[PD] we want threads !!!!

[Miller Puckette]

Sure, but I can't have Pd crashing in concerts during my (2-year?) learning
curve...  I've had major trouble getting the current version stable, without
that additional piece of excitement.  So I'll continue to shy away from it
for now, although I do think I can get "soundfiler" using them as a next,
small step...

cheers
Miller

On Mon, Jun 24, 2002 at 02:28:48PM +0100, mark wrote:
> I've been using threads for years now in various languages (mainly Java
> (painless) 
> and C++ (slightly less so)). 
> 
> There is a serious learning curve on threads (some of my team still
> stuggle depsite 
> working on a very multithreaded application for a couple of years now)
> but I 
> would suggest that once you get over the curve threads are no more
> difficult or 
> unreliable than something like pointers. 
> 
> The comparision with pointers is a good one actually - remember when you
> first 
> started using them - all those mysterious GP faults, odd behaviour from
> reading 
> and writing the wrong bit of memory etc. You soon get to the point where
> that 
> kind of thing is rare - I think the same is true of threads once you get
> your 
> head around them they are just as straight forward. 
> 
> cheers 
> 
> mark 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Olaf Matthes [mailto:olaf.matthes at gmx.de] 
> Sent: 24 June 2002 12:40
> To: pd-list
> Subject: Re: [PD] we want threads !!!!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Miller Puckette schrieb:
> 
> > Yes, I'm scared to death of threads.  The readsf~/writesf~ objects do 
> > use them (there's no alternative) but my experience in general is that
> 
> > it's very hard to maintain threaded code if you want a high level of 
> > reliability (which I do in Pd)...
> 
> The threaded versions of my ogg vorbis streaming externals are largely
> based on the readsf~/writesf~ code. It took me some time to fix all the
> bugs in my code but after that the externals now work more reliable than
> the unthreaded ones.
> 
> There's also a (partly) threaded netsend available at
> http://www.akustische-kunst.de/puredata/winport.html for those who
> haven't noticed it. Maxlib's netdist uses multithreading as well...
> 
> Olaf
>