ttrace(n) ttrace(n)
NAME
ttrace - Trace-based interpreter initialization
SYNOPSIS
package require Tcl 8.3
package require Thread ??2.6??
ttrace::::eval arg ?arg ...?
ttrace::::enable
ttrace::::disable
ttrace::::cleanup
ttrace::::update ?epoch?
ttrace::::getscript
ttrace::::atenable cmd arglist body
ttrace::::atdisable cmd arglist body
ttrace::::addtrace cmd arglist body
ttrace::::addscript name body
ttrace::::addresolver cmd arglist body
ttrace::::addcleanup body
ttrace::::addentry cmd var val
ttrace::::getentry cmd var
ttrace::::getentries cmd ?pattern?
ttrace::::delentry cmd
ttrace::::preload cmd
DESCRIPTION
This package creates a framework for on-demand replication of the
interpreter state accross threads in an multithreading application. It
relies on the mechanics of the Tcl unknown command mechanism.
The package requires Tcl threading extension but can be alternatively
used stand-alone within the AOLserver, a scalable webserver from Amer-
ica Online.
USER COMANDS
This section describes user-level commands. Those commands can be used
by script writers to control the execution of the tracing framework.
ttrace::::eval arg ?arg ...?
This command concatenates given arguments and evaluates the
resulting Tcl command with trace framework enabled. If the com-
mand execution was ok, it takes necessary steps to automatically
propagate the trace epoch change to all threads in the applica-
tion. For AOLserver, only newly created threads actually
receive the epoch change. For the Tcl threading extension, all
threads created by the extension are automatically updated. If
the command execution resulted in Tcl error, no state propaga-
tion takes place.
This is the most important user-level command of the package as
it wraps most of the commands described below. This greatly sim-
plifies things, because user need to learn just this (one) com-
mand in order to effectively use the package. Other commands, as
desribed below, are included mostly for the sake of complete-
ness.
ttrace::::enable
Activates all registered callbacks in the framework and starts a
new trace epoch. The trace epoch encapsulates all changes done
to the interpreter during the time traces are activated.
ttrace::::disable
Deactivates all registered callbacks in the framework and closes
the current trace epoch.
ttrace::::cleanup
Used to clean-up all on-demand loaded resources in the inter-
preter. It effectively brings Tcl interpreter to its pristine
state.
ttrace::::update ?epoch?
Used to refresh the state of the interpreter to match the
optional trace ?epoch?. If the optional ?epoch? is not given, it
takes the most recent trace epoch.
ttrace::::getscript
Returns a synthesized Tcl script which may be sourced in any
interpreter. This script sets the stage for the Tcl unknown
command so it can load traced resources from the in-memory data-
base. Normally, this command is automatically invoked by other
higher-level commands like ttrace::::eval and ttrace::::update.
CALBACK COMANDS
A word upfront: the package already includes callbacks for tracing fol-
lowing Tcl commands: proc, namespace, variable, load, and rename. Addi-
tionaly, a set of callbacks for tracing resources (object, clasess) for
the XOTcl v1.1.0], an O-extension to Tcl, is also provided. This
gives a solid base for solving most of the real-life needs and serves
as an example for people wanting to customize the package to cover
their specific needs.
Below, you can find commands for registering callbacks in the framework
and for writing callback scripts. These callbacks are invoked by the
framework in order to gather interpreter state changes, build in-memory
database, perform custom-cleanups and various other tasks.
ttrace::::atenable cmd arglist body
Registers Tcl callback to be activated at ttrace::::enable. Reg-
istered callbacks are activated on FIFO basis. The callback def-
inition includes the name of the callback, cmd, a list of call-
back arguments, arglist and the body of the callback. Effec-
tively, this actually resembles the call interface of the stan-
dard Tcl proc command.
ttrace::::atdisable cmd arglist body
Registers Tcl callback to be activated at ttrace::::disable. Reg-
istered callbacks are activated on FIFO basis. The callback def-
inition includes the name of the callback, cmd, a list of call-
back arguments, arglist and the body of the callback. Effec-
tively, this actually resembles the call interface of the stan-
dard Tcl proc command.
ttrace::::addtrace cmd arglist body
Registers Tcl callback to be activated for tracing the Tcl cmd
command. The callback definition includes the name of the Tcl
command to trace, cmd, a list of callback arguments, arglist and
the body of the callback. Effectively, this actually resembles
the call interface of the standard Tcl proc command.
ttrace::::addscript name body
Registers Tcl callback to be activated for building a Tcl script
to be passed to other interpreters. This script is used to set
the stage for the Tcl unknown command. Registered callbacks are
activated on FIFO basis. The callback definition includes the
name of the callback, name and the body of the callback.
ttrace::::addresolver cmd arglist body
Registers Tcl callback to be activated by the overloaded Tcl
unknown command. Registered callbacks are activated on FIFO
basis. This callback is used to resolve the resource and load
the resource in the current interpreter.
ttrace::::addcleanup body
Registers Tcl callback to be activated by the trace::::cleanup.
Registered callbacks are activated on FIFO basis.
ttrace::::addentry cmd var val
Adds one entry to the named in-memory database.
ttrace::::getentry cmd var
Returns the value of the entry from the named in-memory data-
base.
ttrace::::getentries cmd ?pattern?
Returns names of all entries from the named in-memory database.
ttrace::::delentry cmd
Deletes an entry from the named in-memory database.
ttrace::::preload cmd
Registers the Tcl command to be loaded in the interpreter. Com-
mands registered this way will always be the part of the inter-
preter and not be on-demand loaded by the Tcl unknown command.
DISCUSION
Common introspective state-replication approaches use a custom Tcl
script to introspect the running interpreter and synthesize another Tcl
script to replicate this state in some other interpreter. This pack-
age, on the contrary, uses Tcl command traces. Command traces are reg-
istered on selected Tcl commands, like proc, namespace, load and other
standard (and/or user-defined) Tcl commands. When activated, those
traces build an in-memory database of created resources. This database
is used as a resource repository for the (overloaded) Tcl unknown com-
mand which creates the requested resource in the interpreter on demand.
This way, users can update just one interpreter (master) in one thread
and replicate that interpreter state (or part of it) to other
threads/interpreters in the process.
Immediate benefit of such approach is the much smaller memory footprint
of the application and much faster thread creation. By not actually
loading all necessary procedures (and other resources) in every thread
at the thread initialization time, but by deffering this to the time
the resource is actually referenced, significant improvements in both
memory consumption and thread initialization time can be achieved. Some
tests have shown that memory footprint of an multithreading Tcl appli-
cation went down more than three times and thread startup time was
reduced for about 50 times. Note that your mileage may vary. Other
benefits include much finer control about what (and when) gets repli-
cated from the master to other Tcl thread/interpreters.
SEE ALSO
thread, tpool, tsv
KEYWORDS
command tracing, introspection
Tcl Threading 2.6 ttrace(n)
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