Friday, March 09, 2007

Stackless.com - About Stackless

Stackless.com - About Stackless: "An introduction for newcomers

Stackless Python is an enhanced version of the Python programming language. It allows programmers to reap the benefits of thread-based programming without the performance and complexity problems associated with conventional threads. The microthreads that Stackless adds to Python are a cheap and lightweight convenience which can if used properly, give the following benefits:

* Improved program structure.
* More readable code.
* Increased programmer productivity.

Features

For all the convenience gained through using Stackless, there is really only a minimal amount of functionality exposed through the stackless module. You can get more familiar with these aspects by reading the information provided in the following pages:

* Microthreads. Tasklets wrap functions allowing them to be launched as microthreads.
* Channels. Channels can be used for bidirectional communication between tasklets.
* Scheduling. A round robin scheduler is built in. It can be used to schedule tasklets either cooperatively or preemptively.
* Serialisation. Tasklets can be serialised to disk through pickling for later resumption of execution."