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Revision 1.66 by root, Thu Mar 3 17:20:31 2005 UTC vs.
Revision 1.264 by root, Thu Aug 13 02:35:41 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 $VERSION = 5.162;
44 86
45@EXPORT = qw(async cede schedule terminate current); 87our @EXPORT = qw(async async_pool cede schedule terminate current unblock_sub);
46%EXPORT_TAGS = ( 88our %EXPORT_TAGS = (
47 prio => [qw(PRIO_MAX PRIO_HIGH PRIO_NORMAL PRIO_LOW PRIO_IDLE PRIO_MIN)], 89 prio => [qw(PRIO_MAX PRIO_HIGH PRIO_NORMAL PRIO_LOW PRIO_IDLE PRIO_MIN)],
48); 90);
49@EXPORT_OK = @{$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=item async_pool { ... } [@args...]
168 213
169sub async(&@) { 214Similar to C<async>, but uses a coro pool, so you should not call
170 my $pid = new Coro @_; 215terminate 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 216coro that might have executed other code already (which can be good
172 $pid->ready; 217or bad :).
173 $pid; 218
219On the plus side, this function is about twice as fast as creating (and
220destroying) a completely new coro, so if you need a lot of generic
221coros in quick successsion, use C<async_pool>, not C<async>.
222
223The code block is executed in an C<eval> context and a warning will be
224issued in case of an exception instead of terminating the program, as
225C<async> does. As the coro is being reused, stuff like C<on_destroy>
226will not work in the expected way, unless you call terminate or cancel,
227which somehow defeats the purpose of pooling (but is fine in the
228exceptional case).
229
230The priority will be reset to C<0> after each run, tracing will be
231disabled, the description will be reset and the default output filehandle
232gets restored, so you can change all these. Otherwise the coro will
233be re-used "as-is": most notably if you change other per-coro global
234stuff such as C<$/> you I<must needs> revert that change, which is most
235simply done by using local as in: C<< local $/ >>.
236
237The idle pool size is limited to C<8> idle coros (this can be
238adjusted by changing $Coro::POOL_SIZE), but there can be as many non-idle
239coros as required.
240
241If you are concerned about pooled coros growing a lot because a
242single C<async_pool> used a lot of stackspace you can e.g. C<async_pool
243{ terminate }> once per second or so to slowly replenish the pool. In
244addition to that, when the stacks used by a handler grows larger than 32kb
245(adjustable via $Coro::POOL_RSS) it will also be destroyed.
246
247=cut
248
249our $POOL_SIZE = 8;
250our $POOL_RSS = 32 * 1024;
251our @async_pool;
252
253sub pool_handler {
254 while () {
255 eval {
256 &{&_pool_handler} while 1;
257 };
258
259 warn $@ if $@;
260 }
174} 261}
175 262
263=back
264
265=head1 STATIC METHODS
266
267Static methods are actually functions that implicitly operate on the
268current coro.
269
270=over 4
271
176=item schedule 272=item schedule
177 273
178Calls the scheduler. Please note that the current process will not be put 274Calls the scheduler. The scheduler will find the next coro that is
275to be run from the ready queue and switches to it. The next coro
276to be run is simply the one with the highest priority that is longest
277in its ready queue. If there is no coro ready, it will clal the
278C<$Coro::idle> hook.
279
280Please 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 281queue, so calling this function usually means you will never be called
180never be called again. 282again unless something else (e.g. an event handler) calls C<< ->ready >>,
283thus waking you up.
181 284
182=cut 285This makes C<schedule> I<the> generic method to use to block the current
286coro and wait for events: first you remember the current coro in
287a variable, then arrange for some callback of yours to call C<< ->ready
288>> on that once some event happens, and last you call C<schedule> to put
289yourself to sleep. Note that a lot of things can wake your coro up,
290so you need to check whether the event indeed happened, e.g. by storing the
291status in a variable.
292
293See B<HOW TO WAIT FOR A CALLBACK>, below, for some ways to wait for callbacks.
183 294
184=item cede 295=item cede
185 296
186"Cede" to other processes. This function puts the current process into the 297"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 298the ready queue and calls C<schedule>, which has the effect of giving
188current "timeslice" to other coroutines of the same or higher priority. 299up the current "timeslice" to other coros of the same or higher
300priority. Once your coro gets its turn again it will automatically be
301resumed.
189 302
190=cut 303This function is often called C<yield> in other languages.
