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[perl5.git] / ext / threads / shared / shared.pm

package threads::shared;

use 5.008;
use strict;
use warnings;
BEGIN {
    require Exporter;
    our @ISA = qw(Exporter);
    our @EXPORT = qw(share cond_wait cond_broadcast cond_signal);
    our $VERSION = '0.91';

    if ($threads::threads) {
	*cond_wait = \&cond_wait_enabled;
	*cond_signal = \&cond_signal_enabled;
	*cond_broadcast = \&cond_broadcast_enabled;
	require XSLoader;
	XSLoader::load('threads::shared',$VERSION);
	push @EXPORT,'bless';
    }
    else {

# String eval is generally evil, but we don't want these subs to exist at all
# if threads are loaded successfully.  Vivifying them conditionally this way
# saves on average about 4K of memory per thread.

        eval <<'EOD';
sub cond_wait      (\[$@%]) { undef }
sub cond_signal    (\[$@%]) { undef }
sub cond_broadcast (\[$@%]) { undef }
sub share          (\[$@%]) { return $_[0] }
EOD
    }
}

$threads::shared::threads_shared = 1;

sub threads::shared::tie::SPLICE
{
 die "Splice not implemented for shared arrays";
}

__END__

=head1 NAME

threads::shared - Perl extension for sharing data structures between threads

=head1 SYNOPSIS

  use threads;
  use threads::shared;

  my $var : shared;

  my($scalar, @array, %hash);
  share($scalar);
  share(@array);
  share(%hash);
  my $bar = &share([]);
  $hash{bar} = &share({});

  { lock(%hash); ...  }

  cond_wait($scalar);
  cond_broadcast(@array);
  cond_signal(%hash);

=head1 DESCRIPTION

By default, variables are private to each thread, and each newly created
thread gets a private copy of each existing variable.  This module allows
you to share variables across different threads (and pseudoforks on Win32).
It is used together with the threads module.

=head1 EXPORT

C<share>, C<cond_wait>, C<cond_signal>, C<cond_broadcast>

Note that if this module is imported when C<threads> has not yet been
loaded, then these functions all become no-ops. This makes it possible
to write modules that will work in both threaded and non-threaded
environments.

=head1 FUNCTIONS

=over 4

=item share VARIABLE

C<share> takes a value and marks it as shared. You can share a scalar,
array, hash, scalar ref, array ref or hash ref.  C<share> will return
the shared rvalue but always as a reference.

C<share> will traverse up references exactly I<one> level.
C<share(\$a)> is equivalent to C<share($a)>, while C<share(\\$a)> is not.

A variable can also be marked as shared at compile time by using the
C<shared> attribute: C<my $var : shared>.

If you want to share a newly created reference unfortunately you
need to use C<&share([])> and C<&share({})> syntax due to problems
with Perl's prototyping.

=item lock VARIABLE

C<lock> places a lock on a variable until the lock goes out of scope.
If the variable is locked by another thread, the C<lock> call will
block until it's available. C<lock> is recursive, so multiple calls
to C<lock> are safe -- the variable will remain locked until the
outermost lock on the variable goes out of scope.

If a container object, such as a hash or array, is locked, all the
elements of that container are not locked. For example, if a thread
does a C<lock @a>, any other thread doing a C<lock($a[12])> won't block.

C<lock> will traverse up references exactly I<one> level.
C<lock(\$a)> is equivalent to C<lock($a)>, while C<lock(\\$a)> is not.

Note that you cannot explicitly unlock a variable; you can only wait
for the lock to go out of scope. If you need more fine-grained
control, see L<Thread::Semaphore>.

=item cond_wait VARIABLE

The C<cond_wait> function takes a B<locked> variable as a parameter,
unlocks the variable, and blocks until another thread does a
C<cond_signal> or C<cond_broadcast> for that same locked variable.
The variable that C<cond_wait> blocked on is relocked after the
C<cond_wait> is satisfied.  If there are multiple threads
C<cond_wait>ing on the same variable, all but one will reblock waiting
to reacquire the lock on the variable. (So if you're only using
C<cond_wait> for synchronisation, give up the lock as soon as
possible). The two actions of unlocking the variable and entering the
blocked wait state are atomic, The two actions of exiting from the
blocked wait state and relocking the variable are not.

It is important to note that the variable can be notified even if
no thread C<cond_signal> or C<cond_broadcast> on the variable.
It is therefore important to check the value of the variable and
go back to waiting if the requirement is not fulfilled.

=item cond_signal VARIABLE

The C<cond_signal> function takes a B<locked> variable as a parameter
and unblocks one thread that's C<cond_wait>ing on that variable. If
more than one thread is blocked in a C<cond_wait> on that variable,
only one (and which one is indeterminate) will be unblocked.

If there are no threads blocked in a C<cond_wait> on the variable,
the signal is discarded. By always locking before signaling, you can
(with care), avoid signaling before another thread has entered cond_wait().

C<cond_signal> will normally generate a warning if you attempt to use it
on an unlocked variable. On the rare occasions where doing this may be
sensible, you can skip the warning with

    { no warnings 'threads'; cond_signal($foo) }

=item cond_broadcast VARIABLE

The C<cond_broadcast> function works similarly to C<cond_signal>.
C<cond_broadcast>, though, will unblock B<all> the threads that are
blocked in a C<cond_wait> on the locked variable, rather than only one.

=back

=head1 NOTES

threads::shared is designed to disable itself silently if threads are
not available. If you want access to threads, you must C<use threads>
before you C<use threads::shared>.  threads will emit a warning if you
use it after threads::shared.

=head1 BUGS

C<bless> is not supported on shared references. In the current version,
C<bless> will only bless the thread local reference and the blessing
will not propagate to the other threads. This is expected to be
implemented in a future version of Perl.

Does not support splice on arrays!

Taking references to the elements of shared arrays and hashes does not
autovivify the elements, and neither does slicing a shared array/hash
over non-existent indices/keys autovivify the elements.

share() allows you to C<< share $hashref->{key} >> without giving any error
message.  But the C<< $hashref->{key} >> is B<not> shared, causing the error
"locking can only be used on shared values" to occur when you attempt to
C<< lock $hasref->{key} >>.

=head1 AUTHOR

Arthur Bergman E<lt>arthur at contiller.seE<gt>

threads::shared is released under the same license as Perl

Documentation borrowed from the old Thread.pm

=head1 SEE ALSO

L<threads>, L<perlthrtut>, L<http://www.perl.com/pub/a/2002/06/11/threads.html>

=cut