File Coverage

blib/lib/Coro/State.pm

Criterion	Covered	Total	%
statement	24	26	92.3
branch			n/a
condition	4	6	66.6
subroutine	9	10	90.0
pod	0	3	0.0
total	37	45	82.2

=head1 NAME

Coro::State - first class continuations

=head1 SYNOPSIS

 use Coro::State;

 $new = new Coro::State sub {
    print "in coro (called with @_), switching back\n";
    $new->transfer ($main);
    print "in coro again, switching back\n";
    $new->transfer ($main);
 }, 5;

 $main = new Coro::State;

 print "in main, switching to coro\n";
 $main->transfer ($new);
 print "back in main, switch to coro again\n";
 $main->transfer ($new);
 print "back in main\n";

=head1 DESCRIPTION

This module implements coro objects. Coros, similar to threads and
continuations, allow you to run more than one "thread of execution" in
parallel. Unlike so-called "kernel" threads, there is no parallelism
and only voluntary switching is used so locking problems are greatly
reduced. The latter is called "cooperative" threading as opposed to
"preemptive" threading.

This can be used to implement non-local jumps, exception handling,
continuation objects and more.

This module provides only low-level functionality useful to build other
abstractions, such as threads, generators or coroutines. See L
and related modules for a higher level threads abstraction including a
scheduler.

=head2 MODEL

Coro::State implements two different thread models: Perl and C. The C
threads (called cctx's) are basically simplified perl interpreters
running/interpreting the Perl threads. A single interpreter can run any
number of Perl threads, so usually there are very few C threads.

When Perl code calls a C function (e.g. in an extension module) and that C
function then calls back into Perl or transfers control to another thread,
the C thread can no longer execute other Perl threads, so it stays tied to
the specific thread until it returns to the original Perl caller, after
which it is again available to run other Perl threads.

The main program always has its own "C thread" (which really is
*the* Perl interpreter running the whole program), so there will always
be at least one additional C thread. You can use the debugger (see
L) to find out which threads are tied to their cctx and
which aren't.

=head2 MEMORY CONSUMPTION

A newly created Coro::State that has not been used only allocates a
relatively small (a hundred bytes) structure. Only on the first
C will perl allocate stacks (a few kb, 64 bit architectures
use twice as much, i.e. a few kb :) and optionally a C stack/thread
(cctx) for threads that recurse through C functions. All this is very
system-dependent. On my x86-pc-linux-gnu system this amounts to about 2k
per (non-trivial but simple) Coro::State.

You can view the actual memory consumption using Coro::Debug. Keep in mind
that a for loop or other block constructs can easily consume 100-200 bytes
per nesting level.

=cut

package Coro::State;

use common::sense;

use Carp;

our $DIEHOOK;
our $WARNHOOK;

BEGIN {
   $DIEHOOK  = sub { };
   $WARNHOOK = sub { warn $_[0] };
}

sub diehook  { &$DIEHOOK  }
sub warnhook { &$WARNHOOK }

use XSLoader;

BEGIN {
   our $VERSION = 6.513;

   # must be done here because the xs part expects it to exist
   # it might exist already because Coro::Specific created it.
   $Coro::current ||= { };

   XSLoader::load __PACKAGE__, $VERSION;

   # major complication:
   # perl stores a PVMG with sigelem magic in warnhook, and retrieves the
   # value from the hash, even while PL_warnhook is zero.
   # Coro can't do that because the value in the hash might be stale.
   # Therefore, Coro stores a copy, and returns PL_warnhook itself, so we
   # need to manually copy the existing handlers to remove their magic.
   # I chose to use "delete", to hopefuly get rid of the remnants,
   # but (my $v = $SIG{...}) would also work.
   $SIG{__DIE__}  = (delete $SIG{__DIE__} ) || \&diehook;
   $SIG{__WARN__} = (delete $SIG{__WARN__}) || \&warnhook;
}

use Exporter;
use base Exporter::;

=head2 GLOBAL VARIABLES

=over 4

=item $Coro::State::DIEHOOK

This works similarly to C<$SIG{__DIE__}> and is used as the default die
hook for newly created Coro::States. This is useful if you want some generic
logging function that works for all threads that don't set their own
hook.

When Coro::State is first loaded it will install these handlers for the
main program, too, unless they have been overwritten already.

The default handlers provided will behave like the built-in ones (as if
they weren't there).