304
305=item Coro::cede_notself
306
307Works like cede, but is not exported by default and will cede to I<any>
308coro, regardless of priority. This is useful sometimes to ensure
309progress is made.
191 310
192=item terminate [arg...] 311=item terminate [arg...]
193 312
194Terminates the current process with the given status values (see L<cancel>). 313Terminates the current coro with the given status values (see L<cancel>).
195 314
196=cut 315=item Coro::on_enter BLOCK, Coro::on_leave BLOCK
197 316
198sub terminate { 317These function install enter and leave winders in the current scope. The
199 $current->cancel (@_); 318enter block will be executed when on_enter is called and whenever the
319current coro is re-entered by the scheduler, while the leave block is
320executed whenever the current coro is blocked by the scheduler, and
321also when the containing scope is exited (by whatever means, be it exit,
322die, last etc.).
323
324I<Neither invoking the scheduler, nor exceptions, are allowed within those
325BLOCKs>. That means: do not even think about calling C<die> without an
326eval, and do not even think of entering the scheduler in any way.
327
328Since both BLOCKs are tied to the current scope, they will automatically
329be removed when the current scope exits.
330
331These functions implement the same concept as C<dynamic-wind> in scheme
332does, and are useful when you want to localise some resource to a specific
333coro.
334
335They slow down thread switching considerably for coros that use them
336(about 40% for a BLOCK with a single assignment, so thread switching is
337still reasonably fast if the handlers are fast).
338
339These functions are best understood by an example: The following function
340will change the current timezone to "Antarctica/South_Pole", which
341requires a call to C<tzset>, but by using C<on_enter> and C<on_leave>,
342which remember/change the current timezone and restore the previous
343value, respectively, the timezone is only changed for the coro that
344installed those handlers.
345
346 use POSIX qw(tzset);
347
348 async {
349 my $old_tz; # store outside TZ value here
350
351 Coro::on_enter {
352 $old_tz = $ENV{TZ}; # remember the old value
353
354 $ENV{TZ} = "Antarctica/South_Pole";
355 tzset; # enable new value
356 };
357
358 Coro::on_leave {
359 $ENV{TZ} = $old_tz;
360 tzset; # restore old value
361 };
362
363 # at this place, the timezone is Antarctica/South_Pole,
364 # without disturbing the TZ of any other coro.
365 };
366
367This can be used to localise about any resource (locale, uid, current
368working directory etc.) to a block, despite the existance of other
369coros.
370
371Another interesting example implements time-sliced multitasking using
372interval timers (this could obviously be optimised, but does the job):
373
374 # "timeslice" the given block
375 sub timeslice(&) {
376 use Time::HiRes ();
377
378 Coro::on_enter {
379 # on entering the thread, we set an VTALRM handler to cede
380 $SIG{VTALRM} = sub { cede };
381 # and then start the interval timer
382 Time::HiRes::setitimer &Time::HiRes::ITIMER_VIRTUAL, 0.01, 0.01;
383 };
384 Coro::on_leave {
385 # on leaving the thread, we stop the interval timer again
386 Time::HiRes::setitimer &Time::HiRes::ITIMER_VIRTUAL, 0, 0;
387 };
388
389 &{+shift};
390 }
391
392 # use like this:
393 timeslice {
394 # The following is an endless loop that would normally
395 # monopolise the process. Since it runs in a timesliced
396 # environment, it will regularly cede to other threads.
397 while () { }
398 };
399
400
401=item killall
402
403Kills/terminates/cancels all coros except the currently running one.
404
405Note that while this will try to free some of the main interpreter
406resources if the calling coro isn't the main coro, but one
407cannot free all of them, so if a coro that is not the main coro
408calls this function, there will be some one-time resource leak.
409
410=cut
411
412sub killall {
413 for (Coro::State::list) {
414 $_->cancel
415 if $_ != $current && UNIVERSAL::isa $_, "Coro";
416 }
200} 417}
201 418
202=back 419=back
203 420
204# dynamic methods 421=head1 CORO OBJECT METHODS
205 422
206=head2 PROCESS METHODS
207
208These are the methods you can call on process objects. 423These are the methods you can call on coro objects (or to create
424them).
209 425
210=over 4 426=over 4
211 427
212=item new Coro \&sub [, @args...] 428=item new Coro \&sub [, @args...]
213 429
214Create a new process and return it. When the sub returns the process 430Create a new coro and return it. When the sub returns, the coro
215automatically terminates as if C<terminate> with the returned values were 431automatically 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 432called. To make the coro run you must first put it into the ready
217by calling the ready method. 433queue by calling the ready method.
