Re: [boost] Non-blocking I/O

From: Ed Brey (brey_at_[hidden])
Date: 2001-03-04 12:23:54

From: "Beman Dawes" <bdawes_at_[hidden]>
>  >Would a non-blocking I/O library addition be off topic in Boost, or
>  >wouldn't it?
>
> It certainly wouldn't be off topic for Boost.
>
> But I wonder if it would actually result in a performance improvement on
> most modern operating systems.

Performance (in the sense used in this thread) is only one application for
non-blocking I/O.  The other major application is managing program flow
control.  Just as a programmer uses non-blocking sockets to avoid to messing
with threads or having his application lock up while waiting for data,
non-blocking file I/O can be just as useful.  I can't tell you how many
times I've opened a file on a wide area network, only to have something go
wrong/slow, and cursed the application/OS designers for not using
non-blocking I/O, which would have allowed me to cancel or do something else
while I wait.