Are min() and max() thread-safe?

[Carl Banks]

On Sep 17, 2:18 am, Hendrik van Rooyen <hend... at microcorp.co.za>
wrote:
> On Thursday 17 September 2009 06:33:05 Steven D'Aprano wrote:
>
> > I have two threads, one running min() and the other running max() over
> > the same list. I'm getting some mysterious results which I'm having
> > trouble debugging. Are min() and max() thread-safe, or am I doing
> > something fundamentally silly by having them walk over the same list
> > simultaneously?
>
> > My code is as follows. Is there anything obviously wrong with it?
>
> Apart from the plethora of indirection, nothing I can see.
>
> But there is something rotten.  Going more basic, look at this:
>
> hvr at Linuxbox:~/Junk> cat jjj.py
> import thread as th
> import time
>
> a = range(10000000)
>
> def worker(func,thing):
>         start_time = time.time()
>         print "start time is:",start_time
>         res = func(thing)
>         print res
>         end_time = time.time()
>         print "End at:",end_time,"That took:",end_time-start_time, 'seconds'
>
> t1 = th.start_new_thread(worker,(min,a))
> t2 = th.start_new_thread(worker,(max,a))
>
> while True:
>         time.sleep(1)
>
> hvr at Linuxbox:~/Junk> python -i jjj.py
> start time is: 1253176132.64
> 0
> End at: 1253176133.34 That took: 0.700681209564 seconds
> start time is: 1253176133.34
> 9999999
> End at: 1253176134.18 That took: 0.847566127777 seconds
> Traceback (most recent call last):
>   File "jjj.py", line 18, in <module>
>     time.sleep(1)
> KeyboardInterrupt
>
> No simultaneity.

When running min or max on a list of ints, there is probably no
occasion for the function to release the GIL.  If a thread doesn't
release the GIL no other Python threads can run.  This behavior may be
rotten, but it's totally expected.

Try adding "key=lambda x:x" to the function call (which adds an
occasion where the GIL might be released); you will see that it will
switch threads.


Carl Banks