The original implementation (see also #38) is designed so that Thread.new(a) makes a full copy of a in the newly created thread (unless mrb_type(a) == MRB_TT_DATA).
As a consequence, changes to a in any given thread are not visible to the other threads. This way, passing information between threads becomes a hard task.
Since I am still not sure about the reasons behind this choice, I have made an experimental branch in my own fork (pbosetti/mruby-thread) where the C macro MRB_THREAD_COPY_VALUES can be set to enable the original behavior (make copies) or leave undefined to switch to a "share the same instances" behavior.
The script examples/data.rb can be used to compare the two cases: when MRB_THREAD_COPY_VALUES is set, the changes to globals $data and $ary made in the subthread are not visible into the main thread. Conversely, if MRB_THREAD_COPY_VALUES, any change to instances passed to Thread::new() are visible to other threads.
The question is: can I make a PR for this?
Thanks,
Paolo
The original implementation (see also #38) is designed so that
Thread.new(a)makes a full copy ofain the newly created thread (unlessmrb_type(a) == MRB_TT_DATA).As a consequence, changes to
ain any given thread are not visible to the other threads. This way, passing information between threads becomes a hard task.Since I am still not sure about the reasons behind this choice, I have made an experimental branch in my own fork (pbosetti/mruby-thread) where the C macro
MRB_THREAD_COPY_VALUEScan be set to enable the original behavior (make copies) or leave undefined to switch to a "share the same instances" behavior.The script
examples/data.rbcan be used to compare the two cases: whenMRB_THREAD_COPY_VALUESis set, the changes to globals$dataand$arymade in the subthread are not visible into the main thread. Conversely, ifMRB_THREAD_COPY_VALUES, any change to instances passed toThread::new()are visible to other threads.The question is: can I make a PR for this?
Thanks,
Paolo