If you don't want to exit your program on uncaught exceptions, you must
not return from your die hook - call C instead.

Note 1: You I store a valid code reference in these variables,
C will I do.

Note 2: The value of this variable will be shared among all threads, so
changing its value will change it in all threads that don't have their
own die handler.

=item $Coro::State::WARNHOOK

Similar to above die hook, but augments C<$SIG{__WARN__}>.

=back

=head2 Coro::State METHODS

=over 4

=item $coro = new Coro::State [$coderef[, @args...]]

Create a new Coro::State thread object and return it. The first
C call to this thread will start execution at the given
coderef, with the given arguments.

Note that the arguments will not be copied. Instead, as with normal
function calls, the thread receives passed arguments by reference, so
make sure you don't change them in unexpected ways.

Returning from such a thread is I supported. Neither is calling
C or throwing an uncaught exception. The following paragraphs
describe what happens in current versions of Coro.

If the subroutine returns the program will be terminated as if execution
of the main program ended.

If it throws an exception the program will terminate unless the exception
is caught, exactly like in the main program.

Calling C in a thread does the same as calling it in the main
program, but due to libc bugs on many BSDs, this doesn't work reliable
everywhere.

If the coderef is omitted this function will create a new "empty"
thread, i.e. a thread that cannot be transferred to but can be used
to save the current thread state in (note that this is dangerous, as no
reference is taken to ensure that the "current thread state" survives,
the caller is responsible to ensure that the cloned state does not go
away).

The returned object is an empty hash which can be used for any purpose
whatsoever, for example when subclassing Coro::State.

Certain variables are "localised" to each thread, that is, certain
"global" variables are actually per thread. Not everything that would
sensibly be localised currently is, and not everything that is localised
makes sense for every application, and the future might bring changes.

The following global variables can have different values per thread,
and have the stated initial values:

   Variable       Initial Value
   @_             whatever arguments were passed to the Coro
   $_             undef
   $@             undef
   $/             "\n"
   $SIG{__DIE__}  aliased to $Coro::State::DIEHOOK(*)
   $SIG{__WARN__} aliased to $Coro::State::WARNHOOK(*)
   (default fh)   *STDOUT
   $^H, %^H       zero/empty.
   $1, $2...      all regex results are initially undefined

   (*) reading the value from %SIG is not supported, but local'ising is.

If you feel that something important is missing then tell me. Also
remember that every function call that might call C (such
as C) might clobber any global and/or special
variables. Yes, this is by design ;) You can always create your own
process abstraction model that saves these variables.

The easiest way to do this is to create your own scheduling primitive like
in the code below, and use it in your threads:

  sub my_cede {
     local ($;, ...);
     Coro::cede;
  }

Another way is to use dynamic winders, see C and
C for this.

Yet another way that works only for variables is C<< ->swap_sv >>.

=item $prev->transfer ($next)

Save the state of the current subroutine in C<$prev> and switch to the
thread saved in C<$next>.

The "state" of a subroutine includes the scope, i.e. lexical variables and
the current execution state (subroutine, stack).

=item $state->throw ([$scalar])

=item $state->is_new

=item $state->is_zombie

See the corresponding method(s) for L objects.

=item $state->cancel

Forcefully destructs the given Coro::State. While you can keep the
reference, and some memory is still allocated, the Coro::State object is
effectively dead, destructors have been freed, it cannot be transferred to
anymore, it's pushing up the daisies.

=item $state->call ($coderef)

Try to call the given C<$coderef> in the context of the given state. This
works even when the state is currently within an XS function, and can
be very dangerous. You can use it to acquire stack traces etc. (see the
Coro::Debug module for more details). The coderef MUST NOT EVER transfer
to another state.

=item $state->eval ($string)

Like C, but eval's the string. Dangerous.

=item $state->swap_defsv

=item $state->swap_defav

Swap the current C<$_> (swap_defsv) or C<@_> (swap_defav) with the
equivalent in the saved state of C<$state>. This can be used to give the
coro a defined content for C<@_> and C<$_> before transfer'ing to it.

=item $state->swap_sv (\$sv, \$swap_sv)

This (very advanced) function can be used to make I variable local to
a thread.

It works by swapping the contents of C<$sv> and C<$swap_sv> each time the
thread is entered and left again, i.e. it is similar to:

   $tmp = $sv; $sv = $swap_sv; $swap_sv = $tmp;

Except that it doesn't make an copies and works on hashes and even more
exotic values (code references!).

