or C<cancel> functions. C<join> can be called concurrently
257from multiple processes. 538from multiple coro, and all will be resumed and given the status
539return once the C<$coro> terminates.
258 540
259=cut 541=cut
260 542
261sub join { 543sub join {
262 my $self = shift; 544 my $self = shift;
545
263 unless ($self->{status}) { 546 unless ($self->{_status}) {
264 push @{$self->{join}}, $current; 547 my $current = $current;
265 &schedule; 548
549 push @{$self->{_on_destroy}}, sub {
550 $current->ready;
551 undef $current;
552 };
553
554 &schedule while $current;
266 } 555 }
556
267 wantarray ? @{$self->{status}} : $self->{status}[0]; 557 wantarray ? @{$self->{_status}} : $self->{_status}[0];
268} 558}
269 559
560=item $coro->on_destroy (\&cb)
561
562Registers a callback that is called when this coro gets destroyed,
563but before it is joined. The callback gets passed the terminate arguments,
564if any, and I<must not> die, under any circumstances.
565
566=cut
567
568sub on_destroy {
569 my ($self, $cb) = @_;
570
571 push @{ $self->{_on_destroy} }, $cb;
572}
573
270=item $oldprio = $process->prio($newprio) 574=item $oldprio = $coro->prio ($newprio)
271 575
272Sets (or gets, if the argument is missing) the priority of the 576Sets (or gets, if the argument is missing) the priority of the
273process. Higher priority processes get run before lower priority 577coro. Higher priority coro get run before lower priority
274processes. Priorities are small signed integers (currently -4 .. +3), 578coro. Priorities are small signed integers (currently -4 .. +3),
275that you can refer to using PRIO_xxx constants (use the import tag :prio 579that you can refer to using PRIO_xxx constants (use the import tag :prio
276to get then): 580to get then):
277 581
278 PRIO_MAX > PRIO_HIGH > PRIO_NORMAL > PRIO_LOW > PRIO_IDLE > PRIO_MIN 582 PRIO_MAX > PRIO_HIGH > PRIO_NORMAL > PRIO_LOW > PRIO_IDLE > PRIO_MIN
279 3 > 1 > 0 > -1 > -3 > -4 583 3 > 1 > 0 > -1 > -3 > -4
280 584
281 # set priority to HIGH 585 # set priority to HIGH
282 current->prio(PRIO_HIGH); 586 current->prio (PRIO_HIGH);
283 587
284The idle coroutine ($Coro::idle) always has a lower priority than any 588The idle coro ($Coro::idle) always has a lower priority than any
285existing coroutine. 589existing coro.
286 590
287Changing the priority of the current process will take effect immediately, 591Changing the priority of the current coro will take effect immediately,
288but changing the priority of processes in the ready queue (but not 592but changing the priority of coro in the ready queue (but not
289running) will only take effect after the next schedule (of that 593running) will only take effect after the next schedule (of that
290process). This is a bug that will be fixed in some future version. 594coro). This is a bug that will be fixed in some future version.
291 595
292=cut
293
294sub prio {
295 my $old = $_[0]{prio};
296 $_[0]{prio} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
297 $old;
298}
299
300=item $newprio = $process->nice($change) 596=item $newprio = $coro->nice ($change)
301 597
302Similar to C<prio>, but subtract the given value from the priority (i.e. 598Similar to C<prio>, but subtract the given value from the priority (i.e.
303higher values mean lower priority, just as in unix). 599higher values mean lower priority, just as in unix).
304 600
305=cut
306
307sub nice {
308 $_[0]{prio} -= $_[1];
309}
310
311=item $olddesc = $process->desc($newdesc) 601=item $olddesc = $coro->desc ($newdesc)
312 602
313Sets (or gets in case the argument is missing) the description for this 603Sets (or gets in case the argument is missing) the description for this
314process. This is just a free-form string you can associate with a process. 604coro. This is just a free-form string you can associate with a
605coro.
606
607This method simply sets the C<< $coro->{desc} >> member to the given
608string. You can modify this member directly if you wish.