218 434
219=cut 435See C<async> and C<Coro::State::new> for additional info about the
436coro environment.
220 437
438=cut
439
221sub _newcoro { 440sub _coro_run {
222 terminate &{+shift}; 441 terminate &{+shift};
223} 442}
224 443
225sub new { 444=item $success = $coro->ready
226 my $class = shift;
227 bless {
228 _coro_state => (new Coro::State $_[0] && \&_newcoro, @_),
229 }, $class;
230}
231 445
232=item $process->ready 446Put the given coro into the end of its ready queue (there is one
447queue for each priority) and return true. If the coro is already in
448the ready queue, do nothing and return false.
233 449
234Put the given process into the ready queue. 450This ensures that the scheduler will resume this coro automatically
451once all the coro of higher priority and all coro of the same
452priority that were put into the ready queue earlier have been resumed.
235 453
236=cut 454=item $coro->suspend
237 455
456Suspends the specified coro. A suspended coro works just like any other
457coro, except that the scheduler will not select a suspended coro for
458execution.
459
460Suspending a coro can be useful when you want to keep the coro from
461running, but you don't want to destroy it, or when you want to temporarily
462freeze a coro (e.g. for debugging) to resume it later.
463
464A scenario for the former would be to suspend all (other) coros after a
465fork and keep them alive, so their destructors aren't called, but new
466coros can be created.
467
468=item $coro->resume
469
470If the specified coro was suspended, it will be resumed. Note that when
471the coro was in the ready queue when it was suspended, it might have been
472unreadied by the scheduler, so an activation might have been lost.
473
474To avoid this, it is best to put a suspended coro into the ready queue
475unconditionally, as every synchronisation mechanism must protect itself
476against spurious wakeups, and the one in the Coro family certainly do
477that.
478
479=item $is_ready = $coro->is_ready
480
481Returns true iff the Coro object is in the ready queue. Unless the Coro
482object gets destroyed, it will eventually be scheduled by the scheduler.
483
484=item $is_running = $coro->is_running
485
486Returns true iff the Coro object is currently running. Only one Coro object
487can ever be in the running state (but it currently is possible to have
488multiple running Coro::States).
489
490=item $is_suspended = $coro->is_suspended
491
492Returns true iff this Coro object has been suspended. Suspended Coros will
493not ever be scheduled.
494
238=item $process->cancel (arg...) 495=item $coro->cancel (arg...)
239 496
240Temrinates the given process and makes it return the given arguments as 497Terminates the given Coro and makes it return the given arguments as
241status (default: the empty list). 498status (default: the empty list). Never returns if the Coro is the
499current Coro.
242 500
243=cut 501=cut
244 502
245sub cancel { 503sub cancel {
246 my $self = shift; 504 my $self = shift;
505
506 if ($current == $self) {
507 terminate @_;
508 } else {
247 $self->{status} = [@_]; 509 $self->{_status} = [@_];
248 push @destroy, $self; 510 Coro::State::cancel $self;
249 $manager->ready; 511 }
250 &schedule if $current == $self;
251} 512}
252 513
514=item $coro->schedule_to
515
516Puts the current coro to sleep (like C<Coro::schedule>), but instead
517of continuing with the next coro from the ready queue, always switch to
518the given coro object (regardless of priority etc.). The readyness
519state of that coro isn't changed.
520
521This is an advanced method for special cases - I'd love to hear about any
522uses for this one.
523
524=item $coro->cede_to
525
526Like C<schedule_to>, but puts the current coro into the ready
527queue. This has the effect of temporarily switching to the given
528coro, and continuing some time later.
529
530This is an advanced method for special cases - I'd love to hear about any
531uses for this one.
532
533=item $coro->throw ([$scalar])
534
535If C<$throw> is specified and defined, it will be thrown as an exception
536inside the coro at the next convenient point in time. Otherwise
537clears the exception object.
538
539Coro will check for the exception each time a schedule-like-function
540returns, i.e. after each C<schedule>, C<cede>, C<< Coro::Semaphore->down
541>>, C<< Coro::Handle->readable >> and so on. Most of these functions
542detect this case and return early in case an exception is pending.
543
544The exception object will be thrown "as is" with the specified scalar in
545C<$@>, i.e. if it is a string, no line number or newline will be appended
546(unlike with C<die>).
