c-coroutine

A simple C coroutine library, with multithreading and more, the Go and C++20 style way.

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c-coroutine

windows & linux & macOSmacOSarmv7, aarch64, ppc64leriscv64 & s390x by ucontext .

c-coroutine is a cooperative multithreading library written in C89. Designed to be simple as possible in usage, but powerfully enough in execution, easily modifiable to any need. It incorporates most asynchronous patterns from various languages. They all the same behaviorally, just syntax layout differences.

This library was initially a rework/refactor and merge of libco with minicoro. These two differ among many coru, libdill, libmill, libwire, libcoro, libcsp, dyco-coroutine, in that Windows is supported, and not using ucontext. That was until I came across libtask, where the design is the underpinning of GoLang, and made it Windows compatible in an fork symplely/libtask. Libtask has it’s channel design origins from Richard Beton’s libcsp

This library currently represent a fully C implementation of GoLang Go routine.

To be clear, this is a programming paradigm on structuring your code. Which can be implemented in whatever language of choice. So this is also the C representation of my purely PHP coroutine library by way of yield. The same way Python usage evolved, see A Journey to Python Async.

“The role of the language, is to take care of the mechanics of the async pattern and provide a natural bridge to a language-specific implementation.” -Microsoft.

You can read Fibers, Oh My! for a breakdown on how the actual context switch here is achieved by assembly. This library incorporates libuv in a way that make providing callbacks unnecessary, same as in Using C++ Resumable Functions with Libuv. Libuv is handling any hardware or multi-threading CPU access. This not necessary for library usage, the setup can be replaced with some other Event Loop library, or just disabled. There is a unmaintained libasync package tried combining libco, with libuv too, Linux only.

Table of Contents

Introduction

What’s the issue with no standard coroutine implementation in C, where that other languages seem to solve, or the ones still trying to solve?

  1. Probably the main answer is C’s manual memory/resource management requirement, the source of memory leaks, many bugs, just about everything.
  2. The other, the self impose adherence to idioms.

Whereas, a few languages derive there origins by using C as the development staring point.

The solution is quite amazing. Use what’s already have been assembled, or to be assembled differently.

There is another benefic of using coroutines besides concurrency, async abilities, better ululation of resources.

This library take these concepts and attach them to memory allocation routines, where the created/running, or switched to coroutine is the owner. All internal functions that needs memory allocation is using these routines.

There will be at least one coroutine always present, the initial, required co_main(). When a coroutine finish execution either by returning or exceptions, memory is released/freed.

Note: This resources management system outlined above has been decoupled to external libraries and now brought in as dependencies. Where the above is just wrapper calls to: c-raii for complete Defer, plus C++ RAII behavior, with an custom malloc replacement rpmalloc, and emulated C11 Threads and thread Pool cthread.

The other problem with C is the low level usage view. I initially started out with the concept of creating Yet Another Programming language.

But after discovering Cello High Level C, realizing the general issues and need to still integrate with exiting C libraries. This repo is now the staging area for the missing C runtime, ZeLang. The documentation WIP, and source code hasn’t been updated to recent changes in this library.

This page, coroutine.h and examples folder files is the only current docs, but basic usage should be apparent. The coroutine execution part here is completed, but how it operates/behaves with other system resources is what still being developed and tested.

There are five simple ways to create coroutines:

  1. go(callable, *args); schedules and returns int coroutine id, needed by other internal functions, this is a shortcut to coroutine_create(callable, *args, CO_STACK_SIZE).
  2. co_await(callable, *args); returns your value inside a generic union value_t type, after coroutine fully completes.
    • This is a combine shortcut to four functions:
      1. wait_group(); returns hash-table storing coroutine-id’s of any future created,
      2. go(callable, *args); calls, will end with a call to,
      3. wait_for(hash-table); will suspend current coroutine, process coroutines until all are completed, returns hash-table of results for,
      4. wait_result(hash-table, coroutine-id); returns your value inside a generic union value_t type.
  3. launch(function, *args) creates coroutine and immediately execute, does not return any value.
  4. co_event(callable, *args) same as co_await() but for libuv or any event driven like library.
  5. co_handler(function, *handle, destructor) initial setup for coroutine background handling of http request/response, the destructor function is passed to co_defer()

    The coroutine stack size is set by defining CO_STACK_SIZE and CO_MAIN_STACK for co_main(),

The default for CO_STACK_SIZE is 10kb, and CO_MAIN_STACK is 11kb in cmake build script, but coroutine.h has 64kb for CO_MAIN_STACK.

