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User-level threads....... with threads. - Paul Turner - Google

Linux Plumbers Conference · 40.9K views · 2013-10-15 · 34:00

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Overview

Paul Turner of Google presents kernel interfaces for user-level scheduling of real threads, aiming at a uniform synchronous programming model across C++, Java, Go and Python. It introduces the switchto-style system calls behind Google's fibers.

On Hacker News

HN cites it as the key explanation of cooperative, user-scheduled kernel threads and the prior art behind later async and coroutine debates.

Recommended by 6 HN people across 6 months · HN mentions 2013–2024

Topics

Operating systems & kernelsLinux & open-source ecosystems
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linux kernelfibersschedulingconcurrencyswitchtogoogle

What people said

russell_h · 2013-12 · Strong recommendation

Paul Turner explained this really well at this year's Linux Plumbers Conference. The whole talk is fantastic, but the explanation of what pron is describing in particular (and how it could be improved) starts around 8:39: [VIDEO]

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m0zg · 2021-11 · Recommendation

Google needs to get off its ass and open source Fibers (not to be confused with Google Fiber). Fibers sparked plenty of joy in me back when I was at Google. It's just a more dignified way of doing things with threads, IMO. Here's the talk which, unfortunately, does not show the higher level APIs I'm talking about: [VIDEO] . If this were released today everyone would slap their foreheads and say "of course that's how it should be done". Google folks have already removed the obstacle in that direction by adding userspace switching to the kernel in recent kernel releases. Just go all the way now, and release the kraken. Last update I've seen on this is this article from June of this year: [LINK] Imagine how excruciating it must have been to all the Google people on the C++ Standard committee to work on this stuff that comes nowhere close to what they've been using internally for years, and not be able to talk about it in any kind of detail.

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lomnakkus · 2018-03 · Recommendation

Allow me to third that. It's one of dangers assuming that what you learned at university 15-20 years ago still applies. Another interesting talk: [0] (and even that is 5 years old) [0] [VIDEO]

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