[META-SIG] Proposal for new SIG: Thread SIG

[Christopher Blizzard]

In message <199707201433.KAA13536@eric.CNRI.Reston.Va.US>, Guido van Rossum wri
tes:
:
:========================================================================
:Subject: Thread-SIG -- Mission Statement (DRAFT)
:
:The Thread SIG strives to improve the status of threading in Python.
:It has specific goals and deliverables.  The SIG will be shut down
:(after discussion) when these have been reached and produced,
:respectively.
:
:The (lofty) SIG goals are:
:
:  - The Python threading interface should be sufficiently powerful that
:  its users can concentrate on using threads rather than writing
:  threading tools.
:
:  - There should be sufficient documentation for the Python threading
:  interface.
:
:  - Python should support threading well on every platform where the
:  native OS has decent threading support; if possible, this support
:  should be automatic (e.g. automatically detected by the configure
:  script rather than specified as a command line option to it).  In
:  particular, good thread support should exist on Windows 95 and NT,
:  and on all Unix systems for which a vendor-supported pthread
:  implementation exists.
:
:  - There should be some kind of answer to the problems caused by
:  Python's central interpreter lock -- if not permanent removal of the
:  lock (which seems problematic without significant performance loss),
:  then at least some other way that makes it possible to run multiple
:  threads comfortably on a single-processor machine -- perhaps BEGIN/END
:  thread macros everwhere, perhaps a compile time switch to enable
:  something like Greg Stein's "free threading" patches, perhaps
:  something else.
:
:  - Some kind of threading that's suitable for multiprocessor
:  machines???
:
:The SIG deliverables will be determined by the SIG.  They will include
:at least:
:
:  - A "Threading in Python" document that describes HOWTOs, gotchas,
:  available packages/patches, etc.  This would address the continual
:  "how do I use threads in Python?" questions.
:
:  - A design for higher level threading functionality to be added to
:  standard Python (perhaps an extended thread module, perhaps some
:  additional Python modules, perhaps a new "pthread" module more closely
:  modelled after Posix threads, perhaps all three).
:

Are you talking about a generic Python threading API that is the same for
all underlying thread implimentations?

Overall this proposal looks like it's right on the money.  I hope this SIG
takes shape. :)

--Chris

:  - A documented implementation of the above design.
:
:  - Patches to standard Python that reduce the problems with the
:  interpreter lock, perhaps modelled after Greg Stein's patches.
:
:While the thread-sig exists, other thread related discussions are
:welcome, however these should not be confused with the SIG's goals.
:========================================================================
:
:
------------
Christopher Blizzard
AppliedTheory Communications, Inc. 
http://odin.appliedtheory.com/
blizzard@appliedtheory.com
------------

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