Python Threads
Python supports threads on the following platforms
Solaris
Windows
Systems that support the POSIX threads library (pthreads)
Thread scheduling
Tightly controlled by a global interpreter lock and scheduler.
Only a single thread is allowed to be executing in the Python interpreter at once.
Thread switching only occurs between the execution of individual byte-codes.
Long-running calculations in C/C++ can block execution of all other threads.
However, most I/O operations do not block.
Comments
Python threads are somewhat more restrictive than in C.
Effectiveness may be limited on multiple CPUs (due to interpreter lock).
Threads can interact strangely with other Python modules (especially signal handling).
Not all extension modules are thread-safe.
<<<
O'Reilly OSCON 2000, Advanced Python Programming, Slide 67
July 17, 2000, beazley@cs.uchicago.edu
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