When called on the current thread (i.e. from within the thread that will
receive the swap_sv), then this method acts as if it was called from
another thread, i.e. after adding the two SV's to the threads swap list
their values will be swapped.

Needless to say, this function can be very very dangerous: you can easily
swap a hash with a reference (i.e. C<%hash> I a reference), and perl
will not like this at all.

It will also swap "magicalness" - so when swapping a builtin perl variable
(such as C<$.>), it will lose it's magicalness, which, again, perl will
not like, so don't do it.

Lastly, the C<$swap_sv> itself will be used, not a copy, so make sure you
give each thread it's own C<$swap_sv> instance.

It is, however, quite safe to swap some normal variable with
another. For example, L stores the default database handle in
C<$PApp::SQL::DBH>. To make this a per-thread variable, use this:

   my $private_dbh = ...;
   $coro->swap_sv (\$PApp::SQL::DBH, \$private_dbh);

This results in C<$PApp::SQL::DBH> having the value of C<$private_dbh>
while it executes, and whatever other value it had when it doesn't
execute.

You can also swap hashes and other values:

   my %private_hash;
   $coro->swap_sv (\%some_hash, \%private_hash);

To undo an earlier C call you must call C with exactly
the same two variables in the same order (the references can be different,
it's the variables that they point to that count). For example, the
following sequence will remove the swap of C<$x> and C<$y>, while keeping
the swap of C<$x> and C<$z>:

   $coro->swap_sv (\$x, \$y);
   $coro->swap_sv (\$x, \$z);
   $coro->swap_sv (\$x, \$y);

=item $bytes = $state->rss

Returns the memory allocated by the coro (which includes static
structures, various perl stacks but NOT local variables, arguments or any
C context data). This is a rough indication of how much memory it might
use.

=item ($real, $cpu) = $state->times

Returns the real time and cpu times spent in the given C<$state>. See
C for more info.

=item $state->trace ($flags)

Internal function to control tracing. I just mention this so you can stay
away from abusing it.

=back

=head3 METHODS FOR C CONTEXTS

Most coros only consist of some Perl data structures - transferring to a
coro just reconfigures the interpreter to continue somewhere else.

However. this is not always possible: For example, when Perl calls a C/XS function
(such as an event loop), and C then invokes a Perl callback, reconfiguring
the interpreter is not enough. Coro::State detects these cases automatically, and
attaches a C-level thread to each such Coro::State object, for as long as necessary.

The C-level thread structure is called "C context" (or cctxt for short),
and can be quite big, which is why Coro::State only creates them as needed
and can run many Coro::State's on a single cctxt.

This is mostly transparent, so the following methods are rarely needed.

=over 4

=item $state->has_cctx

Returns whether the state currently uses a cctx/C context. An active
state always has a cctx, as well as the main program. Other states only
use a cctxts when needed.

=item Coro::State::force_cctx

Forces the allocation of a private cctxt for the currently executing
Coro::State even though it would not normally ned one. Apart from
benchmarking or testing Coro itself, there is little point in doing so,
however.

=item $ncctx = Coro::State::cctx_count

Returns the number of C contexts allocated. If this number is very high
(more than a dozen) it might be beneficial to identify points of C-level
recursion (Perl calls C/XS, which calls Perl again which switches coros
- this forces an allocation of a C context) in your code and moving this
into a separate coro.

=item $nidle = Coro::State::cctx_idle

Returns the number of allocated but idle (currently unused and free for
reuse) C contexts.

=item $old = Coro::State::cctx_max_idle [$new_count]

Coro caches C contexts that are not in use currently, as creating them
from scratch has some overhead.

This function returns the current maximum number of idle C contexts and
optionally sets the new amount. The count must be at least C<1>, with the
default being C<4>.

=item $old = Coro::State::cctx_stacksize [$new_stacksize]

Returns the current C stack size and optionally sets the new I
stack size to C<$new_stacksize> (in units of pointer sizes, i.e. typically
4 on 32 bit and 8 on 64 bit hosts). Existing stacks will not be changed,
but Coro will try to replace smaller stacks as soon as possible. Any
Coro::State that starts to use a stack after this call is guaranteed this
minimum stack size.

Please note that coros will only need to use a C-level stack if the
interpreter recurses or calls a function in a module that calls back into
the interpreter, so use of this feature is usually never needed.

