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Executor

Swift​

An executor is an abstract definition of an object responsible of executing a block of code.

// Swift
public protocol Executor {
    var name : String? { get }
    var executing : Bool { get }
    func submit(_ closure: @escaping (@escaping () -> Void) -> Void)
}

Note that the submit function exposes a closure/lambda that includes inside another closure/lambda. This nested block must be called once the execution finishes.

Usage​

// Swift
let executor : Executor = [...]
executor.submit { end in 
    // Do custom stuff and once finished call end
    end()
}

Kotlin​

A executor service creates and maintains a reusable pool of threads for executing submitted tasks.

Kotlin mj-core is using the concurrency package from Guava to suply the lack of Asynchronous calls from the Java Future with the Guava ListenableFuture, using ListeningExecutorService instead of a Java ExecutorService.

To provide an abstraction from Guava ListenableFuture and ListeningExecutorService types, we expose two kotlin typealias:

  • Executor --> ListeningExecutorService
  • Future --> ListenableFuture

More information:

Usage​

val executor: Executor = [...]

// Execute the callable in the executor and returns a Future<T>
executor.submit(Callable { ... })

// Execute a Runnable instance in the executor and returns void
executor.execute({ ... })

Default implementations​

  • DirectExecutor: executes the code on the calling thread synchronously.

Kotlin exclusive implementations​

  • AppExecutor: Single thread executor.
  • AppUiExecutor: Main thread executor.

Swift exclusive implementations​

  • MainDirectExecutor: executes the code in the main thread asynchrounously if called from a background thread or synchronously if called from the main thread.
  • DispatchQueue: the standard swift type has been extended to conform to Executor.
  • DispatchQueueExecutor: custom class that implements an Executor using a DispatchQueue.
  • OperationQueue: the standard swift type has been extended to conform to Executor.
  • OperationQueueExecutor: custom class that implements an Executor using an OperationQueue.

Swift Future extension​

Executor is extended in Swift for a better integration with Future:

// Swift
extension Executor {
    public func submit<T>(_ closure: @escaping (FutureResolver<T>) throws -> Void) -> Future<T>
    public func submit(_ closure: @escaping () throws -> Void) -> Future<Void>
}

New submit functions has been implemented in order to monitor and end the executor's execution upon future resolving.

For example:

// Swift
let future : Future<Item> = executor.submit { resolver in 
    customStuffSyncOrAsync { item in 
        resolver.set(value)
    }
}

future.then { item in
    // Do stuff, like update UI.
    // Note that by default, then block is called using a MainDirectExecutor, ensuring this code is run in the main thread.
}

Nesting Executors​

Executors can be netsed (an block using an executor being called in another executor). However, it might lead to deadlocks if not handled correctly.

val executor: Executor = AppExecutor()
executor.submit({ 
    executor.submit({ })
})

This example above is nesting two executor calls, where the executor is based on a serial queue / single thread. This means that when the second call to submit happens, the queue will block further code execution waiting for the first call to submit ends, which won't happen as the code is now stopped.

To solve this, there are two options:

  1. When nesting executor calls, use the DirectExecutor on all nested executor references. The DirectExecutor will execute the code in the same thread/queue, not creating any deadlock.

  2. Use concurrent executors. However, be aware that when using concurrent executors, all code used within an executor must be thread-safe. To avoid threading issues, it is always a safer option to not use concurrent executors.