[Python-Dev] threadsafe patch for asynchat

Steve Holden steve at holdenweb.com
Wed Feb 8 08:33:28 CET 2006


Martin v. Löwis wrote:
> Tim Peters wrote:
> 
>>Bugs and "missing features" in asyncore.  For ZEO's purposes, if I had
>>designed it, I expect it would have used threads (without asyncore). 
>>However, bits of code still sitting around suggest that it was at
>>least the _intent_ at one time that ZEO be able to run without threads
>>at all.  That's certainly not possible now.
> 
> 
> What is the reason that people want to use threads when they can have
> poll/select-style message processing? Why does Zope require threads?
> IOW, why would anybody *want* a "threadsafe patch for asynchat"?
> 
In case the processing of events needed to block? If I'm processing web 
requests in an async* dispatch loop and a request needs the results of a 
(probably lengthy) database query in order to generate its output, how 
do I give the dispatcher control again to process the next asynchronous 
network event?

The usual answer is "process the request in a thread". That way the 
dispatcher can spring to life for each event as quickly as needed.

regards
  Steve
-- 
Steve Holden       +44 150 684 7255  +1 800 494 3119
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