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Revision 1.78 by root, Wed Nov 1 01:21:21 2006 UTC vs.
Revision 1.217 by root, Fri Nov 14 23:48:10 2008 UTC

2 2
3Coro - coroutine process abstraction 3Coro - coroutine process abstraction
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 coroutine
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 31This module collection manages coroutines. Coroutines are similar to
24threads but don't run in parallel. 32threads but don't (in general) run in parallel at the same time even
33on SMP machines. The specific flavor of coroutine used in this module
34also guarantees you that it will not switch between coroutines unless
35necessary, at easily-identified points in your program, so locking and
36parallel access are rarely an issue, making coroutine programming much
37safer and easier than threads programming.
25 38
39Unlike a normal perl program, however, coroutines allow you to have
40multiple running interpreters that share data, which is especially useful
41to code pseudo-parallel processes and for event-based programming, such as
42multiple HTTP-GET requests running concurrently. See L<Coro::AnyEvent> to
43learn more.
44
45Coroutines are also useful because Perl has no support for threads (the so
46called "threads" that perl offers are nothing more than the (bad) process
47emulation coming from the Windows platform: On standard operating systems
48they serve no purpose whatsoever, except by making your programs slow and
49making them use a lot of memory. Best disable them when building perl, or
50aks your software vendor/distributor to do it for you).
51
26In this module, coroutines are defined as "callchain + lexical variables 52In this module, coroutines are defined as "callchain + lexical variables +
27+ @_ + $_ + $@ + $^W + C stack), that is, a coroutine has it's own 53@_ + $_ + $@ + $/ + C stack), that is, a coroutine has its own callchain,
28callchain, it's own set of lexicals and it's own set of perl's most 54its own set of lexicals and its own set of perls most important global
29important global variables. 55variables (see L<Coro::State> for more configuration).
30 56
31=cut 57=cut
32 58
33package Coro; 59package Coro;
34 60
35use strict; 61use strict qw(vars subs);
36no warnings "uninitialized"; 62no warnings "uninitialized";
37 63
38use Coro::State; 64use Coro::State;
39 65
40use base Exporter::; 66use base qw(Coro::State Exporter);
41 67
42our $idle; # idle coroutine 68our $idle; # idle handler
43our $main; # main coroutine 69our $main; # main coroutine
44our $current; # current coroutine 70our $current; # current coroutine
45 71
46our $VERSION = '2.1'; 72our $VERSION = 5.0;
47 73
48our @EXPORT = qw(async cede schedule terminate current); 74our @EXPORT = qw(async async_pool cede schedule terminate current unblock_sub);
49our %EXPORT_TAGS = ( 75our %EXPORT_TAGS = (
50 prio => [qw(PRIO_MAX PRIO_HIGH PRIO_NORMAL PRIO_LOW PRIO_IDLE PRIO_MIN)], 76 prio => [qw(PRIO_MAX PRIO_HIGH PRIO_NORMAL PRIO_LOW PRIO_IDLE PRIO_MIN)],
51); 77);
52our @EXPORT_OK = @{$EXPORT_TAGS{prio}}; 78our @EXPORT_OK = (@{$EXPORT_TAGS{prio}}, qw(nready));
53
54{
55 my @async;
56 my $init;
57
58 # this way of handling attributes simply is NOT scalable ;()
59 sub import {
60 no strict 'refs';
61
62 Coro->export_to_level(1, @_);
63
64 my $old = *{(caller)[0]."::MODIFY_CODE_ATTRIBUTES"}{CODE};
65 *{(caller)[0]."::MODIFY_CODE_ATTRIBUTES"} = sub {
66 my ($package, $ref) = (shift, shift);
67 my @attrs;
68 for (@_) {
69 if ($_ eq "Coro") {
70 push @async, $ref;
71 unless ($init++) {
72 eval q{
73 sub INIT {
74 &async(pop @async) while @async;
75 }
76 };
77 }
78 } else {
79 push @attrs, $_;
80 }
81 }
82 return $old ? $old->($package, $ref, @attrs) : @attrs;
83 };
84 }
85
86}
87 79
88=over 4 80=over 4
89 81
90=item $main 82=item $Coro::main
91 83
92This coroutine represents the main program. 84This variable stores the coroutine object that represents the main
85program. While you cna C<ready> it and do most other things you can do to
86coroutines, it is mainly useful to compare again C<$Coro::current>, to see
87whether you are running in the main program or not.
