Cleanup the API of backgroundjobs to be more convenient to use.

Add support for automatic printing of all tracebacks.

The script at the bottom was removed, as a separate notebook will
illustrate use in a more convenient fashion.

IPython/lib/backgroundjobs.py

@@ -1,493 +1,464 b''
 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
 """Manage background (threaded) jobs conveniently from an interactive shell.
 
 This module provides a BackgroundJobManager class.  This is the main class
 meant for public usage, it implements an object which can create and manage
 new background jobs.
 
 It also provides the actual job classes managed by these BackgroundJobManager
 objects, see their docstrings below.
 
 
 This system was inspired by discussions with B. Granger and the
 BackgroundCommand class described in the book Python Scripting for
 Computational Science, by H. P. Langtangen:
 
 http://folk.uio.no/hpl/scripting
 
 (although ultimately no code from this text was used, as IPython's system is a
 separate implementation).
+
+An example notebook is provided in our documentation illustrating interactive
+use of the system.
 """
 
 #*****************************************************************************
 #       Copyright (C) 2005-2006 Fernando Perez <[e-mail]>
 #
 #  Distributed under the terms of the BSD License.  The full license is in
 #  the file COPYING, distributed as part of this software.
 #*****************************************************************************
 
 # Code begins
 import sys
 import threading
 
 from IPython.core.ultratb import AutoFormattedTB
 from IPython.utils.warn import warn, error
 
-class BackgroundJobManager:
+
+class BackgroundJobManager(object):
     """Class to manage a pool of backgrounded threaded jobs.
 
     Below, we assume that 'jobs' is a BackgroundJobManager instance.
     
     Usage summary (see the method docstrings for details):
 
       jobs.new(...) -> start a new job
       
       jobs() or jobs.status() -> print status summary of all jobs
 
       jobs[N] -> returns job number N.
 
       foo = jobs[N].result -> assign to variable foo the result of job N
 
       jobs[N].traceback() -> print the traceback of dead job N
 
       jobs.remove(N) -> remove (finished) job N
 
-      jobs.flush_finished() -> remove all finished jobs
+      jobs.flush() -> remove all finished jobs
       
     As a convenience feature, BackgroundJobManager instances provide the
     utility result and traceback methods which retrieve the corresponding
     information from the jobs list:
 
       jobs.result(N) <--> jobs[N].result
       jobs.traceback(N) <--> jobs[N].traceback()
 
     While this appears minor, it allows you to use tab completion
     interactively on the job manager instance.
-
-    In interactive mode, IPython provides the magic fuction %bg for quick
-    creation of backgrounded expression-based jobs. Type bg? for details."""
+    """
 
     def __init__(self):
         # Lists for job management
-        self.jobs_run  = []
-        self.jobs_comp = []
-        self.jobs_dead = []
+        self.running  = []
+        self.completed = []
+        self.dead = []
         # A dict of all jobs, so users can easily access any of them
-        self.jobs_all = {}
+        self.all = {}
         # For reporting
         self._comp_report = []
         self._dead_report = []
         # Store status codes locally for fast lookups
         self._s_created   = BackgroundJobBase.stat_created_c
         self._s_running   = BackgroundJobBase.stat_running_c
         self._s_completed = BackgroundJobBase.stat_completed_c
         self._s_dead      = BackgroundJobBase.stat_dead_c
 
     def new(self,func_or_exp,*args,**kwargs):
         """Add a new background job and start it in a separate thread.
 
         There are two types of jobs which can be created:
 
         1. Jobs based on expressions which can be passed to an eval() call.
         The expression must be given as a string.  For example:
 
           job_manager.new('myfunc(x,y,z=1)'[,glob[,loc]])
 
         The given expression is passed to eval(), along with the optional
         global/local dicts provided.  If no dicts are given, they are
         extracted automatically from the caller's frame.
         
         A Python statement is NOT a valid eval() expression.  Basically, you
         can only use as an eval() argument something which can go on the right
         of an '=' sign and be assigned to a variable.
 
         For example,"print 'hello'" is not valid, but '2+3' is.
 
         2. Jobs given a function object, optionally passing additional
         positional arguments:
 
           job_manager.new(myfunc,x,y)
 
         The function is called with the given arguments.
 
         If you need to pass keyword arguments to your function, you must
         supply them as a dict named kw:
 
           job_manager.new(myfunc,x,y,kw=dict(z=1))
 
         The reason for this assymmetry is that the new() method needs to
         maintain access to its own keywords, and this prevents name collisions
         between arguments to new() and arguments to your own functions.
 
         In both cases, the result is stored in the job.result field of the
         background job object.
 