Synopsis

/* Write this function instead of main, this library provides its own main, the scheduler,
which call this function as an coroutine! */
int co_main(int, char **);

/* Calls fn (with args as arguments) in separated thread, returning without waiting
for the execution of fn to complete. The value returned by fn can be accessed through
 the future object returned (by calling `co_async_get()`). */
C_API future *co_async(callable_t, void_t);

/* Returns the value of a promise, a future thread's shared object, If not ready this
function blocks the calling thread and waits until it is ready. */
C_API value_t co_async_get(future *);

/* Waits for the future thread's state to change. this function pauses current coroutine
and execute others until future is ready, thread execution has ended. */
C_API void co_async_wait(future *);

/* Creates/initialize the next series/collection of coroutine's created to be part of wait group,
same behavior of Go's waitGroups, but without passing struct or indicating when done.

All coroutines here behaves like regular functions, meaning they return values, and indicate
a terminated/finish status.

The initialization ends when `wait_for()` is called, as such current coroutine will pause, and
execution will begin for the group of coroutines, and wait for all to finished. */
C_API wait_group_t wait_group(void);

/* Pauses current coroutine, and begin execution for given coroutine wait group object, will
wait for all to finished. Returns hast table of results, accessible by coroutine id. */
C_API wait_result_t wait_for(wait_group_t);

/* Returns results of the given completed coroutine id, value in union value_t storage format. */
C_API value_t wait_result(wait_result_t, int);

/* Creates an unbuffered channel, similar to golang channels. */
C_API channel_t *channel(void);

/* Creates an buffered channel of given element count,
similar to golang channels. */
C_API channel_t *channel_buf(int);

/* Send data to the channel. */
C_API int chan_send(channel_t *, void_t);

/* Receive data from the channel. */
C_API value_t *chan_recv(channel_t *);

/* The `for_select {` macro sets up a coroutine to wait on multiple channel operations.
Must be closed out with `} select_end;`, and if no `select_case(channel)`, `select_case_if(channel)`,
`select_break` provided, an infinite loop is created.

This behaves same as GoLang `select {}` statement.
*/
for_select {
    select_case(channel) {
        chan_send(channel, void_t data);
        // Or
        value_t *r = chan_recv(channel);
    // Or
    } select_case_if(channel) {
        // chan_send(channel); || chan_recv(channel);

    /* The `select_default` is run if no other case is ready.
    Must also closed out with `select_break;`. */
    } select_default {
        // ...
    } select_break;
} select_end;

/* Creates an coroutine of given function with argument,
and add to schedular, same behavior as Go in golang. */
C_API int go(callable_t, void_t);

/* Creates an coroutine of given function with argument, and immediately execute. */
C_API void launch(co_call_t, void_t);

/* Explicitly give up the CPU for at least ms milliseconds.
Other tasks continue to run during this time. */
C_API unsigned int sleep_for(unsigned int ms);

/* Call `CO_MALLOC` to allocate memory of given size in current coroutine,
will auto free `LIFO` on function exit/return, do not free! */
C_API void_t co_new(size_t);

/* Call `CO_CALLOC` to allocate memory array of given count and size in current coroutine,
will auto free `LIFO` on function exit/return, do not free! */
C_API void_t co_new_by(int count, size_t size);

/* Defer execution `LIFO` of given function with argument,
to when current coroutine exits/returns. */
C_API void co_defer(func_t, void_t);

/* An macro that stops the ordinary flow of control and begins panicking,
throws an exception of given message. */
co_panic(message);

/* Same as `defer` but allows recover from an Error condition throw/panic,
you must call `co_catch` inside function to mark Error condition handled. */
C_API void co_recover(func_t, void_t);