93 88
94=cut 89=cut
95 90
96$main = new Coro; 91$main = new Coro;
97 92
98=item $current (or as function: current) 93=item $Coro::current
99 94
100The current coroutine (the last coroutine switched to). The initial value is C<$main> (of course). 95The coroutine object representing the current coroutine (the last
96coroutine that the Coro scheduler switched to). The initial value is
97C<$main> (of course).
101 98
99This variable is B<strictly> I<read-only>. You can take copies of the
100value stored in it and use it as any other coroutine object, but you must
101not otherwise modify the variable itself.
102
102=cut 103=cut
104
105$main->{desc} = "[main::]";
103 106
104# maybe some other module used Coro::Specific before... 107# maybe some other module used Coro::Specific before...
105if ($current) {
106 $main->{specific} = $current->{specific}; 108$main->{_specific} = $current->{_specific}
107} 109 if $current;
108 110
109$current = $main; 111_set_current $main;
110 112
111sub current() { $current } 113sub current() { $current } # [DEPRECATED]
112 114
113=item $idle 115=item $Coro::idle
114 116
115The coroutine to switch to when no other coroutine is running. The default 117This variable is mainly useful to integrate Coro into event loops. It is
116implementation prints "FATAL: deadlock detected" and exits. 118usually better to rely on L<Coro::AnyEvent> or LC<Coro::EV>, as this is
119pretty low-level functionality.
117 120
118=cut 121This variable stores a callback that is called whenever the scheduler
122finds no ready coroutines to run. The default implementation prints
123"FATAL: deadlock detected" and exits, because the program has no other way
124to continue.
119 125
120# should be done using priorities :( 126This hook is overwritten by modules such as C<Coro::Timer> and
121$idle = new Coro sub { 127C<Coro::AnyEvent> to wait on an external event that hopefully wake up a
122 print STDERR "FATAL: deadlock detected\n"; 128coroutine so the scheduler can run it.
123 exit(51); 129
130Note that the callback I<must not>, under any circumstances, block
131the current coroutine. Normally, this is achieved by having an "idle
132coroutine" that calls the event loop and then blocks again, and then
133readying that coroutine in the idle handler.
134
135See L<Coro::Event> or L<Coro::AnyEvent> for examples of using this
136technique.
137
138Please note that if your callback recursively invokes perl (e.g. for event
139handlers), then it must be prepared to be called recursively itself.
140
141=cut
142
143$idle = sub {
144 require Carp;
145 Carp::croak ("FATAL: deadlock detected");
124}; 146};
147
148sub _cancel {
149 my ($self) = @_;
150
151 # free coroutine data and mark as destructed
152 $self->_destroy
153 or return;
154
155 # call all destruction callbacks
156 $_->(@{$self->{_status}})
157 for @{ delete $self->{_on_destroy} || [] };
158}
125 159
126# this coroutine is necessary because a coroutine 160# this coroutine is necessary because a coroutine
127# cannot destroy itself. 161# cannot destroy itself.
128my @destroy; 162my @destroy;
129my $manager; 163my $manager;
164
130$manager = new Coro sub { 165$manager = new Coro sub {
131 while () { 166 while () {
132 # by overwriting the state object with the manager we destroy it 167 (shift @destroy)->_cancel
133 # while still being able to schedule this coroutine (in case it has
134 # been readied multiple times. this is harmless since the manager
135 # can be called as many times as neccessary and will always
136 # remove itself from the runqueue
137 while (@destroy) { 168 while @destroy;
138 my $coro = pop @destroy;
139 $coro->{status} ||= [];
140 $_->ready for @{delete $coro->{join} || []};
141 169
142 # the next line destroys the _coro_state, but keeps the
143 # process itself intact (we basically make it a zombie
144 # process that always runs the manager thread, so it's possible
145 # to transfer() to this process).
146 $coro->{_coro_state} = $manager->{_coro_state};
147 }
148 &schedule; 170 &schedule;
149 } 171 }
150}; 172};
151 173$manager->{desc} = "[coro manager]";
152# static methods. not really. 174$manager->prio (PRIO_MAX);
153 175
154=back 176=back
155 177
156=head2 STATIC METHODS 178=head2 SIMPLE COROUTINE CREATION
157
158Static methods are actually functions that operate on the current process only.
159 179
160=over 4 180=over 4
161 181
162=item async { ... } [@args...] 182=item async { ... } [@args...]