 
         Notes and caveats:
 
         1. All threads running share the same standard output.  Thus, if your
         background jobs generate output, it will come out on top of whatever
         you are currently writing.  For this reason, background jobs are best
         used with silent functions which simply return their output.
 
         2. Threads also all work within the same global namespace, and this
         system does not lock interactive variables.  So if you send job to the
         background which operates on a mutable object for a long time, and
         start modifying that same mutable object interactively (or in another
         backgrounded job), all sorts of bizarre behaviour will occur.
 
         3. If a background job is spending a lot of time inside a C extension
         module which does not release the Python Global Interpreter Lock
         (GIL), this will block the IPython prompt.  This is simply because the
         Python interpreter can only switch between threads at Python
         bytecodes.  While the execution is inside C code, the interpreter must
         simply wait unless the extension module releases the GIL.
 
         4. There is no way, due to limitations in the Python threads library,
         to kill a thread once it has started."""
         
         if callable(func_or_exp):
             kw  = kwargs.get('kw',{})
             job = BackgroundJobFunc(func_or_exp,*args,**kw)
-        elif isinstance(func_or_exp,basestring):
+        elif isinstance(func_or_exp, basestring):
             if not args:
                 frame = sys._getframe(1)
                 glob, loc = frame.f_globals, frame.f_locals
             elif len(args)==1:
                 glob = loc = args[0]
             elif len(args)==2:
                 glob,loc = args
             else:
-                raise ValueError,\
-                      'Expression jobs take at most 2 args (globals,locals)'
-            job = BackgroundJobExpr(func_or_exp,glob,loc)
-        else:
-            raise
-        jkeys = self.jobs_all.keys()
-        if jkeys:
-            job.num = max(jkeys)+1
+                raise ValueError(
+                      'Expression jobs take at most 2 args (globals,locals)')
+            job = BackgroundJobExpr(func_or_exp, glob, loc)
         else:
-            job.num = 0
-        self.jobs_run.append(job)
-        self.jobs_all[job.num] = job
+            raise TypeError('invalid args for new job')
+        
+        job.num = len(self.all)+1 if self.all else 0
+        self.running.append(job)
+        self.all[job.num] = job
         print 'Starting job # %s in a separate thread.' % job.num
         job.start()
         return job
 
-    def __getitem__(self,key):
-        return self.jobs_all[key]
+    def __getitem__(self, job_key):
+        num = job_key if isinstance(job_key, int) else job_key.num
+        return self.all[num]
 
     def __call__(self):
         """An alias to self.status(),
 
         This allows you to simply call a job manager instance much like the
-        Unix jobs shell command."""
+        Unix `jobs` shell command."""
 
         return self.status()
 
     def _update_status(self):
         """Update the status of the job lists.
 
         This method moves finished jobs to one of two lists:
-          - self.jobs_comp: jobs which completed successfully
-          - self.jobs_dead: jobs which finished but died.
+          - self.completed: jobs which completed successfully
+          - self.dead: jobs which finished but died.
 
         It also copies those jobs to corresponding _report lists.  These lists
         are used to report jobs completed/dead since the last update, and are
         then cleared by the reporting function after each call."""
         
         run,comp,dead = self._s_running,self._s_completed,self._s_dead
-        jobs_run = self.jobs_run
-        for num in range(len(jobs_run)):
-            job  = jobs_run[num]
+        running = self.running
+        for num in range(len(running)):
+            job  = running[num]
             stat = job.stat_code
             if stat == run:
                 continue
             elif stat == comp:
-                self.jobs_comp.append(job)
+                self.completed.append(job)
                 self._comp_report.append(job)
-                jobs_run[num] = False
+                running[num] = False
             elif stat == dead:
-                self.jobs_dead.append(job)
+                self.dead.append(job)
                 self._dead_report.append(job)
-                jobs_run[num] = False
-        self.jobs_run = filter(None,self.jobs_run)
+                running[num] = False
+        self.running = filter(None,self.running)
 
     def _group_report(self,group,name):
         """Report summary for a given job group.
 
         Return True if the group had any elements."""
 
         if group:
             print '%s jobs:' % name
             for job in group:
                 print '%s : %s' % (job.num,job)
             print
             return True
 
     def _group_flush(self,group,name):
         """Flush a given job group
 
         Return True if the group had any elements."""
 
         njobs = len(group)
         if njobs:
             plural = {1:''}.setdefault(njobs,'s')
             print 'Flushing %s %s job%s.' % (njobs,name,plural)
             group[:] = []
             return True
         
     def _status_new(self):
         """Print the status of newly finished jobs.
 
         Return True if any new jobs are reported.
 