=back

=head2 FUNCTIONS

=over 4

=item @states = Coro::State::list

Returns a list of all Coro::State objects currently allocated. This
includes all derived objects (such as L threads).

=item $was_enabled = Coro::State::enable_times [$enable]

Enables/disables/queries the current state of per-thread real and
cpu-time gathering.

When enabled, the real time and the cpu time (user + system time)
spent in each thread is accumulated. If disabled, then the accumulated
times will stay as they are (they start at 0).

Currently, cpu time is only measured on GNU/Linux systems, all other
systems only gather real time.

Enabling time profiling slows down thread switching by a factor of 2 to
10, depending on platform on hardware.

The times will be displayed when running C, and
can be queried by calling C<< $state->times >>.

=back

=head3 CLONING

=over 4

=item $clone = $state->clone

This exciting method takes a Coro::State object and clones it, i.e., it
creates a copy. This makes it possible to restore a state more than once,
and even return to states that have returned or have been terminated.

Since its only known purpose is for intellectual self-gratification, and
because it is a difficult piece of code, it is not enabled by default, and
not supported.

Here are a few little-known facts: First, coros *are* full/true/real
continuations. Secondly Coro::State objects (without clone) *are* first
class continuations. Thirdly, nobody has ever found a use for the full
power of call/cc that isn't better (faster, easier, more efficiently)
implemented differently, and nobody has yet found a useful control
construct that can't be implemented without it already, just much faster
and with fewer resources. And lastly, Scheme's call/cc doesn't support
using call/cc to implement threads.

Among the games you can play with this is implementing a scheme-like
call-with-current-continuation, as the following code does (well, with
small differences).

   # perl disassociates from local lexicals on frame exit,
   # so use a global variable for return values.
   my @ret;

   sub callcc($@) {
      my ($func, @arg) = @_;

      my $continuation = new Coro::State;
      $continuation->transfer (new Coro::State sub {
         my $escape = sub {
            @ret = @_;
            Coro::State->new->transfer ($continuation->clone);
         };
         $escape->($func->($escape, @arg));
      });

      my @ret_ = @ret; @ret = ();
      wantarray ? @ret_ : pop @ret_
   }

Which could be used to implement a loop like this:

   async {
      my $n;
      my $l = callcc sub { $_[0] };

      $n++;
      print "iteration $n\n";

      $l->($l) unless $n == 10;
   };

If you find this confusing, then you already understand the coolness of
call/cc: It can turn anything into spaghetti code real fast.

Besides, call/cc is much less useful in a Perl-like dynamic language (with
references, and its scoping rules) then in, say, scheme.

Now, the known limitations of C:

It probably only works on perl 5.10; it cannot clone a coro inside
the substition operator (but windows perl can't fork from there either)
and some other contexts, and C is the preferred mechanism to
signal errors. It cannot clone a state that has a c context attached
(implementing clone on the C level is too hard for me to even try),
which rules out calling call/cc from the main coro. It cannot
clone a context that hasn't even been started yet. It doesn't work with
C<-DDEBUGGING> (but what does). It probably also leaks, and sometimes
triggers a few assertions inside Coro. Most of these limitations *are*
fixable with some effort, but that's pointless just to make a point that
it could be done.

The current implementation could without doubt be optimised to be a
constant-time operation by doing lazy stack copying, if somebody were
insane enough to invest the time.

=cut

# used by Coro::Debug only atm.
sub debug_desc {
   $_[0]{desc}
}

# for very deep reasons, we must initialise $Coro::main here.

{
   package Coro;

   our $main;    # main coro
   our $current; # current coro

   $main = Coro::new Coro::;

   $main->{desc} = "[main::]";

   # maybe some other module used Coro::Specific before...
   $main->{_specific} = $current->{_specific}
      if $current;

   _set_current $main;
}

# we also make sure we have Coro::AnyEvent when AnyEvent is used,
# without loading or initialising AnyEvent
if (defined $AnyEvent::MODEL) {
   require Coro::AnyEvent;
} else {
   push @AnyEvent::post_detect, sub { require Coro::AnyEvent };
}

1;

=back

=head1 BUGS

This module is not thread-safe. You must only ever use this module from
the same thread (this requirement might be removed in the future).

=head1 SEE ALSO

L.

=head1 AUTHOR/SUPPORT/CONTACT

   Marc A. Lehmann
   http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/Coro.html

=cut