547
548This can be used as a softer means than C<cancel> to ask a coro to
549end itself, although there is no guarantee that the exception will lead to
550termination, and if the exception isn't caught it might well end the whole
551program.
552
553You might also think of C<throw> as being the moral equivalent of
554C<kill>ing a coro with a signal (in this case, a scalar).
555
253=item $process->join 556=item $coro->join
254 557
255Wait until the coroutine terminates and return any values given to the 558Wait until the coro terminates and return any values given to the
256C<terminate> or C<cancel> functions. C<join> can be called multiple times 559C<terminate> or C<cancel> functions. C<join> can be called concurrently
257from multiple processes. 560from multiple coro, and all will be resumed and given the status
561return once the C<$coro> terminates.
258 562
259=cut 563=cut
260 564
261sub join { 565sub join {
262 my $self = shift; 566 my $self = shift;
567
263 unless ($self->{status}) { 568 unless ($self->{_status}) {
264 push @{$self->{join}}, $current; 569 my $current = $current;
265 &schedule; 570
571 push @{$self->{_on_destroy}}, sub {
572 $current->ready;
573 undef $current;
574 };
575
576 &schedule while $current;
266 } 577 }
578
267 wantarray ? @{$self->{status}} : $self->{status}[0]; 579 wantarray ? @{$self->{_status}} : $self->{_status}[0];
268} 580}
269 581
582=item $coro->on_destroy (\&cb)
583
584Registers a callback that is called when this coro gets destroyed,
585but before it is joined. The callback gets passed the terminate arguments,
586if any, and I<must not> die, under any circumstances.
587
588=cut
589
590sub on_destroy {
591 my ($self, $cb) = @_;
592
593 push @{ $self->{_on_destroy} }, $cb;
594}
595
270=item $oldprio = $process->prio($newprio) 596=item $oldprio = $coro->prio ($newprio)
271 597
272Sets (or gets, if the argument is missing) the priority of the 598Sets (or gets, if the argument is missing) the priority of the
273process. Higher priority processes get run before lower priority 599coro. Higher priority coro get run before lower priority
274processes. Priorities are small signed integers (currently -4 .. +3), 600coro. Priorities are small signed integers (currently -4 .. +3),
275that you can refer to using PRIO_xxx constants (use the import tag :prio 601that you can refer to using PRIO_xxx constants (use the import tag :prio
276to get then): 602to get then):
277 603
278 PRIO_MAX > PRIO_HIGH > PRIO_NORMAL > PRIO_LOW > PRIO_IDLE > PRIO_MIN 604 PRIO_MAX > PRIO_HIGH > PRIO_NORMAL > PRIO_LOW > PRIO_IDLE > PRIO_MIN
279 3 > 1 > 0 > -1 > -3 > -4 605 3 > 1 > 0 > -1 > -3 > -4
280 606
281 # set priority to HIGH 607 # set priority to HIGH
282 current->prio(PRIO_HIGH); 608 current->prio (PRIO_HIGH);
283 609
284The idle coroutine ($Coro::idle) always has a lower priority than any 610The idle coro ($Coro::idle) always has a lower priority than any
285existing coroutine. 611existing coro.
286 612
287Changing the priority of the current process will take effect immediately, 613Changing the priority of the current coro will take effect immediately,
288but changing the priority of processes in the ready queue (but not 614but changing the priority of coro in the ready queue (but not
289running) will only take effect after the next schedule (of that 615running) will only take effect after the next schedule (of that
290process). This is a bug that will be fixed in some future version. 616coro). This is a bug that will be fixed in some future version.
291 617
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) 618=item $newprio = $coro->nice ($change)
301 619
302Similar to C<prio>, but subtract the given value from the priority (i.e. 620Similar to C<prio>, but subtract the given value from the priority (i.e.
303higher values mean lower priority, just as in unix). 621higher values mean lower priority, just as in unix).
304 622
305=cut
306
307sub nice {
308 $_[0]{prio} -= $_[1];
309}
310
311=item $olddesc = $process->desc($newdesc) 623=item $olddesc = $coro->desc ($newdesc)
312 624
313Sets (or gets in case the argument is missing) the description for this 625Sets (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. 626coro. This is just a free-form string you can associate with a
627coro.
628
629This method simply sets the C<< $coro->{desc} >> member to the given
630string. You can modify this member directly if you wish.