         This call resets its own state every time, so it only reports jobs
         which have finished since the last time it was called."""
 
         self._update_status()
-        new_comp = self._group_report(self._comp_report,'Completed')
+        new_comp = self._group_report(self._comp_report, 'Completed')
         new_dead = self._group_report(self._dead_report,
                                       'Dead, call jobs.traceback() for details')
         self._comp_report[:] = []
         self._dead_report[:] = []
         return new_comp or new_dead
                 
     def status(self,verbose=0):
         """Print a status of all jobs currently being managed."""
 
         self._update_status()
-        self._group_report(self.jobs_run,'Running')
-        self._group_report(self.jobs_comp,'Completed')
-        self._group_report(self.jobs_dead,'Dead')
+        self._group_report(self.running,'Running')
+        self._group_report(self.completed,'Completed')
+        self._group_report(self.dead,'Dead')
         # Also flush the report queues
         self._comp_report[:] = []
         self._dead_report[:] = []
 
     def remove(self,num):
         """Remove a finished (completed or dead) job."""
 
         try:
-            job = self.jobs_all[num]
+            job = self.all[num]
         except KeyError:
             error('Job #%s not found' % num)
         else:
             stat_code = job.stat_code
             if stat_code == self._s_running:
                 error('Job #%s is still running, it can not be removed.' % num)
                 return
             elif stat_code == self._s_completed:
-                self.jobs_comp.remove(job)
+                self.completed.remove(job)
             elif stat_code == self._s_dead:
-                self.jobs_dead.remove(job)
+                self.dead.remove(job)
 
-    def flush_finished(self):
-        """Flush all jobs finished (completed and dead) from lists.
+    def flush(self):
+        """Flush all finished jobs (completed and dead) from lists.
 
         Running jobs are never flushed.
 
         It first calls _status_new(), to update info. If any jobs have
         completed since the last _status_new() call, the flush operation
         aborts."""
 
         if self._status_new():
             error('New jobs completed since last '\
                   '_status_new(), aborting flush.')
             return
 
         # Remove the finished jobs from the master dict
-        jobs_all = self.jobs_all
-        for job in self.jobs_comp+self.jobs_dead:
-            del(jobs_all[job.num])
+        all = self.all
+        for job in self.completed+self.dead:
+            del(all[job.num])
 
         # Now flush these lists completely
-        fl_comp = self._group_flush(self.jobs_comp,'Completed')
-        fl_dead = self._group_flush(self.jobs_dead,'Dead')
+        fl_comp = self._group_flush(self.completed, 'Completed')
+        fl_dead = self._group_flush(self.dead, 'Dead')
         if not (fl_comp or fl_dead):
             print 'No jobs to flush.'
 
     def result(self,num):
         """result(N) -> return the result of job N."""
         try:
-            return self.jobs_all[num].result
+            return self.all[num].result
         except KeyError:
             error('Job #%s not found' % num)
 
-    def traceback(self,num):
+    def _traceback(self, job):
+        num = job if isinstance(job, int) else job.num
         try:
-            self.jobs_all[num].traceback()
+            self.all[num].traceback()
         except KeyError:
             error('Job #%s not found' % num)
 
+    def traceback(self, job=None):
+        if job is None:
+            self._update_status()
+            for deadjob in self.dead:
+                print "Traceback for: %r" % deadjob
+                self._traceback(deadjob)
+                print
+        else:
+            self._traceback(job)
+
 
 class BackgroundJobBase(threading.Thread):
     """Base class to build BackgroundJob classes.
 
     The derived classes must implement:
 
     - Their own __init__, since the one here raises NotImplementedError.  The
     derived constructor must call self._init() at the end, to provide common
     initialization.
 
     - A strform attribute used in calls to __str__.
 
     - A call() method, which will make the actual execution call and must
     return a value to be held in the 'result' field of the job object."""
 
     # Class constants for status, in string and as numerical codes (when
     # updating jobs lists, we don't want to do string comparisons).  This will
     # be done at every user prompt, so it has to be as fast as possible
     stat_created   = 'Created'; stat_created_c = 0
     stat_running   = 'Running'; stat_running_c = 1
     stat_completed = 'Completed'; stat_completed_c = 2
     stat_dead      = 'Dead (Exception), call jobs.traceback() for details'
     stat_dead_c = -1
 
     def __init__(self):
         raise NotImplementedError, \
               "This class can not be instantiated directly."
 
     def _init(self):
         """Common initialization for all BackgroundJob objects"""
         
         for attr in ['call','strform']:
             assert hasattr(self,attr), "Missing attribute <%s>" % attr
         
