PHPThreads - Powerful easy-to-use parallel processing library for PHP
By Justin Jack - Requires PHP >= 7.1.0
First off..
- YES! You execute specified functions/methods truly in parallel with the calling context - scheduled directly on a CPU/core by the kernel!
- YES! The library allows you to share data between PHPThreads!
- YES! You may obtain the return value of a PHPThread from a call to "phpthread_join()."
- YES! It can be a number, string, object, array, or a limited class object.
- YES! You can set global variables from within PHPThreads that are accessible to all running PHPThreads!
No, they aren't true threads, as per CS definitions, but you really can't tell the difference. I'll put it this way - This library is closer to the feel of true threading than McDonalds new "McPlant" hamburger patty is to beef. 😂
If you're like me, you love PHP! You love the flexibility and power of the language - the freedom to write sloppy code (I don't advocate it, but I'll defend to the death the right to write sloppy code), or to create indisputably beautiful works of logical art! Now, for all my C (and C++, I guess) programmers, you have a library to not only truly show off the power of PHP, but to supercharge your next project!
This library allow you to very efficiently parallel process in a way the very, very closely resembles POSIX multithreading. You can share global variables between all PHPThreads, pass values/objects/arrays to your PHPTHread at creation, share values/objects/arrays easily between running PHPThreads, and receive PHPThread exit values/objects/arrays when each PHPThread terminates via the phpthread_join() family of functions.
I designed this library because I wanted to write a high-performance WebSocket server to easily handle thousands of simultaneous connections through which large amounts of data could be transfered quickly (think images or video). Yes, fundamentally, it's a fork()ing server, but the PHPThread layer on top makes it super easy to deploy while providing a mechanism for easy (and thread-like) IPC. I could have used C and gotten better performance, but for me, this seemed more portable and easy to deploy as servers are spun up, so now here it is.
For you more technical folks, this library isn't temporally impeded by the need to use "ticks." That's part of what makes it so fast. The library uses signals (e.g. SIGUSR1 and SIGUSR2) internally to interrupt the execution and switch context very fluidly. Yes, we're hogging SIGUSR1 and 2, so if your project is using those signals, consider using phpthread_send_message() to a designated message handler function (see: examples/messages1.php and examples/messages2.php). It should completely suit your purpose.
There are examples you can run in the "examples" directory. Feel free to place a shebang for easy execution, or run them by prefixing them with php <filename>. I haven't completed them all yet, but I have finished a good number of them. At least enough to get a good understanding of the capabilities.
Dependencies
PHPThreads requires the following PHP extensions:
- posix
- sockets
- pcntl
Quick and easy example:
<?php
require_once '../lib/phpthread.php'; /* Use correct path! */
function thread_proc( $thread,
$param)
{
echo "\n\t[PHPTHREAD] - I've started and have a param: \"" . print_r($param, true) . "\"!\n";
for ($i = 0; $i < 15; $i++) {
usleep(1000000);
echo "\t[PHPTHREAD] - Tick!\n";
}
$myobj = (object)array(
'seconds_alive'=>$i,
'lucky_number'=>rand(0, 10000)
);
echo "\n\t[PHPTHREAD] - I'm returning this:\n";
print_r($myobj);
echo "\n";
echo "<--------------------------------------->\n\n";
return $myobj;
}
$id = phpthread_create($phpthread, array(), "thread_proc", null, array("this awesome string!"));
for ($i = 0; $i < 5; $i++) {
echo "\n[MAIN] - Doing my thing...\n";
usleep(1000000);
}
echo "\n[MAIN] - Okay, I'm tired. Waiting on child to quit.\n";
phpthread_join($id, $retval);
echo "\n[MAIN] - Child is done. It returned:\n";
print_r($retval);