315 631
316=cut 632=cut
317 633
318sub desc { 634sub desc {
319 my $old = $_[0]{desc}; 635 my $old = $_[0]{desc};
320 $_[0]{desc} = $_[1] if @_ > 1; 636 $_[0]{desc} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
321 $old; 637 $old;
322} 638}
323 639
640sub transfer {
641 require Carp;
642 Carp::croak ("You must not call ->transfer on Coro objects. Use Coro::State objects or the ->schedule_to method. Caught");
643}
644
324=back 645=back
325 646
647=head1 GLOBAL FUNCTIONS
648
649=over 4
650
651=item Coro::nready
652
653Returns the number of coro that are currently in the ready state,
654i.e. that can be switched to by calling C<schedule> directory or
655indirectly. The value C<0> means that the only runnable coro is the
656currently running one, so C<cede> would have no effect, and C<schedule>
657would cause a deadlock unless there is an idle handler that wakes up some
658coro.
659
660=item my $guard = Coro::guard { ... }
661
662This function still exists, but is deprecated. Please use the
663C<Guard::guard> function instead.
664
665=cut
666
667BEGIN { *guard = \&Guard::guard }
668
669=item unblock_sub { ... }
670
671This utility function takes a BLOCK or code reference and "unblocks" it,
672returning a new coderef. Unblocking means that calling the new coderef
673will return immediately without blocking, returning nothing, while the
674original code ref will be called (with parameters) from within another
675coro.
676
677The reason this function exists is that many event libraries (such as the
678venerable L<Event|Event> module) are not thread-safe (a weaker form
679of reentrancy). This means you must not block within event callbacks,
680otherwise you might suffer from crashes or worse. The only event library
681currently known that is safe to use without C<unblock_sub> is L<EV>.
682
683This function allows your callbacks to block by executing them in another
684coro where it is safe to block. One example where blocking is handy
685is when you use the L<Coro::AIO|Coro::AIO> functions to save results to
686disk, for example.
687
688In short: simply use C<unblock_sub { ... }> instead of C<sub { ... }> when
689creating event callbacks that want to block.
690
691If your handler does not plan to block (e.g. simply sends a message to
692another coro, or puts some other coro into the ready queue), there is
693no reason to use C<unblock_sub>.
694
695Note that you also need to use C<unblock_sub> for any other callbacks that
696are indirectly executed by any C-based event loop. For example, when you
697use a module that uses L<AnyEvent> (and you use L<Coro::AnyEvent>) and it
698provides callbacks that are the result of some event callback, then you
699must not block either, or use C<unblock_sub>.
700
701=cut
702
703our @unblock_queue;
704
705# we create a special coro because we want to cede,
706# to reduce pressure on the coro pool (because most callbacks
707# return immediately and can be reused) and because we cannot cede
708# inside an event callback.
709our $unblock_scheduler = new Coro sub {
710 while () {
711 while (my $cb = pop @unblock_queue) {
712 &async_pool (@$cb);
713
714 # for short-lived callbacks, this reduces pressure on the coro pool
715 # as the chance is very high that the async_poll coro will be back
716 # in the idle state when cede returns
717 cede;
718 }
719 schedule; # sleep well
720 }
721};
722$unblock_scheduler->{desc} = "[unblock_sub scheduler]";
723
724sub unblock_sub(&) {
725 my $cb = shift;
726
727 sub {
728 unshift @unblock_queue, [$cb, @_];
729 $unblock_scheduler->ready;
730 }
731}
732
733=item $cb = Coro::rouse_cb
734
735Create and return a "rouse callback". That's a code reference that,
736when called, will remember a copy of its arguments and notify the owner
737coro of the callback.
738
739See the next function.
740
741=item @args = Coro::rouse_wait [$cb]
742
743Wait for the specified rouse callback (or the last one that was created in
744this coro).
745
746As soon as the callback is invoked (or when the callback was invoked
747before C<rouse_wait>), it will return the arguments originally passed to
748the rouse callback. In scalar context, that means you get the I<last>
749argument, just as if C<rouse_wait> had a C<return ($a1, $a2, $a3...)>
750statement at the end.
751
752See the section B<HOW TO WAIT FOR A CALLBACK> for an actual usage example.
753
754=back
755
326=cut 756=cut
327 757
3281; 7581;
329 759
760=head1 HOW TO WAIT FOR A CALLBACK
761
762It is very common for a coro to wait for some callback to be
763called. This occurs naturally when you use coro in an otherwise
764event-based program, or when you use event-based libraries.
765
766These typically register a callback for some event, and call that callback
767when the event occured. In a coro, however, you typically want to
768just wait for the event, simplyifying things.