315 609
316=cut 610=cut
317 611
318sub desc { 612sub desc {
319 my $old = $_[0]{desc}; 613 my $old = $_[0]{desc};
320 $_[0]{desc} = $_[1] if @_ > 1; 614 $_[0]{desc} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
321 $old; 615 $old;
322} 616}
323 617
618sub transfer {
619 require Carp;
620 Carp::croak ("You must not call ->transfer on Coro objects. Use Coro::State objects or the ->schedule_to method. Caught");
621}
622
324=back 623=back
325 624
625=head1 GLOBAL FUNCTIONS
626
627=over 4
628
629=item Coro::nready
630
631Returns the number of coro that are currently in the ready state,
632i.e. that can be switched to by calling C<schedule> directory or
633indirectly. The value C<0> means that the only runnable coro is the
634currently running one, so C<cede> would have no effect, and C<schedule>
635would cause a deadlock unless there is an idle handler that wakes up some
636coro.
637
638=item my $guard = Coro::guard { ... }
639
640This function still exists, but is deprecated. Please use the
641C<Guard::guard> function instead.
642
643=cut
644
645BEGIN { *guard = \&Guard::guard }
646
647=item unblock_sub { ... }
648
649This utility function takes a BLOCK or code reference and "unblocks" it,
650returning a new coderef. Unblocking means that calling the new coderef
651will return immediately without blocking, returning nothing, while the
652original code ref will be called (with parameters) from within another
653coro.
654
655The reason this function exists is that many event libraries (such as the
656venerable L<Event|Event> module) are not thread-safe (a weaker form
657of reentrancy). This means you must not block within event callbacks,
658otherwise you might suffer from crashes or worse. The only event library
659currently known that is safe to use without C<unblock_sub> is L<EV>.
660
661This function allows your callbacks to block by executing them in another
662coro where it is safe to block. One example where blocking is handy
663is when you use the L<Coro::AIO|Coro::AIO> functions to save results to
664disk, for example.
665
666In short: simply use C<unblock_sub { ... }> instead of C<sub { ... }> when
667creating event callbacks that want to block.
668
669If your handler does not plan to block (e.g. simply sends a message to
670another coro, or puts some other coro into the ready queue), there is
671no reason to use C<unblock_sub>.
672
673Note that you also need to use C<unblock_sub> for any other callbacks that
674are indirectly executed by any C-based event loop. For example, when you
675use a module that uses L<AnyEvent> (and you use L<Coro::AnyEvent>) and it
676provides callbacks that are the result of some event callback, then you
677must not block either, or use C<unblock_sub>.
678
679=cut
680
681our @unblock_queue;
682
683# we create a special coro because we want to cede,
684# to reduce pressure on the coro pool (because most callbacks
685# return immediately and can be reused) and because we cannot cede
686# inside an event callback.
687our $unblock_scheduler = new Coro sub {
688 while () {
689 while (my $cb = pop @unblock_queue) {
690 &async_pool (@$cb);
691
692 # for short-lived callbacks, this reduces pressure on the coro pool
693 # as the chance is very high that the async_poll coro will be back
694 # in the idle state when cede returns
695 cede;
696 }
697 schedule; # sleep well
698 }
699};
700$unblock_scheduler->{desc} = "[unblock_sub scheduler]";
701
702sub unblock_sub(&) {
703 my $cb = shift;
704
705 sub {
706 unshift @unblock_queue, [$cb, @_];
707 $unblock_scheduler->ready;
708 }
709}
710
711=item $cb = Coro::rouse_cb
712
713Create and return a "rouse callback". That's a code reference that,
714when called, will remember a copy of its arguments and notify the owner
715coro of the callback.
716
717See the next function.
718
719=item @args = Coro::rouse_wait [$cb]
720
721Wait for the specified rouse callback (or the last one that was created in
722this coro).
723
724As soon as the callback is invoked (or when the callback was invoked
725before C<rouse_wait>), it will return the arguments originally passed to
726the rouse callback.
727
728See the section B<HOW TO WAIT FOR A CALLBACK> for an actual usage example.
729
730=back
731
326=cut 732=cut
327 733
3281; 7341;
329 735
736=head1 HOW TO WAIT FOR A CALLBACK
737
738It is very common for a coro to wait for some callback to be
739called. This occurs naturally when you use coro in an otherwise
740event-based program, or when you use event-based libraries.
741
742These typically register a callback for some event, and call that callback
743when the event occured. In a coro, however, you typically want to
744just wait for the event, simplyifying things.