163 183
164Create a new asynchronous process and return it's process object 184Create a new coroutine and return it's coroutine object (usually
165(usually unused). When the sub returns the new process is automatically 185unused). The coroutine will be put into the ready queue, so
186it will start running automatically on the next scheduler run.
187
188The first argument is a codeblock/closure that should be executed in the
189coroutine. When it returns argument returns the coroutine is automatically
166terminated. 190terminated.
167 191
192The remaining arguments are passed as arguments to the closure.
193
194See the C<Coro::State::new> constructor for info about the coroutine
195environment in which coroutines are executed.
196
197Calling C<exit> in a coroutine will do the same as calling exit outside
198the coroutine. Likewise, when the coroutine dies, the program will exit,
199just as it would in the main program.
200
201If you do not want that, you can provide a default C<die> handler, or
202simply avoid dieing (by use of C<eval>).
203
168 # create a new coroutine that just prints its arguments 204Example: Create a new coroutine that just prints its arguments.
205
169 async { 206 async {
170 print "@_\n"; 207 print "@_\n";
171 } 1,2,3,4; 208 } 1,2,3,4;
172 209
173=cut 210=cut
174 211
175sub async(&@) { 212sub async(&@) {
176 my $pid = new Coro @_; 213 my $coro = new Coro @_;
177 $manager->ready; # this ensures that the stack is cloned from the manager
178 $pid->ready; 214 $coro->ready;
179 $pid; 215 $coro
180} 216}
217
218=item async_pool { ... } [@args...]
219
220Similar to C<async>, but uses a coroutine pool, so you should not call
221terminate or join on it (although you are allowed to), and you get a
222coroutine that might have executed other code already (which can be good
223or bad :).
224
225On the plus side, this function is faster than creating (and destroying)
226a completly new coroutine, so if you need a lot of generic coroutines in
227quick successsion, use C<async_pool>, not C<async>.
228
229The code block is executed in an C<eval> context and a warning will be
230issued in case of an exception instead of terminating the program, as
231C<async> does. As the coroutine is being reused, stuff like C<on_destroy>
232will not work in the expected way, unless you call terminate or cancel,
233which somehow defeats the purpose of pooling (but is fine in the
234exceptional case).
235
236The priority will be reset to C<0> after each run, tracing will be
237disabled, the description will be reset and the default output filehandle
238gets restored, so you can change all these. Otherwise the coroutine will
239be re-used "as-is": most notably if you change other per-coroutine global
240stuff such as C<$/> you I<must needs> revert that change, which is most
241simply done by using local as in: C<< local $/ >>.
242
243The idle pool size is limited to C<8> idle coroutines (this can be
244adjusted by changing $Coro::POOL_SIZE), but there can be as many non-idle
245coros as required.
246
247If you are concerned about pooled coroutines growing a lot because a
248single C<async_pool> used a lot of stackspace you can e.g. C<async_pool
249{ terminate }> once per second or so to slowly replenish the pool. In
250addition to that, when the stacks used by a handler grows larger than 16kb
251(adjustable via $Coro::POOL_RSS) it will also be destroyed.
252
253=cut
254
255our $POOL_SIZE = 8;
256our $POOL_RSS = 16 * 1024;
257our @async_pool;
258
259sub pool_handler {
260 my $cb;
261
262 while () {
263 eval {
264 while () {
265 _pool_1 $cb;
266 &$cb;
267 _pool_2 $cb;
268 &schedule;
269 }
270 };
271
272 if ($@) {
273 last if $@ eq "\3async_pool terminate\2\n";
274 warn $@;
275 }
276 }
277}
278
279sub async_pool(&@) {
280 # this is also inlined into the unlock_scheduler
281 my $coro = (pop @async_pool) || new Coro \&pool_handler;
282
283 $coro->{_invoke} = [@_];
284 $coro->ready;
285
286 $coro
287}
288
289=back
290
291=head2 STATIC METHODS
292
293Static methods are actually functions that operate on the current coroutine.
294
295=over 4
181 296
182=item schedule 297=item schedule
183 298
184Calls the scheduler. Please note that the current process will not be put 299Calls the scheduler. The scheduler will find the next coroutine that is
300to be run from the ready queue and switches to it. The next coroutine
301to be run is simply the one with the highest priority that is longest
302in its ready queue. If there is no coroutine ready, it will clal the
303C<$Coro::idle> hook.