769
770For example C<< AnyEvent->child >> registers a callback to be called when
771a specific child has exited:
772
773 my $child_watcher = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub { ... });
774
775But from within a coro, you often just want to write this:
776
777 my $status = wait_for_child $pid;
778
779Coro offers two functions specifically designed to make this easy,
780C<Coro::rouse_cb> and C<Coro::rouse_wait>.
781
782The first function, C<rouse_cb>, generates and returns a callback that,
783when invoked, will save its arguments and notify the coro that
784created the callback.
785
786The second function, C<rouse_wait>, waits for the callback to be called
787(by calling C<schedule> to go to sleep) and returns the arguments
788originally passed to the callback.
789
790Using these functions, it becomes easy to write the C<wait_for_child>
791function mentioned above:
792
793 sub wait_for_child($) {
794 my ($pid) = @_;
795
796 my $watcher = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => Coro::rouse_cb);
797
798 my ($rpid, $rstatus) = Coro::rouse_wait;
799 $rstatus
800 }
801
802In the case where C<rouse_cb> and C<rouse_wait> are not flexible enough,
803you can roll your own, using C<schedule>:
804
805 sub wait_for_child($) {
806 my ($pid) = @_;
807
808 # store the current coro in $current,
809 # and provide result variables for the closure passed to ->child
810 my $current = $Coro::current;
811 my ($done, $rstatus);
812
813 # pass a closure to ->child
814 my $watcher = AnyEvent->child (pid => $pid, cb => sub {
815 $rstatus = $_[1]; # remember rstatus
816 $done = 1; # mark $rstatus as valud
817 });
818
819 # wait until the closure has been called
820 schedule while !$done;
821
822 $rstatus
823 }
824
825
330=head1 BUGS/LIMITATIONS 826=head1 BUGS/LIMITATIONS
331 827
332 - you must make very sure that no coro is still active on global 828=over 4
333 destruction. very bad things might happen otherwise (usually segfaults).
334 829
830=item fork with pthread backend
831
832When Coro is compiled using the pthread backend (which isn't recommended
833but required on many BSDs as their libcs are completely broken), then
834coro will not survive a fork. There is no known workaround except to
835fix your libc and use a saner backend.
836
837=item perl process emulation ("threads")
838
335 - this module is not thread-safe. You should only ever use this module 839This 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 840module from the first thread (this requirement might be removed in the
337 to allow per-thread schedulers, but Coro::State does not yet allow 841future to allow per-thread schedulers, but Coro::State does not yet allow
338 this). 842this). I recommend disabling thread support and using processes, as having
843the windows process emulation enabled under unix roughly halves perl
844performance, even when not used.
845
846=item coro switching is not signal safe
847
848You must not switch to another coro from within a signal handler
849(only relevant with %SIG - most event libraries provide safe signals).
850
851That means you I<MUST NOT> call any function that might "block" the
852current coro - C<cede>, C<schedule> C<< Coro::Semaphore->down >> or
853anything that calls those. Everything else, including calling C<ready>,
854works.
855
856=back
857
339 858
340=head1 SEE ALSO 859=head1 SEE ALSO
341 860
342L<Coro::Channel>, L<Coro::Cont>, L<Coro::Specific>, L<Coro::Semaphore>, 861Event-Loop integration: L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>.
343L<Coro::Signal>, L<Coro::State>, L<Coro::Timer>, L<Coro::Event>, 862
344L<Coro::Handle>, L<Coro::RWLock>, L<Coro::Socket>. 863Debugging: L<Coro::Debug>.
864
865Support/Utility: L<Coro::Specific>, L<Coro::Util>.
866
867Locking and IPC: L<Coro::Signal>, L<Coro::Channel>, L<Coro::Semaphore>,
868L<Coro::SemaphoreSet>, L<Coro::RWLock>.
869
870I/O and Timers: L<Coro::Timer>, L<Coro::Handle>, L<Coro::Socket>, L<Coro::AIO>.
871
872Compatibility with other modules: L<Coro::LWP> (but see also L<AnyEvent::HTTP> for
873a better-working alternative), L<Coro::BDB>, L<Coro::Storable>,
874L<Coro::Select>.
875
876XS API: L<Coro::MakeMaker>.
877
878Low level Configuration, Thread Environment, Continuations: L<Coro::State>.
345 879
346=head1 AUTHOR 880=head1 AUTHOR
347 881
348 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 882 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
349 http://home.schmorp.de/ 883 http://home.schmorp.de/

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