745
746For example C<< AnyEvent->child >> registers a callback to be called when
747a specific child has exited:
748
749 my $child_watcher = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub { ... });
750
751But from within a coro, you often just want to write this:
752
753 my $status = wait_for_child $pid;
754
755Coro offers two functions specifically designed to make this easy,
756C<Coro::rouse_cb> and C<Coro::rouse_wait>.
757
758The first function, C<rouse_cb>, generates and returns a callback that,
759when invoked, will save its arguments and notify the coro that
760created the callback.
761
762The second function, C<rouse_wait>, waits for the callback to be called
763(by calling C<schedule> to go to sleep) and returns the arguments
764originally passed to the callback.
765
766Using these functions, it becomes easy to write the C<wait_for_child>
767function mentioned above:
768
769 sub wait_for_child($) {
770 my ($pid) = @_;
771
772 my $watcher = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => Coro::rouse_cb);
773
774 my ($rpid, $rstatus) = Coro::rouse_wait;
775 $rstatus
776 }
777
778In the case where C<rouse_cb> and C<rouse_wait> are not flexible enough,
779you can roll your own, using C<schedule>:
780
781 sub wait_for_child($) {
782 my ($pid) = @_;
783
784 # store the current coro in $current,
785 # and provide result variables for the closure passed to ->child
786 my $current = $Coro::current;
787 my ($done, $rstatus);
788
789 # pass a closure to ->child
790 my $watcher = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub {
791 $rstatus = $_[1]; # remember rstatus
792 $done = 1; # mark $rstatus as valud
793 });
794
795 # wait until the closure has been called
796 schedule while !$done;
797
798 $rstatus
799 }
800
801
330=head1 BUGS/LIMITATIONS 802=head1 BUGS/LIMITATIONS
331 803
332 - you must make very sure that no coro is still active on global 804=over 4
333 destruction. very bad things might happen otherwise (usually segfaults).
334 805
806=item fork with pthread backend
807
808When Coro is compiled using the pthread backend (which isn't recommended
809but required on many BSDs as their libcs are completely broken), then
810coro will not survive a fork. There is no known workaround except to
811fix your libc and use a saner backend.
812
813=item perl process emulation ("threads")
814
335 - this module is not thread-safe. You should only ever use this module 815This 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 816module from the first thread (this requirement might be removed in the
337 to allow per-thread schedulers, but Coro::State does not yet allow 817future to allow per-thread schedulers, but Coro::State does not yet allow
338 this). 818this). I recommend disabling thread support and using processes, as having
819the windows process emulation enabled under unix roughly halves perl
820performance, even when not used.
821
822=item coro switching is not signal safe
823
824You must not switch to another coro from within a signal handler
825(only relevant with %SIG - most event libraries provide safe signals).
826
827That means you I<MUST NOT> call any function that might "block" the
828current coro - C<cede>, C<schedule> C<< Coro::Semaphore->down >> or
829anything that calls those. Everything else, including calling C<ready>,
830works.
831
832=back
833
339 834
340=head1 SEE ALSO 835=head1 SEE ALSO
341 836
342L<Coro::Channel>, L<Coro::Cont>, L<Coro::Specific>, L<Coro::Semaphore>, 837Event-Loop integration: L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>.
343L<Coro::Signal>, L<Coro::State>, L<Coro::Timer>, L<Coro::Event>, 838
344L<Coro::Handle>, L<Coro::RWLock>, L<Coro::Socket>. 839Debugging: L<Coro::Debug>.
840
841Support/Utility: L<Coro::Specific>, L<Coro::Util>.
842
843Locking and IPC: L<Coro::Signal>, L<Coro::Channel>, L<Coro::Semaphore>,
844L<Coro::SemaphoreSet>, L<Coro::RWLock>.
845
846I/O and Timers: L<Coro::Timer>, L<Coro::Handle>, L<Coro::Socket>, L<Coro::AIO>.
847
848Compatibility with other modules: L<Coro::LWP> (but see also L<AnyEvent::HTTP> for
849a better-working alternative), L<Coro::BDB>, L<Coro::Storable>,
850L<Coro::Select>.
851
852XS API: L<Coro::MakeMaker>.
853
854Low level Configuration, Thread Environment, Continuations: L<Coro::State>.
345 855
346=head1 AUTHOR 856=head1 AUTHOR
347 857
348 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 858 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
349 http://home.schmorp.de/ 859 http://home.schmorp.de/

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