From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: main.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Luke Gorrie Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel Subject: What's the problem? (Was: Are there plans for a multi-threaded Emacs?) Date: 08 Dec 2003 19:25:35 +0100 Sender: emacs-devel-bounces+emacs-devel=quimby.gnus.org@gnu.org Message-ID: References: <87oevbes4h.fsf@emacswiki.org> <20031117040607.C6C5D79B72@server2.messagingengine.com> <87ekvpx18d.fsf@emptyhost.emptydomain.de> <4nad6cikxy.fsf@holmes.bwh.harvard.edu> <4nllpt3hr3.fsf@lockgroove.bwh.harvard.edu> <5bad69zd43.fsf@lister.roxen.com> <4noeuon378.fsf@lockgroove.bwh.harvard.edu> <4ny8tsgxy6.fsf@lockgroove.bwh.harvard.edu> <4nhe0ggv0u.fsf@lockgroove.bwh.harvard.edu> <4nk75bwjaf.fsf@lockgroove.bwh.harvard.edu> <4nsmjv8d32.fsf@collins.bwh.harvard.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: deer.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1070908732 11724 80.91.224.253 (8 Dec 2003 18:38:52 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 8 Dec 2003 18:38:52 +0000 (UTC) Original-X-From: emacs-devel-bounces+emacs-devel=quimby.gnus.org@gnu.org Mon Dec 08 19:38:32 2003 Return-path: Original-Received: from quimby.gnus.org ([80.91.224.244]) by deer.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 1ATQH9-0006yR-00 for ; Mon, 08 Dec 2003 19:38:31 +0100 Original-Received: from monty-python.gnu.org ([199.232.76.173]) by quimby.gnus.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 1ATQH9-0006ZZ-00 for ; Mon, 08 Dec 2003 19:38:31 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.24) id 1ATRAl-0001Hc-M5 for emacs-devel@quimby.gnus.org; Mon, 08 Dec 2003 14:35:59 -0500 Original-Received: from list by monty-python.gnu.org with tmda-scanned (Exim 4.24) id 1ATR9k-0000wb-86 for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Mon, 08 Dec 2003 14:34:56 -0500 Original-Received: from mail by monty-python.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.24) id 1ATR9C-0000lq-Um for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Mon, 08 Dec 2003 14:34:54 -0500 Original-Received: from [80.91.224.249] (helo=main.gmane.org) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.24) id 1ATR6r-0008Pk-L0 for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Mon, 08 Dec 2003 14:31:57 -0500 Original-Received: from root by main.gmane.org with local (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 1ATQ9P-0005ON-00 for ; Mon, 08 Dec 2003 19:30:31 +0100 X-Injected-Via-Gmane: http://gmane.org/ Original-To: emacs-devel@gnu.org Original-Received: from sea.gmane.org ([80.91.224.252]) by main.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 1ATQ4d-0005Le-00 for ; Mon, 08 Dec 2003 19:25:35 +0100 Original-Received: from news by sea.gmane.org with local (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 1ATQ4d-0002bw-00 for ; Mon, 08 Dec 2003 19:25:35 +0100 Original-Lines: 21 Original-X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org X-Sincerity: 14% (approx.) User-Agent: Gnus/5.09 (Gnus v5.9.0) Emacs/21.3.50 X-BeenThere: emacs-devel@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.2 Precedence: list List-Id: Emacs development discussions. List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: emacs-devel-bounces+emacs-devel=quimby.gnus.org@gnu.org Xref: main.gmane.org gmane.emacs.devel:18560 X-Report-Spam: http://spam.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.devel:18560 Ted Zlatanov writes: > I'm convinced, based on the many posts made, that the best way to > approach multithreading is slowly and incrementally. What's the biggest problem that threads are intended to solve? Is it that it's too hard or ugly to write concurrent programs in Elisp today? If so, what are some examples of bad cases that cause users pain and _really_ can't be rewritten neatly and with happy concurrency properties in plain old Elisp after some rethinking? (Sorry if I have missed definitive examples earlier in the thread!) People are writing concurrent programs in Elisp today. Most programs interacting with external processes and sockets do so without blocking Emacs. Can't we all just do the same? Cheers, Luke