/* Compare `err` to current error condition of coroutine, will mark exception handled, if `true`. */
C_API bool co_catch(string_t err);

/* Get current error condition string. */
C_API string_t co_message(void);

/* Generic simple union storage types. */
typedef union
{
    int integer;
    unsigned int u_int;
    signed long s_long;
    unsigned long u_long;
    long long long_long;
    size_t max_size;
    float point;
    double precision;
    bool boolean;
    signed short s_short;
    unsigned short u_short;
    signed char schar;
    unsigned char uchar;
    unsigned char *uchar_ptr;
    char *char_ptr;
    char **array;
    void_t object;
    callable_t func;
    const char str[512];
} value_t;

typedef struct values_s
{
    value_t value;
    value_types type;
} values_t;

/* Return an value in union type storage. */
C_API value_t co_value(void_t);

The above is the main and most likely functions to be used, see coroutine.h for additional.

Note: None of the functions above require passing/handling the underlying routine_t object/structure.

Usage

Original Go example from https://www.golinuxcloud.com/goroutines-golang/

GoLang C89 

package main

import (
   "fmt"
   "time"
)

func main() {
   fmt.Println("Start of main Goroutine")
   go greetings("John")
   go greetings("Mary")
   time.Sleep(time.Second * 10)
   fmt.Println("End of main Goroutine")

}

func greetings(name string) {
   for i := 0; i < 3; i++ {
       fmt.Println(i, "==>", name)
       time.Sleep(time.Millisecond)
  }
}


# include "coroutine.h"

void_t greetings(void_t arg)
{
    const char *name = c_const_char(arg);
    for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++)
    {
        printf("%d ==> %s\n", i, name);
        sleep_for(1);
    }
    return 0;
}

int co_main(int argc, char **argv)
{
    puts("Start of main Goroutine");
    go(greetings, "John");
    go(greetings, "Mary");
    sleep_for(1000);
    puts("End of main Goroutine");
    return 0;
}
DEBUG run output 
Start of main Goroutine
0 ==> John
0 ==> Mary
1 ==> Mary       - Thrd #c080080, cid: 4 (coroutine_wait) Active/Running cycles: 18
1 ==> John
2 ==> John       - Thrd #c080080, cid: 4 (coroutine_wait) Active/Running cycles: 99
2 ==> Mary
                 - Thrd #c080080, cid: 4 (coroutine_wait) Active/Running cycles: 8404
End of main Goroutine

Coroutine scheduler exited

Original Go example from https://www.programiz.com/golang/channel

GoLang C89 

package main
import "fmt"

func main() {

  // create channel
  ch := make(chan string)

  // function call with goroutine
  go sendData(ch)

  // receive channel data
  fmt.Println(<-ch)

}

func sendData(ch chan string) {

  // data sent to the channel
   ch <- "Received. Send Operation Successful"
   fmt.Println("No receiver! Send Operation Blocked")

}


#include "coroutine.h"

void_t sendData(void_t arg) {
    channel_t *ch = (channel_t *)arg;

    // data sent to the channel
    chan_send(ch, "Received. Send Operation Successful");
    puts("No receiver! Send Operation Blocked");

    return 0;
}

int co_main(int argc, char **argv) {
    // create channel
    channel_t *ch = channel();

    // function call with goroutine
    go(sendData, ch);
    // receive channel data
    printf("%s\n", chan_recv(ch)->value.str);

    return 0;
}
DEBUG run output 
processed
 r:000002592E480080
processed
 s:000002592E480080*
 => s:000002592E480080
No receiver! Send Operation Blocked
Received. Send Operation Successful

Coroutine scheduler exited

Original Go example from https://go.dev/tour/concurrency/5

GoLang C89 

package main

import "fmt"

func fibonacci(c, quit chan int) {
    x, y := 0, 1
    for {
        select {
        case c <- x:
            x, y = y, x+y
        case <-quit:
            fmt.Println("quit")
            return
        }
    }
}

func main() {
    c := make(chan int)
    quit := make(chan int)
    go func() {
        for i := 0; i < 10; i++ {
            fmt.Println(<-c)
        }
        quit <- 0
    }()
    fibonacci(c, quit)
}