304
305Please note that the current coroutine will I<not> be put into the ready
185into the ready queue, so calling this function usually means you will 306queue, so calling this function usually means you will never be called
186never be called again. 307again unless something else (e.g. an event handler) calls C<< ->ready >>,
308thus waking you up.
187 309
188=cut 310This makes C<schedule> I<the> generic method to use to block the current
311coroutine and wait for events: first you remember the current coroutine in
312a variable, then arrange for some callback of yours to call C<< ->ready
313>> on that once some event happens, and last you call C<schedule> to put
314yourself to sleep. Note that a lot of things can wake your coroutine up,
315so you need to check whether the event indeed happened, e.g. by storing the
316status in a variable.
317
318The canonical way to wait on external events is this:
319
320 {
321 # remember current coroutine
322 my $current = $Coro::current;
323
324 # register a hypothetical event handler
325 on_event_invoke sub {
326 # wake up sleeping coroutine
327 $current->ready;
328 undef $current;
329 };
330
331 # call schedule until event occurred.
332 # in case we are woken up for other reasons
333 # (current still defined), loop.
334 Coro::schedule while $current;
335 }
189 336
190=item cede 337=item cede
191 338
192"Cede" to other processes. This function puts the current process into the 339"Cede" to other coroutines. This function puts the current coroutine into
193ready queue and calls C<schedule>, which has the effect of giving up the 340the ready queue and calls C<schedule>, which has the effect of giving
194current "timeslice" to other coroutines of the same or higher priority. 341up the current "timeslice" to other coroutines of the same or higher
342priority. Once your coroutine gets its turn again it will automatically be
343resumed.
195 344
196=cut 345This function is often called C<yield> in other languages.
346
347=item Coro::cede_notself
348
349Works like cede, but is not exported by default and will cede to I<any>
350coroutine, regardless of priority. This is useful sometimes to ensure
351progress is made.
197 352
198=item terminate [arg...] 353=item terminate [arg...]
199 354
200Terminates the current process with the given status values (see L<cancel>). 355Terminates the current coroutine with the given status values (see L<cancel>).
356
357=item killall
358
359Kills/terminates/cancels all coroutines except the currently running
360one. This is useful after a fork, either in the child or the parent, as
361usually only one of them should inherit the running coroutines.
362
363Note that while this will try to free some of the main programs resources,
364you cannot free all of them, so if a coroutine that is not the main
365program calls this function, there will be some one-time resource leak.
201 366
202=cut 367=cut
203 368
204sub terminate { 369sub terminate {
205 $current->cancel (@_); 370 $current->cancel (@_);
206} 371}
207 372
373sub killall {
374 for (Coro::State::list) {
375 $_->cancel
376 if $_ != $current && UNIVERSAL::isa $_, "Coro";
377 }
378}
379
208=back 380=back
209 381
210# dynamic methods
211
212=head2 PROCESS METHODS 382=head2 COROUTINE METHODS
213 383
214These are the methods you can call on process objects. 384These are the methods you can call on coroutine objects (or to create
385them).
215 386
216=over 4 387=over 4
217 388
218=item new Coro \&sub [, @args...] 389=item new Coro \&sub [, @args...]
219 390
220Create a new process and return it. When the sub returns the process 391Create a new coroutine and return it. When the sub returns, the coroutine
221automatically terminates as if C<terminate> with the returned values were 392automatically terminates as if C<terminate> with the returned values were
222called. To make the process run you must first put it into the ready queue 393called. To make the coroutine run you must first put it into the ready
223by calling the ready method. 394queue by calling the ready method.
224 395
225=cut 396See C<async> and C<Coro::State::new> for additional info about the
397coroutine environment.
226 398
399=cut
400
227sub _newcoro { 401sub _run_coro {
228 terminate &{+shift}; 402 terminate &{+shift};
229} 403}
230 404
231sub new { 405sub new {
232 my $class = shift; 406 my $class = shift;
233 bless {
234 _coro_state => (new Coro::State $_[0] && \&_newcoro, @_),
235 }, $class;
236}
237 407
238=item $process->ready 408 $class->SUPER::new (\&_run_coro, @_)
409}
239 410
240Put the given process into the ready queue. 411=item $success = $coroutine->ready
241 412
242=cut 413Put the given coroutine into the end of its ready queue (there is one
414queue for each priority) and return true. If the coroutine is already in
415the ready queue, do nothing and return false.
