[boost] Forthcoming Boost.Fiber review

Subject: [boost] Forthcoming Boost.Fiber review
From: Nat Goodspeed (nat_at_[hidden])
Date: 2013-12-18 15:03:34

Hi all,

The review of Boost.Fiber by Oliver Kowalke is scheduled from Monday, January
6th to January 12th.

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About the library:

Boost.Fiber provides a framework for micro-/userland-threads (fibers)
scheduled cooperatively. The API contains classes and functions to manage
and synchronize fibers similar to Boost.Thread. Each fiber has its own
stack.

A fiber can save the current execution state, including all registers and
CPU flags, the instruction pointer, and the stack pointer and later restore
this state. The idea is to have multiple execution paths running on a
single thread using a sort of cooperative scheduling (versus threads, which
are preemptively scheduled). The running fiber decides explicitly when it
should yield to allow another fiber to run (context switching).
Boost.Fiberinternally uses coroutines from
Boost.Coroutine <http://ok73.funpic.de/boost/libs/coroutine/index.html>;
the classes in this library manage, schedule and, when needed, synchronize
those coroutines. A context switch between threads usually costs thousands
of CPU cycles on x86, compared to a fiber switch with a few hundred cycles.
A fiber can only run on a single thread at any point in time.

docs: http://ok73.funpic.de/boost/libs/fiber/doc/html/index.html
>
git:
https://github.com/olk/boost-fiber
src: http://ok73.ok.funpic.de/boost.fiber.zip
>

 ---------------------------------------------------

Naturally, you need not wait until the review formally opens to start
reviewing the Fiber library. Please always state in your review whether you
think the library should be accepted as a Boost library!

Additionally please consider giving feedback on the following general
topics:

- What is your evaluation of the design?
- What is your evaluation of the implementation?
- What is your evaluation of the documentation?
- What is your evaluation of the potential usefulness of the library?
- Did you try to use the library? With what compiler? Did you have any
problems?
- How much effort did you put into your evaluation? A glance? A quick
reading? In-depth study?
- Are you knowledgeable about the problem domain?
Nat Goodspeed
Boost.Fiber Review Manager
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