#include "coroutine.h"

int fibonacci(channel_t *c, channel_t *quit) {
    int x = 0;
    int y = 1;
    for_select {
        select_case(c) {
            chan_send(c, &x);
            unsigned long tmp = x + y;
            x = y;
            y = tmp;
        } select_case_if(quit) {
            chan_recv(quit);
            puts("quit");
            return 0;
        } select_break;
    } select_end;
}

void_t func(void_t args) {
    channel_t *c = ((channel_t **)args)[0];
    channel_t *quit = ((channel_t **)args)[1];

    for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
        printf("%d\n", chan_recv(c).integer);
    }
    chan_send(quit, 0);

    return 0;
}

int co_main(int argc, char **argv) {
    channel_t *args[2];
    channel_t *c = channel();
    channel_t *quit = channel();

    args[0] = c;
    args[1] = quit;
    go(func, args);
    return fibonacci(c, quit);
}

Original Go example from https://www.developer.com/languages/go-error-handling-with-panic-recovery-and-defer/

GoLang C89 

package main

import (
 "fmt"
 "log"
)

func main() {
 divByZero()
 fmt.Println("Although panicked. We recovered. We call mul() func")
 fmt.Println("mul func result: ", mul(5, 10))
}

func div(x, y int) int {
 return x / y
}

func mul(x, y int) int {
 return x * y
}

func divByZero() {
 defer func() {
  if err := recover(); err != nil {
   log.Println("panic occurred:", err)
  }
 }()
 fmt.Println(div(1, 0))
}


#include "coroutine.h"

int div_err(int x, int y) {
    return x / y;
}

int mul(int x, int y) {
    return x * y;
}

void func(void *arg) {
    if (co_catch(co_message()))
        printf("panic occurred: %s\n", co_message());
}

void divByZero(void *arg) {
    co_recover(func, arg);
    printf("%d", div_err(1, 0));
}

int co_main(int argc, char **argv) {
    launch(divByZero, NULL);
    printf("Although panicked. We recovered. We call mul() func\n");
    printf("mul func result: %d\n", mul(5, 10));
    return 0;
}
DEBUG run output 
panic occurred: divide_by_zero
Although panicked. We recovered. We call mul() func
mul func result: 50

Coroutine scheduler exited

Original Go example from https://gobyexample.com/waitgroups

GoLang C89 

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "sync"
    "time"
)

func worker(id int) {
    fmt.Printf("Worker %d starting\n", id)

    time.Sleep(time.Second)
    fmt.Printf("Worker %d done\n", id)
}

func main() {

    var wg sync.WaitGroup

    for i := 1; i <= 5; i++ {
        wg.Add(1)

        i := i

        go func() {
            defer wg.Done()
            worker(i)
        }()
    }

    wg.Wait()

}


#include "coroutine.h"

void_t worker(void_t arg) {
    // int id = c_int(arg);
    int id = co_id();
    printf("Worker %d starting\n", id);

    sleep_for(1000);
    printf("Worker %d done\n", id);
    if (id == 4)
        return (void_t)32;
    else if (id == 3)
        return (void_t)"hello world\0";

    return 0;
}

int co_main(int argc, char **argv)
{
    int cid[5];
    wait_group_t wg = wait_group();
    for (int i = 1; i <= 5; i++) {
       cid[i-1] = go(worker, &i);
    }
    wait_result_t wgr = wait_for(wg);