243 416
417This ensures that the scheduler will resume this coroutine automatically
418once all the coroutines of higher priority and all coroutines of the same
419priority that were put into the ready queue earlier have been resumed.
420
421=item $is_ready = $coroutine->is_ready
422
423Return whether the coroutine is currently the ready queue or not,
424
244=item $process->cancel (arg...) 425=item $coroutine->cancel (arg...)
245 426
246Temrinates the given process and makes it return the given arguments as 427Terminates the given coroutine and makes it return the given arguments as
247status (default: the empty list). 428status (default: the empty list). Never returns if the coroutine is the
429current coroutine.
248 430
249=cut 431=cut
250 432
251sub cancel { 433sub cancel {
252 my $self = shift; 434 my $self = shift;
253 $self->{status} = [@_]; 435 $self->{_status} = [@_];
436
437 if ($current == $self) {
254 push @destroy, $self; 438 push @destroy, $self;
255 $manager->ready; 439 $manager->ready;
256 &schedule if $current == $self; 440 &schedule while 1;
441 } else {
442 $self->_cancel;
443 }
257} 444}
258 445
446=item $coroutine->throw ([$scalar])
447
448If C<$throw> is specified and defined, it will be thrown as an exception
449inside the coroutine at the next convenient point in time (usually after
450it gains control at the next schedule/transfer/cede). Otherwise clears the
451exception object.
452
453The exception object will be thrown "as is" with the specified scalar in
454C<$@>, i.e. if it is a string, no line number or newline will be appended
455(unlike with C<die>).
456
457This can be used as a softer means than C<cancel> to ask a coroutine to
458end itself, although there is no guarantee that the exception will lead to
459termination, and if the exception isn't caught it might well end the whole
460program.
461
462You might also think of C<throw> as being the moral equivalent of
463C<kill>ing a coroutine with a signal (in this case, a scalar).
464
259=item $process->join 465=item $coroutine->join
260 466
261Wait until the coroutine terminates and return any values given to the 467Wait until the coroutine terminates and return any values given to the
262C<terminate> or C<cancel> functions. C<join> can be called multiple times 468C<terminate> or C<cancel> functions. C<join> can be called concurrently
263from multiple processes. 469from multiple coroutines, and all will be resumed and given the status
470return once the C<$coroutine> terminates.
264 471
265=cut 472=cut
266 473
267sub join { 474sub join {
268 my $self = shift; 475 my $self = shift;
476
269 unless ($self->{status}) { 477 unless ($self->{_status}) {
270 push @{$self->{join}}, $current; 478 my $current = $current;
271 &schedule; 479
480 push @{$self->{_on_destroy}}, sub {
481 $current->ready;
482 undef $current;
483 };
484
485 &schedule while $current;
272 } 486 }
487
273 wantarray ? @{$self->{status}} : $self->{status}[0]; 488 wantarray ? @{$self->{_status}} : $self->{_status}[0];
274} 489}
275 490
491=item $coroutine->on_destroy (\&cb)
492
493Registers a callback that is called when this coroutine gets destroyed,
494but before it is joined. The callback gets passed the terminate arguments,
495if any, and I<must not> die, under any circumstances.
496
497=cut
498
499sub on_destroy {
500 my ($self, $cb) = @_;
501
502 push @{ $self->{_on_destroy} }, $cb;
503}
504
276=item $oldprio = $process->prio($newprio) 505=item $oldprio = $coroutine->prio ($newprio)
277 506
278Sets (or gets, if the argument is missing) the priority of the 507Sets (or gets, if the argument is missing) the priority of the
279process. Higher priority processes get run before lower priority 508coroutine. Higher priority coroutines get run before lower priority
280processes. Priorities are small signed integers (currently -4 .. +3), 509coroutines. Priorities are small signed integers (currently -4 .. +3),
281that you can refer to using PRIO_xxx constants (use the import tag :prio 510that you can refer to using PRIO_xxx constants (use the import tag :prio
282to get then): 511to get then):
283 512
284 PRIO_MAX > PRIO_HIGH > PRIO_NORMAL > PRIO_LOW > PRIO_IDLE > PRIO_MIN 513 PRIO_MAX > PRIO_HIGH > PRIO_NORMAL > PRIO_LOW > PRIO_IDLE > PRIO_MIN
285 3 > 1 > 0 > -1 > -3 > -4 514 3 > 1 > 0 > -1 > -3 > -4
288 current->prio(PRIO_HIGH); 517 current->prio(PRIO_HIGH);
289 518
290The idle coroutine ($Coro::idle) always has a lower priority than any 519The idle coroutine ($Coro::idle) always has a lower priority than any
291existing coroutine. 520existing coroutine.
