ttrace(n) 2.6 "Tcl Threading"
ttrace - Trace-based interpreter initialization
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SYNOPSIS
DESCRIPTION
USER COMMANDS
CALLBACK COMMANDS
DISCUSSION
SEE ALSO
KEYWORDS
package require Tcl 8.4
package require Thread ?2.6?
This package creates a framework for on-demand replication of the
interpreter state accross threads in an multithreading application.
It relies on the mechanics of Tcl command tracing and the Tcl
unknown command and mechanism.
The package requires Tcl threading extension but can be alternatively
used stand-alone within the AOLserver, a scalable webserver from
America Online.
In a nutshell, a short sample illustrating the usage of the ttrace
with the Tcl threading extension:
| |
% package require Ttrace
2.6.5
% set t1 [thread::create {package require Ttrace; thread::wait}]
tid0x1802800
% ttrace::eval {proc test args {return test-[thread::id]}}
% thread::send $t1 test
test-tid0x1802800
% set t2 [thread::create {package require Ttrace; thread::wait}]
tid0x1804000
% thread::send $t2 test
test-tid0x1804000
|
As seen from above, the ttrace::eval and ttrace::update
commands are used to create a thread-wide definition of a simple
Tcl procedure and replicate that definition to all, already existing
or later created, threads.
This section describes user-level commands. Those commands can be
used by script writers to control the execution of the tracing
framework.
- ttrace::eval arg ?arg ...?
-
This command concatenates given arguments and evaluates the resulting
Tcl command with trace framework enabled. If the command execution
was ok, it takes necessary steps to automatically propagate the
trace epoch change to all threads in the application.
For AOLserver, only newly created threads actually receive the
epoch change. For the Tcl threading extension, all threads created by
the extension are automatically updated. If the command execution
resulted in Tcl error, no state propagation takes place.
This is the most important user-level command of the package as
it wraps most of the commands described below. This greatly
simplifies things, because user need to learn just this (one)
command in order to effectively use the package. Other commands,
as desribed below, are included mostly for the sake of completeness.
- ttrace::enable
-
Activates all registered callbacks in the framework
and starts a new trace epoch. The trace epoch encapsulates all
changes done to the interpreter during the time traces are activated.
- ttrace::disable
-
Deactivates all registered callbacks in the framework
and closes the current trace epoch.
- ttrace::cleanup
-
Used to clean-up all on-demand loaded resources in the interpreter.
It effectively brings Tcl interpreter to its pristine state.
- ttrace::update ?epoch?
-
Used to refresh the state of the interpreter to match the optional
trace ?epoch?. If the optional ?epoch? is not given, it takes
the most recent trace epoch.
- ttrace::getscript
-
Returns a synthetized Tcl script which may be sourced in any interpreter.
This script sets the stage for the Tcl unknown command so it can
load traced resources from the in-memory database. Normally, this command
is automatically invoked by other higher-level commands like
ttrace::eval and ttrace::update.
A word upfront: the package already includes callbacks for tracing
following Tcl commands: proc, namespace, variable,
load, and rename. Additionaly, a set of callbacks for
tracing resources (object, clasess) for the XOTcl v1.3.8+, an
OO-extension to Tcl, is also provided.
This gives a solid base for solving most of the real-life needs and
serves as an example for people wanting to customize the package
to cover their specific needs.
Below, you can find commands for registering callbacks in the
framework and for writing callback scripts. These callbacks are
invoked by the framework in order to gather interpreter state
changes, build in-memory database, perform custom-cleanups and
various other tasks.
- ttrace::atenable cmd arglist body
-
Registers Tcl callback to be activated at ttrace::enable.
Registered callbacks are activated on FIFO basis. The callback
definition includes the name of the callback, cmd, a list
of callback arguments, arglist and the body of the
callback. Effectively, this actually resembles the call interface
of the standard Tcl proc command.
- ttrace::atdisable cmd arglist body
-
Registers Tcl callback to be activated at ttrace::disable.
Registered callbacks are activated on FIFO basis. The callback
definition includes the name of the callback, cmd, a list
of callback arguments, arglist and the body of the
callback. Effectively, this actually resembles the call interface
of the standard Tcl proc command.
- ttrace::addtrace cmd arglist body
-
Registers Tcl callback to be activated for tracing the Tcl
cmd command. The callback definition includes the name of
the Tcl command to trace, cmd, a list of callback arguments,
arglist and the body of the callback. Effectively,
this actually resembles the call interface of the standard Tcl
proc command.
- ttrace::addscript name body
-
Registers Tcl callback to be activated for building a Tcl
script to be passed to other interpreters. This script is
used to set the stage for the Tcl unknown command.
Registered callbacks are activated on FIFO basis.
The callback definition includes the name of the callback,
name and the body of the callback.
- ttrace::addresolver cmd arglist body
-
Registers Tcl callback to be activated by the overloaded Tcl
unknown command.
Registered callbacks are activated on FIFO basis.
This callback is used to resolve the resource and load the
resource in the current interpreter.
- ttrace::addcleanup body
-
Registers Tcl callback to be activated by the trace::cleanup.
Registered callbacks are activated on FIFO basis.
- ttrace::addentry cmd var val
-
Adds one entry to the named in-memory database.
- ttrace::getentry cmd var
-
Returns the value of the entry from the named in-memory database.
- ttrace::getentries cmd ?pattern?
-
Returns names of all entries from the named in-memory database.
- ttrace::delentry cmd
-
Deletes an entry from the named in-memory database.
- ttrace::preload cmd
-
Registers the Tcl command to be loaded in the interpreter.
Commands registered this way will always be the part of
the interpreter and not be on-demand loaded by the Tcl
unknown command.
Common introspective state-replication approaches use a custom Tcl
script to introspect the running interpreter and synthesize another
Tcl script to replicate this state in some other interpreter.
This package, on the contrary, uses Tcl command traces. Command
traces are registered on selected Tcl commands, like proc,
namespace, load and other standard (and/or user-defined)
Tcl commands. When activated, those traces build an in-memory
database of created resources. This database is used as a resource
repository for the (overloaded) Tcl unknown command which
creates the requested resource in the interpreter on demand.
This way, users can update just one interpreter (master) in one
thread and replicate that interpreter state (or part of it) to other
threads/interpreters in the process.
Immediate benefit of such approach is the much smaller memory footprint
of the application and much faster thread creation. By not actually
loading all necessary procedures (and other resources) in every thread
at the thread initialization time, but by deffering this to the time the
resource is actually referenced, significant improvements in both
memory consumption and thread initialization time can be achieved. Some
tests have shown that memory footprint of an multithreading Tcl application
went down more than three times and thread startup time was reduced for
about 50 times. Note that your mileage may vary.
Other benefits include much finer control about what (and when) gets
replicated from the master to other Tcl thread/interpreters.
thread, tpool, tsv
command tracing, introspection