Re: [MirageOS-devel] Irmin watch API

[Thomas Leonard <talex5@xxxxxxxxx>]

On 26 April 2015 at 18:53, Thomas Gazagnaire <thomas@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>> On 25 Apr 2015, at 10:46, Thomas Leonard <talex5@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>> On 24 April 2015 at 15:47, Thomas Gazagnaire <thomas@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>> I've just merged the new watch API into the master branch of Irmin and I've 
>>> updated the online docs.
>>>
>>> Feedback is welcome, the new functions are described on the related pull 
>>> request [1].
>>
>> Some more documentation would be useful. Currently, I see:
>>
>>  val watch_head: t -> ?init:head -> (head diff -> unit Lwt.t) ->
>>    (unit -> unit Lwt.t) Lwt.t
>>  (** [watch_tag t f] calls [f] every time the contents of [t]'s tag is
>>      updated. Do nothing if [t] is not persistent. Return a clean-up
>>      function to remove the watch handler.
>>
>
>> "Do nothing if [t] is not persistent"
> This bit can be improved actually...
>
>
>>      {b Note:} even [f] might skip some head updates, it will never
>>      be called concurrently: all consecutive calls to [f] are done in
>>      sequence, so we ensure that the previous one ended before
>>      calling the next one. *)
>>
>> What does the "init" argument do? Will the callback be called
>> immediately with the current value if it's not given? What's the
>> recommended race-free way to start watching a branch?
>
> The init argument initialise the initial value kept by the watcher. If set to 
> None, you'll have a `Added x` as first diff value, if not you'll have an 
> `Updated (x,y)` where `x` is your initial value and `y` the new head. So you 
> should first read the current head, then call watch_head with that head as 
> init.
>
>> Currently (with the old API) I do:
>>
>>      let watch_tags = I.watch_head (store "Watch branch") in
>>      I.head (store "Get latest commit") >>= ... initial head ...
>>      let head_id = ref (Some initial_head_id) in
>>      async (fun () ->
>>        watch_tags |> Lwt_stream.iter_s (function
>>          ...
>>          I.head (store "Get latest commit") >>= fun new_head_id ->
>>          if new_head_id <> !head_id then (
>>            head_id := new_head_id
>>          )
>>        )
>>      )
>>
>> Here, I'm assuming that any change made after I.watch_head returns
>> will result in the callback being called. If the head has changed by
>> the time the initial I.head thread returns then the callback might get
>> called unnecessarily, but that's OK.
>>
>> How should this be done with the new API? I'm guessing something like:
>>
>> 1. Read the current head into a ref.
>> 2. Call I.watch_head with a callback to update the ref.
>> 3. Read the current head again in case it updated between (1) and (2).
>
> Not sure why you need 3. I guess you need it if you want to be sure that the 
> head hasn't changed between the time the callback has been prepared (ie. to 
> fetch the current head) and then called by Irmin - but if it is the case, the 
> callback will be called again with the new head just after that. It is not 
> possible to protect the callback completely though, as you have an other 
> thread/process which can modify the store behind your back: in that case 
> Irmin will detect the change (more or less quickly) and call the callback 
> again with `Update (x,y)` where x is the previous head sent to the callback 
> and y the new store's head.

The situation I'm not sure about is:

1. I read the head (at c1).
2. (the head is updated to c2 by another tab)
3. I call I.watch_head to get notifications.

The change happened before I asked Irmin to watch the head, so I
assume it won't notify me (unless it always starts with a notification
even when there is no change, in which case this should be
documented).

> I'll improve the doc and give some examples though.
>
> Thomas

Thanks,


-- 
Dr Thomas Leonard        http://roscidus.com/blog/
GPG: DA98 25AE CAD0 8975 7CDA  BD8E 0713 3F96 CA74 D8BA

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