292 521
293Changing the priority of the current process will take effect immediately, 522Changing the priority of the current coroutine will take effect immediately,
294but changing the priority of processes in the ready queue (but not 523but changing the priority of coroutines in the ready queue (but not
295running) will only take effect after the next schedule (of that 524running) will only take effect after the next schedule (of that
296process). This is a bug that will be fixed in some future version. 525coroutine). This is a bug that will be fixed in some future version.
297 526
298=cut
299
300sub prio {
301 my $old = $_[0]{prio};
302 $_[0]{prio} = $_[1] if @_ > 1;
303 $old;
304}
305
306=item $newprio = $process->nice($change) 527=item $newprio = $coroutine->nice ($change)
307 528
308Similar to C<prio>, but subtract the given value from the priority (i.e. 529Similar to C<prio>, but subtract the given value from the priority (i.e.
309higher values mean lower priority, just as in unix). 530higher values mean lower priority, just as in unix).
310 531
311=cut
312
313sub nice {
314 $_[0]{prio} -= $_[1];
315}
316
317=item $olddesc = $process->desc($newdesc) 532=item $olddesc = $coroutine->desc ($newdesc)
318 533
319Sets (or gets in case the argument is missing) the description for this 534Sets (or gets in case the argument is missing) the description for this
320process. This is just a free-form string you can associate with a process. 535coroutine. This is just a free-form string you can associate with a
536coroutine.
537
538This method simply sets the C<< $coroutine->{desc} >> member to the given
539string. You can modify this member directly if you wish.
321 540
322=cut 541=cut
323 542
324sub desc { 543sub desc {
325 my $old = $_[0]{desc}; 544 my $old = $_[0]{desc};
327 $old; 546 $old;
328} 547}
329 548
330=back 549=back
331 550
551=head2 GLOBAL FUNCTIONS
552
553=over 4
554
555=item Coro::nready
556
557Returns the number of coroutines that are currently in the ready state,
558i.e. that can be switched to by calling C<schedule> directory or
559indirectly. The value C<0> means that the only runnable coroutine is the
560currently running one, so C<cede> would have no effect, and C<schedule>
561would cause a deadlock unless there is an idle handler that wakes up some
562coroutines.
563
564=item my $guard = Coro::guard { ... }
565
566This creates and returns a guard object. Nothing happens until the object
567gets destroyed, in which case the codeblock given as argument will be
568executed. This is useful to free locks or other resources in case of a
569runtime error or when the coroutine gets canceled, as in both cases the
570guard block will be executed. The guard object supports only one method,
571C<< ->cancel >>, which will keep the codeblock from being executed.
572
573Example: set some flag and clear it again when the coroutine gets canceled
574or the function returns:
575
576 sub do_something {
577 my $guard = Coro::guard { $busy = 0 };
578 $busy = 1;
579
580 # do something that requires $busy to be true
581 }
582
583=cut
584
585sub guard(&) {
586 bless \(my $cb = $_[0]), "Coro::guard"
587}
588
589sub Coro::guard::cancel {
590 ${$_[0]} = sub { };
591}
592
593sub Coro::guard::DESTROY {
594 ${$_[0]}->();
595}
596
597
598=item unblock_sub { ... }
599
600This utility function takes a BLOCK or code reference and "unblocks" it,
601returning a new coderef. Unblocking means that calling the new coderef
602will return immediately without blocking, returning nothing, while the
603original code ref will be called (with parameters) from within another
604coroutine.
605
606The reason this function exists is that many event libraries (such as the
607venerable L<Event|Event> module) are not coroutine-safe (a weaker form
608of thread-safety). This means you must not block within event callbacks,
609otherwise you might suffer from crashes or worse. The only event library
610currently known that is safe to use without C<unblock_sub> is L<EV>.
611
612This function allows your callbacks to block by executing them in another
613coroutine where it is safe to block. One example where blocking is handy
614is when you use the L<Coro::AIO|Coro::AIO> functions to save results to
615disk, for example.
616
617In short: simply use C<unblock_sub { ... }> instead of C<sub { ... }> when
618creating event callbacks that want to block.
