[Python-Dev] test_threaded_import hanging on MacOS and Irix

[Tim Peters]

[Jack Jansen]
> test_threaded_import occasionally hangs in MacPython from the current
> CVS tree (about 30% of the time) and I was going to look into this
> shortly, assuming it to be a Mac-specific error.

How do you run it?
    Via
        regrtest in a clump
        regrtest by itself
        directly
    debug or release build?
    with or without purging all .pyc files first?
    with or without -v?

Does varying any of the above change the symptoms?

Does it do anything *other* than hang (for example, display any msg(s) to
the screen)?

> But today suddenly it also hung on my Irix 6.5 Python, also
> uninterruptible with control-C.

Nothing is interesting on Irix unless you compile Python without
optimization there first (virtually every bug ever reported on SGI boxes has
been cured by turning optimization off).

> Is anyone else seeing this?

Not me.

> Could this be a race that is machine-independent?

More like a race that's machine-dependent, yes?  Since the point of the
import lock is to avoid races, of course it's just as likely to cause them
as to cure them <wink>.

> I do happen to know that the SGI is rather aggressive with thread
> switching, and so is my MacPython pthread implementation...

Ditto Windows, and no problem there.