Microthreads: wait( duration ) with minimal processor overhead, u

[Will Ware]

Randall Hopper (aa8vb at yahoo.com) wrote:
> In Python, are normal threads kernel threads, and "microthreads"
> user-space threads?  Is that the distinction?

That's right. Chris Tismer's Stackless Python allows you to grab an
instantaneous snapshot of the execution frame stack in the middle of
a computation. That is feasible because Python runs as bytecode on a
virtual machine, like compiled Java code.

Microthreads exploits that to permit switching between a bunch of
tasks all running at once. The overhead for a task is about 400 bytes.
You can run tens of thousands of microthreads simultaneously.

> (A python.org search turned up no useful information.)

Development is on-going, but you can get some useful information here:
http://world.std.com/~wware/uthread.html

-- 
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Resistance is futile. Capacitance is efficacious.
Will Ware	email:    wware @ world.std.com