619
620If your handler does not plan to block (e.g. simply sends a message to
621another coroutine, or puts some other coroutine into the ready queue),
622there is no reason to use C<unblock_sub>.
623
624Note that you also need to use C<unblock_sub> for any other callbacks that
625are indirectly executed by any C-based event loop. For example, when you
626use a module that uses L<AnyEvent> (and you use L<Coro::AnyEvent>) and it
627provides callbacks that are the result of some event callback, then you
628must not block either, or use C<unblock_sub>.
629
630=cut
631
632our @unblock_queue;
633
634# we create a special coro because we want to cede,
635# to reduce pressure on the coro pool (because most callbacks
636# return immediately and can be reused) and because we cannot cede
637# inside an event callback.
638our $unblock_scheduler = new Coro sub {
639 while () {
640 while (my $cb = pop @unblock_queue) {
641 # this is an inlined copy of async_pool
642 my $coro = (pop @async_pool) || new Coro \&pool_handler;
643
644 $coro->{_invoke} = $cb;
645 $coro->ready;
646 cede; # for short-lived callbacks, this reduces pressure on the coro pool
647 }
648 schedule; # sleep well
649 }
650};
651$unblock_scheduler->{desc} = "[unblock_sub scheduler]";
652
653sub unblock_sub(&) {
654 my $cb = shift;
655
656 sub {
657 unshift @unblock_queue, [$cb, @_];
658 $unblock_scheduler->ready;
659 }
660}
661
662=back
663
332=cut 664=cut
333 665
3341; 6661;
335 667
336=head1 BUGS/LIMITATIONS 668=head1 BUGS/LIMITATIONS
337 669
338 - you must make very sure that no coro is still active on global 670=over 4
339 destruction. very bad things might happen otherwise (usually segfaults).
340 671
672=item perl process emulation ("threads")
673
341 - this module is not thread-safe. You should only ever use this module 674This module is not perl-pseudo-thread-safe. You should only ever use this
342 from the same thread (this requirement might be losened in the future 675module from the same thread (this requirement might be removed in the
343 to allow per-thread schedulers, but Coro::State does not yet allow 676future to allow per-thread schedulers, but Coro::State does not yet allow
344 this). 677this). I recommend disabling thread support and using processes, as having
678the windows process emulation enabled under unix roughly halves perl
679performance, even when not used.
680
681=item coroutine switching not signal safe
682
683You must not switch to another coroutine from within a signal handler
684(only relevant with %SIG - most event libraries provide safe signals).
685
686That means you I<MUST NOT> call any fucntion that might "block" the
687current coroutine - C<cede>, C<schedule> C<< Coro::Semaphore->down >> or
688anything that calls those. Everything else, including calling C<ready>,
689works.
690
691=back
692
345 693
346=head1 SEE ALSO 694=head1 SEE ALSO
347 695
696Event-Loop integration: L<Coro::AnyEvent>, L<Coro::EV>, L<Coro::Event>.
697
698Debugging: L<Coro::Debug>.
699
348Support/Utility: L<Coro::Cont>, L<Coro::Specific>, L<Coro::State>, L<Coro::Util>. 700Support/Utility: L<Coro::Specific>, L<Coro::Util>.
349 701
350Locking/IPC: L<Coro::Signal>, L<Coro::Channel>, L<Coro::Semaphore>, L<Coro::SemaphoreSet>, L<Coro::RWLock>. 702Locking/IPC: L<Coro::Signal>, L<Coro::Channel>, L<Coro::Semaphore>, L<Coro::SemaphoreSet>, L<Coro::RWLock>.
351 703
352Event/IO: L<Coro::Timer>, L<Coro::Event>, L<Coro::Handle>, L<Coro::Socket>, L<Coro::Select>. 704IO/Timers: L<Coro::Timer>, L<Coro::Handle>, L<Coro::Socket>, L<Coro::AIO>.
353 705
354Embedding: L<Coro:MakeMaker> 706Compatibility: L<Coro::LWP>, L<Coro::BDB>, L<Coro::Storable>, L<Coro::Select>.
707
708XS API: L<Coro::MakeMaker>.
709
710Low level Configuration, Coroutine Environment: L<Coro::State>.
355 711
356=head1 AUTHOR 712=head1 AUTHOR
357 713
358 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 714 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
359 http://home.schmorp.de/ 715 http://home.schmorp.de/

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