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Date: Fri, 12 Feb 2021 15:40:15 -0600
References: <E4BE4688-3CD1-4CE8-A818-5A862F0293F5@trowski.com>
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Subject: Re: [PHP-DEV] [RFC] Fibers
From: aaron@trowski.com (Aaron Piotrowski)


> On Dec 17, 2020, at 10:30 AM, Aaron Piotrowski <aaron@trowski.com> =
wrote:
>=20
> Hello everyone!
>=20
> I would like to introduce an RFC for adding full-stack fibers to PHP: =
https://wiki.php.net/rfc/fibers
>=20
> Fibers are primarily used to implement green-threads or coroutines for =
asynchronous I/O. Fibers are similar to threads, except fibers exist =
within a single thread and require cooperative scheduling of the fibers =
by the process. Since fibers do not require a full CPU context switch, =
they are lightweight and more performant than multi-processing or =
threading for awaiting I/O.
>=20
> An implementation as an extension is at =
https://github.com/amphp/ext-fiber
>=20
> Fibers are a complex feature. The RFC contains many examples and links =
to code using fibers to help explain and demonstrate what is possible, =
however I=E2=80=99m certain many more questions and concerns will arise. =
Looking forward to feedback and discussion.
>=20
> Aaron Piotrowski
> --
> PHP Internals - PHP Runtime Development Mailing List
> To unsubscribe, visit: https://www.php.net/unsub.php
>=20

Hello again everyone!

Based upon feedback both on this list and elsewhere, I=E2=80=99ve =
decided to remove the FiberScheduler API from the fiber proposal.

The FiberScheduler API greatly increased the complexity of the =
implementation and the potential for edge cases that would need to be =
handled and maintained. The intent of including the FiberScheduler API =
as part of the proposed implementation was to require usage of fibers to =
be interoperable between various libraries. However, this was perhaps =
over-reaching, and the core should only provide the most fundamental =
tools for fibers.

The Fiber API proposed now resembles that of Ruby and other languages =
providing a fiber API. The revised RFC now proposes only a minimal API =
required for fibers =E2=80=93 no more, no less. I believe this minimal, =
simplified API should resolve any concerns raised about adding the fiber =
API to core.

I would like to open voting for this RFC around the beginning of March, =
so please review the minimal API and provide any feedback soon.

As before, amphp v3 (https://github.com/amphp/amp/tree/v3) and =
trowski/react-fiber (https://github.com/trowski/react-fiber) provide =
real-world examples of how fibers can be used in addition to the =
examples in the RFC.

Cheers!
Aaron Piotrowski=