    printf("\nWorker # %d returned: %d\n",
           cid[2],
           wait_result(wgr, cid[2]).integer);
    printf("\nWorker # %d returned: %s\n",
           cid[1],
           wait_result(wgr, cid[1]).string);
    return 0;
}
DEBUG run output 
Worker 1 starting
                 - Thrd #a38e0080, cid: 2 () Active/Running cycles: 1
Worker 2 starting
                 - Thrd #a38e0080, cid: 3 () Active/Running cycles: 1
Worker 3 starting
                 - Thrd #a38e0080, cid: 4 () Active/Running cycles: 1
Worker 4 starting
                 - Thrd #a38e0080, cid: 5 () Active/Running cycles: 1
Worker 5 starting
                 - Thrd #a38e0080, cid: 6 () Active/Running cycles: 1
Worker 5 done    - Thrd #a38e0080, cid: 1 (co_main) Active/Running cycles: 2
                 - Thrd #a38e0080, cid: 6 () Active/Running cycles: 2
Worker 2 done    - Thrd #a38e0080, cid: 1 (co_main) Active/Running cycles: 3
                 - Thrd #a38e0080, cid: 3 () Active/Running cycles: 2
Worker 3 done    - Thrd #a38e0080, cid: 1 (co_main) Active/Running cycles: 4
                 - Thrd #a38e0080, cid: 4 () Active/Running cycles: 2
Worker 1 done    - Thrd #a38e0080, cid: 1 (co_main) Active/Running cycles: 5
                 - Thrd #a38e0080, cid: 2 () Active/Running cycles: 2
Worker 4 done    - Thrd #a38e0080, cid: 1 (co_main) Active/Running cycles: 6
                 - Thrd #a38e0080, cid: 5 () Active/Running cycles: 2

Worker # 4 returned: 32

Worker # 3 returned: hello world

Coroutine scheduler exited

The C++ 20 concurrency thread model by way of future/promise implemented with same like semantics.

Original C++ 20 example from https://cplusplus.com/reference/future/future/wait/

C++ 20 C89 

// future::wait
#include <"iostream">       // std::cout
#include <"future">         // std::async, std::future
#include <"chrono">         // std::chrono::milliseconds

// a non-optimized way of checking for prime numbers:
bool is_prime (int x) {
  for (int i=2; i<x; ++i) if (x%i==0) return false;
  return true;
}

int main ()
{
  // call function asynchronously:
  std::future<"bool"> fut = std::async (is_prime,194232491);

  std::cout << "checking...\n";
  fut.wait();

  std::cout << "\n194232491 ";
  // guaranteed to be ready (and not block) after wait returns
  if (fut.get())
    std::cout << "is prime.\n";
  else
    std::cout << "is not prime.\n";

  return 0;
}


#include "coroutine.h"

// a non-optimized way of checking for prime numbers:
void_t is_prime(void_t arg) {
    int x = c_int(arg);
    for (int i = 2; i < x; ++i)
        if (x % i == 0) return (void_t)false;
    return (void_t)true;
}

int co_main(int argc, char **argv) {
    int prime = 194232491;
    // call function asynchronously:
    future *fut = co_async(is_prime, &prime);

    printf("checking...\n");
    // Pause and run other coroutines
    // until thread state changes.
    co_async_wait(fut);

    printf("\n194232491 ");
    // guaranteed to be ready (and not block)
    // after wait returns
    if (co_async_get(fut).boolean)
        printf("is prime.\n");
    else
        printf("is not prime.\n");

    return 0;
}
DEBUG run output 
promise id(16038) created in thread #18d80080
thread #18d80080 created thread #18d80130 with status(0) future id(16038)
checking...
promise id(16038) set LOCK in thread #18d80130
promise id(16038) set UNLOCK in thread #18d80130
                 - Thrd #18d80080, cid: 1 (co_main) Active/Running cycles: 34289
194232491
promise id(16038) get LOCK in thread #18d80080
promise id(16038) get UNLOCK in thread #18d80080
is prime.

Coroutine scheduler exited

See examples folder for more

Installation

The build system uses cmake, that produces single static library stored under built, and the complete include folder is needed.

Linux

mkdir build
cd build
cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug/Release -DBUILD_EXAMPLES=ON # use to build files in examples folder
cmake --build .

Windows

mkdir build
cd build
cmake .. -D BUILD_EXAMPLES=ON # use to build files in examples folder
cmake --build . --config Debug/Release

Contributing

Contributions are encouraged and welcome; I am always happy to get feedback or pull requests on Github :) Create Github Issues for bugs and new features and comment on the ones you are interested in.

License

The MIT License (MIT). Please see License File for more information.