         # The num tag can be set by an external job manager
         self.num = None
       
         self.status    = BackgroundJobBase.stat_created
         self.stat_code = BackgroundJobBase.stat_created_c
         self.finished  = False
         self.result    = '<BackgroundJob has not completed>'
+        
         # reuse the ipython traceback handler if we can get to it, otherwise
         # make a new one
         try:
             make_tb = get_ipython().InteractiveTB.text
         except:
             make_tb = AutoFormattedTB(mode = 'Context',
                                       color_scheme='NoColor',
                                       tb_offset = 1).text
+        # Note that the actual API for text() requires the three args to be
+        # passed in, so we wrap it in a simple lambda.
         self._make_tb = lambda : make_tb(None, None, None)
+
         # Hold a formatted traceback if one is generated.
         self._tb = None
         
         threading.Thread.__init__(self)
 
     def __str__(self):
         return self.strform
 
     def __repr__(self):
-        return '<BackgroundJob: %s>' % self.strform
+        return '<BackgroundJob #%d: %s>' % (self.num, self.strform)
 
     def traceback(self):
         print self._tb
         
     def run(self):
         try:
             self.status    = BackgroundJobBase.stat_running
             self.stat_code = BackgroundJobBase.stat_running_c
             self.result    = self.call()
         except:
             self.status    = BackgroundJobBase.stat_dead
             self.stat_code = BackgroundJobBase.stat_dead_c
             self.finished  = None
             self.result    = ('<BackgroundJob died, call jobs.traceback() for details>')
             self._tb       = self._make_tb()
         else:
             self.status    = BackgroundJobBase.stat_completed
             self.stat_code = BackgroundJobBase.stat_completed_c
             self.finished  = True
 
+
 class BackgroundJobExpr(BackgroundJobBase):
     """Evaluate an expression as a background job (uses a separate thread)."""
 
-    def __init__(self,expression,glob=None,loc=None):
+    def __init__(self, expression, glob=None, loc=None):
         """Create a new job from a string which can be fed to eval().
 
         global/locals dicts can be provided, which will be passed to the eval
         call."""
 
         # fail immediately if the given expression can't be compiled
         self.code = compile(expression,'<BackgroundJob compilation>','eval')
                 
-        if glob is None:
-            glob = {}
-        if loc is None:
-            loc = {}
-            
+        glob = {} if glob is None else glob
+        loc = {} if loc is None else loc
         self.expression = self.strform = expression
         self.glob = glob
         self.loc = loc
         self._init()
         
     def call(self):
         return eval(self.code,self.glob,self.loc)
 
+
 class BackgroundJobFunc(BackgroundJobBase):
     """Run a function call as a background job (uses a separate thread)."""
 
-    def __init__(self,func,*args,**kwargs):
+    def __init__(self, func, *args, **kwargs):
         """Create a new job from a callable object.
 
         Any positional arguments and keyword args given to this constructor
         after the initial callable are passed directly to it."""
 
-        assert callable(func),'first argument must be callable'
-        
-        if args is None:
-            args = []
-        if kwargs is None:
-            kwargs = {}
+        if not callable(func):
+            raise TypeError(
+                'first argument to BackgroundJobFunc must be callable')
         
         self.func = func
         self.args = args
         self.kwargs = kwargs
         # The string form will only include the function passed, because
         # generating string representations of the arguments is a potentially
         # _very_ expensive operation (e.g. with large arrays).
         self.strform = str(func)
         self._init()
 
     def call(self):
-        return self.func(*self.args,**self.kwargs)
-
-
-if __name__=='__main__':
-
-    import sys
-    import time
-
-    def sleepfunc(interval=2,*a,**kw):
-        args = dict(interval=interval,
-                    args=a,
-                    kwargs=kw)
-        time.sleep(interval)
-        return args
-
-    def diefunc(interval=2,*a,**kw):
-        time.sleep(interval)
-        die
-
-    def printfunc(interval=1,reps=5):
-        for n in range(reps):
-            time.sleep(interval)
-            print 'In the background...', n
-            sys.stdout.flush()
-
-    jobs = BackgroundJobManager()
-    # first job will have # 0
-    jobs.new(sleepfunc,4)
-    jobs.new(sleepfunc,kw={'reps':2})
-    # This makes a job which will die
-    jobs.new(diefunc,1)
-    jobs.new('printfunc(1,3)')
-
-    # after a while, you can get the traceback of a dead job.  Run the line
-    # below again interactively until it prints a traceback (check the status
-    # of the job):
-    print jobs[1].status
-    jobs[1].traceback()
-    
-    # Run this line again until the printed result changes
-    print "The result of job #0 is:",jobs[0].result
+        return self.func(*self.args, **self.kwargs)