Bug#1110998: ITP: python-blockbuster -- Detect and prevent blocking calls in async event loops
Package: wnpp
Severity: wishlist
Owner: Colin Watson <cjwatson@debian.org>
X-Debbugs-Cc: debian-devel@lists.debian.org
* Package name : python-blockbuster
Version : 1.5.25
Upstream Contact: Christophe Bornet <bornet.chris@gmail.com>
* URL : https://github.com/cbornet/blockbuster
* License : Apache-2.0
Programming Lang: Python
Description : Detect and prevent blocking calls in async event loops
This Python package detects and prevents blocking calls within an
asynchronous event loop. It is particularly useful when executing tests
to ensure that your asynchronous code does not inadvertently call
blocking operations, which can lead to performance bottlenecks and
unpredictable behavior.
In Python, the asynchronous event loop allows for concurrent execution
of tasks without the need for multiple threads or processes. This is
achieved by running tasks cooperatively, where tasks yield control back
to the event loop when they are waiting for I/O operations or other
long-running tasks to complete.
However, blocking calls, such as file I/O operations or certain
networking operations, can halt the entire event loop, preventing other
tasks from running. This can lead to increased latency and reduced
performance, defeating the purpose of using asynchronous programming.
The difficulty with blocking calls is that they are not always obvious,
especially when working with third-party libraries or legacy code. This
is where Blockbuster comes in: it helps you identify and eliminate
blocking calls in your codebase during testing, ensuring that your
asynchronous code runs smoothly and efficiently. It does this by
wrapping common blocking functions and raising an exception when they
are called within an asynchronous context.
I intend to package this because it's a dependency of new versions of
python-anyio. I'll maintain it within the Debian Python Team.
--
Colin Watson (he/him) [cjwatson@debian.org]
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