2 Jul
2016
2 Jul
'16
12:58 p.m.
On Sat, Jul 02, 2016 at 09:45:48AM -0400, Paul Davis wrote:
context switches are not free. their cost varies
depending on the size of
the working set of the process (the amount of memory touched by the
process, notably during the JACK process() callback).
they might vary from <10 usecs to as much as 500usecs (the lowest possible
number is dependent on your CPU; the upper bound depends on the clients)
100 * 100 usecs = 10msecs
so, you've just used 10msecs of the time available for the process
callback. That's enormous (quite possibly larger than the actual time
available).
True, assuming you have single linear chain of 100 clients, and
each step involves a context switch.
In practice there are two factors that mitigate this problem:
1. Parts of the graph may run in parallel. And SMP systems
are more or less standard today.
2. Linear chains could be in the same process. In that case,
depending on implementation, you don't even need a thread
switch.
Exploiting both conditions at the same time requires some
intricate logic, but it's certainly possible. I have a
'proof of concept' actually running. The big remaining
question that needs to be resolved before this gets turned
into something real is if I want to support existing Jack
clients (via a replacement libjack on top of the new API).
Doing that complicates things quite a bit, but I haven't
abandoned the idea.
Ciao,
--
FA
A world of exhaustive, reliable metadata would be an utopia.
It's also a pipe-dream, founded on self-delusion, nerd hubris
and hysterically inflated market opportunities. (Cory Doctorow)