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<title>Timer.5 - Synchronising handlers in multithreaded programs</title>
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<div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">
<a name="boost_asio.tutorial.tuttimer5"></a><a class="link" href="tuttimer5.html" title="Timer.5 - Synchronising handlers in multithreaded programs">Timer.5 - Synchronising
handlers in multithreaded programs</a>
</h3></div></div></div>
<p>
This tutorial demonstrates the use of the boost::asio::io_service::strand
class to synchronise callback handlers in a multithreaded program.
</p>
<p>
The previous four tutorials avoided the issue of handler synchronisation
by calling the <a class="link" href="../reference/io_context/run.html" title="io_context::run">io_service::run()</a>
function from one thread only. As you already know, the asio library provides
a guarantee that callback handlers will only be called from threads that
are currently calling <a class="link" href="../reference/io_context/run.html" title="io_context::run">io_service::run()</a>.
Consequently, calling <a class="link" href="../reference/io_context/run.html" title="io_context::run">io_service::run()</a>
from only one thread ensures that callback handlers cannot run concurrently.
</p>
<p>
The single threaded approach is usually the best place to start when developing
applications using asio. The downside is the limitations it places on programs,
particularly servers, including:
</p>
<div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; ">
<li class="listitem">
Poor responsiveness when handlers can take a long time to complete.
</li>
<li class="listitem">
An inability to scale on multiprocessor systems.
</li>
</ul></div>
<p>
If you find yourself running into these limitations, an alternative approach
is to have a pool of threads calling <a class="link" href="../reference/io_context/run.html" title="io_context::run">io_service::run()</a>.
However, as this allows handlers to execute concurrently, we need a method
of synchronisation when handlers might be accessing a shared, thread-unsafe
resource.
</p>
<pre class="programlisting">#include <iostream>
#include <boost/asio.hpp>
#include <boost/thread/thread.hpp>
#include <boost/bind.hpp>
#include <boost/date_time/posix_time/posix_time.hpp>
</pre>
<p>
We start by defining a class called <code class="computeroutput">printer</code>, similar to the
class in the previous tutorial. This class will extend the previous tutorial
by running two timers in parallel.
</p>
<pre class="programlisting">class printer
{
public:
</pre>
<p>
In addition to initialising a pair of boost::asio::deadline_timer members,
the constructor initialises the <code class="computeroutput">strand_</code> member, an object of
type boost::asio::io_service::strand.
</p>
<p>
An boost::asio::io_service::strand is an executor that guarantees that, for
those handlers that are dispatched through it, an executing handler will
be allowed to complete before the next one is started. This is guaranteed
irrespective of the number of threads that are calling <a class="link" href="../reference/io_context/run.html" title="io_context::run">io_service::run()</a>.
Of course, the handlers may still execute concurrently with other handlers
that were not dispatched through an boost::asio::io_service::strand, or were
dispatched through a different boost::asio::io_service::strand object.
</p>
<pre class="programlisting"> printer(boost::asio::io_context& io)
: strand_(io),
timer1_(io, boost::posix_time::seconds(1)),
timer2_(io, boost::posix_time::seconds(1)),
count_(0)
{
</pre>
<p>
When initiating the asynchronous operations, each callback handler is "bound"
to an boost::asio::io_service::strand object. The boost::asio::io_service::strand::bind_executor()
function returns a new handler that automatically dispatches its contained
handler through the boost::asio::io_service::strand object. By binding the
handlers to the same boost::asio::io_service::strand, we are ensuring that
they cannot execute concurrently.
</p>
<pre class="programlisting"> timer1_.async_wait(boost::asio::bind_executor(strand_,
boost::bind(&printer::print1, this)));
timer2_.async_wait(boost::asio::bind_executor(strand_,
boost::bind(&printer::print2, this)));
}
~printer()
{
std::cout << "Final count is " << count_ << std::endl;
}
</pre>
<p>
In a multithreaded program, the handlers for asynchronous operations should
be synchronised if they access shared resources. In this tutorial, the shared
resources used by the handlers (<code class="computeroutput">print1</code> and <code class="computeroutput">print2</code>)
are <code class="computeroutput">std::cout</code> and the <code class="computeroutput">count_</code> data member.
</p>
<pre class="programlisting"> void print1()
{
if (count_ < 10)
{
std::cout << "Timer 1: " << count_ << std::endl;
++count_;
timer1_.expires_at(timer1_.expires_at() + boost::posix_time::seconds(1));
timer1_.async_wait(boost::asio::bind_executor(strand_,
boost::bind(&printer::print1, this)));
}
}
void print2()
{
if (count_ < 10)
{
std::cout << "Timer 2: " << count_ << std::endl;
++count_;
timer2_.expires_at(timer2_.expires_at() + boost::posix_time::seconds(1));
timer2_.async_wait(boost::asio::bind_executor(strand_,
boost::bind(&printer::print2, this)));
}
}
private:
boost::asio::io_context::strand strand_;
boost::asio::deadline_timer timer1_;
boost::asio::deadline_timer timer2_;
int count_;
};
</pre>
<p>
The <code class="computeroutput">main</code> function now causes <a class="link" href="../reference/io_context/run.html" title="io_context::run">io_service::run()</a>
to be called from two threads: the main thread and one additional thread.
This is accomplished using an boost::thread object.
</p>
<p>
Just as it would with a call from a single thread, concurrent calls to <a class="link" href="../reference/io_context/run.html" title="io_context::run">io_service::run()</a> will
continue to execute while there is "work" left to do. The background
thread will not exit until all asynchronous operations have completed.
</p>
<pre class="programlisting">int main()
{
boost::asio::io_context io;
printer p(io);
boost::thread t(boost::bind(&boost::asio::io_context::run, &io));
io.run();
t.join();
return 0;
}
</pre>
<p>
See the <a class="link" href="tuttimer5/src.html" title="Source listing for Timer.5">full source listing</a>
</p>
<p>
Return to the <a class="link" href="../tutorial.html" title="Tutorial">tutorial index</a>
</p>
<p>
Previous: <a class="link" href="tuttimer4.html" title="Timer.4 - Using a member function as a handler">Timer.4 - Using a
member function as a handler</a>
</p>
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<td align="right"><div class="copyright-footer">Copyright © 2003-2017 Christopher M. Kohlhoff<p>
Distributed under the Boost Software License, Version 1.0. (See accompanying
file LICENSE_1_0.txt or copy at <a href="http://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt" target="_top">http://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt</a>)
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