Re: [Boost-users] Programming practices for asynchronous operations (asio, etc)

From: dizzy (dizzy_at_[hidden])
Date: 2008-08-10 12:37:26

Hello

On Saturday 09 August 2008 17:23:39 Zeljko Vrba wrote:
> Just out of curiosity, why are you rewriting thread-based code into
> event-based code?  It might be easier/cheaper to port[*] it instead
> to an OS that handles large number of threads better..

Main platform is Linux with secondary Windows platform. The problem 
right now is not OS threading support but rather the complexity of the 
program to handle timeouts and errors.

With an asynchronous aproach each async operation is also a point of 
failure or timeout. Thus the points of failure/timeout are basically 
handled through the normal flow of the code (the code already "breaks" 
flow and returns on each async operation, timeout is just an event 
like any). With a synchronous aproach timeout would have to be handled 
with exceptions or support breaking of flow and return (similar to the 
asynchronous operation).

Also the pure multithreaded aproach imposes locking and thread 
synchronization where usually there is none needed (since there is no 
need that certain parts be ran concurrently). This makes the code more 
error prone and IMO more complex than it needs to be.

I supose a compromise solution that combines both threading and 
asynchronous operation might be the best.

-- 
Dizzy