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Don Box's Spoutlet » Bracha and Bray on Continuations

Bracha and Bray on Continuations

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Gilad is correct that it's a non-trivial feature for a VM, especially one that does code access security and allows calls to "unmanaged" code (either JNI or P/Invoke).
 
As for whether web servers are the killer app, I'm not sure.  They're a killer app, but ask anyone who has built an IAsyncResult-based app on .NET and you rapidly see the feature isn't quite so nichy.
 
Also, my "enterprisey" brethren would quickly point out that those Business Process Management systems wind up simulating continuations as well.
 
I hear the "documenty" folks do this too in the DLC space.
 
I've heard Dharma characterize his baby (Windows Workflow Foundation) as a continuation management runtime.
 
Maybe he's onto something.
Posted May 20 2006, 02:11 PM by don-box

Comments

Miguel de Icaza wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 05-20-2006 2:59 PM
Hey Don,

Tomi Valkeinen has implemented an extension to the Mono VM that introduces continuations, see his project page:

http://bat.org/~tomba/monoco.html

He has some samples of a cooperative threading library implemented with his framework, but the VM extensions could be used by a compiler that required this functionality.
Dilip wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 05-20-2006 11:29 PM
Ian Griffiths as usual has been terrific in his analysis on the topic:
http://www.interact-sw.co.uk/iangblog/2006/05/21/webcontinuations

(sometimes I wonder how nice it would be to see the Don of yore if you ever get the cycles to write something with that depth of coverage!)
Brain.Save() wrote call/cc
on 05-22-2006 2:44 AM
Hilmar Veigar Pétursson wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 05-23-2006 3:21 PM
Hi Don,

Have you taken a look at Stackless Python http://www.stackless.com ?

Although currently lacking full continuation support (which its earliest incarnation back in 2001 had), has allowed us to implement the space based MMORPG EVE Online in a very elegant way.
Currently runs on a cluster of 150 CPUs with Peak Concurrent Users over 26.000.
K. Scott Allen wrote Reactive Web Development versus Continuations
on 05-23-2006 10:56 PM
There is an appealing simplicity to the following code.

While GetNextCustomer()    ...
bob wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 05-25-2006 12:48 PM
I've always thought of biztalk server orchestrations as a very clunky, very overweight continuations server.
Don Box wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 05-25-2006 1:00 PM
Bob,

WF isn't BTS. They're two distinct technologies that share a common parent.

WF was designed to be a lightweight embeddable runtime.

DB
Attila Szegedi wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 05-30-2006 1:04 PM
Right, webapps aren't the killer app. BPM is moreso, although lots of manager types who have to create actual workflows do in fact seem to prefer working with state-machines -- little circles connected with arrows :-)

At least on JVM, writing handlers for non-blocking socket I/O is one very practical usage. Writing distributed systems with execution location transparency and runtime migratability is other (I'm doing something similar for living, and we use the Rhino JavaScript - with its proprietary continuations support for this). Yet another is writing cooperative-threading systems where some domain-specific guarantee of scheduling fairness is explicitly encoded into the yielding policy of microthreads implemented by continuations. This would allow implementing i.e. a MMORPG server in Java.
katalog wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 10-08-2006 2:05 AM
Someone else below asked this already.
I am getting nailed with Spam in my guestbook for our catalog website. Is there anyway to stop this? If not, there really isn't any point in leaving it up and active. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Webkatalog wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 10-22-2006 12:07 PM
Web Services are almost dead... the problem is that they do not really handle transactions - they are stateless which makes them useful for rare cases only.
Webkatalog kostenlos wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 10-23-2006 10:58 PM
I've always thought of biztalk server orchestrations as a very clunky, very overweight continuations server.
Free Web Directory wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 10-23-2006 10:59 PM
Right, webapps aren't the killer app. BPM is moreso, although lots of manager types who have to create actual workflows do in fact seem to prefer working with state-machines
Pozycjonowanie wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 10-26-2006 3:46 AM
Web Services are almost dead... the problem is that they do not really handle transactions - they are stateless which makes them useful for rare cases only. Greetings
Artikelverzeichnis wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 10-30-2006 3:25 PM
@katalog: i´ve got the same problem. Do you have found out a way?
Erfolg wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 11-09-2006 6:20 AM
I don´t understand.
There are not problems!
Webdesign Köln Group wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 11-30-2006 3:16 PM
Great, clear and simply, thx!
Vertrieb wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 12-02-2006 12:15 PM
That´s what we want!
Thanks!!
Brustvergrößerung Berlin wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 12-03-2006 8:17 AM
A very interesting site, I think. The Idea of Technometry was new for me but worth to be read and thought abot it (although I'm not a native english-speaker and have some difficulties whith this language)
Shop Optimierung wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 12-03-2006 2:56 PM
A quite intresting idea is realized in this website! And a good and easy to handle design has been found too!
Bannerdesign wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 12-03-2006 8:19 PM
The problem is that they do not really handle transactions, they 're stateless which makes them useful for rare cases only.
Skateboard wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 12-03-2006 8:20 PM
I havve always thought of biztalk server orchestrations as a very clunky, very overweight continuations server.
Versicherung wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 12-03-2006 8:21 PM
Right, webapps aren't the killer app. BPM is moreso, although lots of manager types who have to create actual workflows do in fact seem to prefer working with state-machines
Manga wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 12-03-2006 8:21 PM
WF isn't BTS. They're two distinct technologies that share a common parent.
california vacation wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 12-05-2006 10:40 AM
vacation
shy amatoriali schizzate di figa wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 12-05-2006 10:41 AM
figa
mistero finanza wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 12-05-2006 10:42 AM
finanza
madre e figlio che fanno sesso wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 12-05-2006 10:43 AM
Continuations
tassi interesse prestito wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 12-05-2006 10:44 AM
prestito
Onlineshops wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 12-06-2006 6:15 PM
A very interesting site, I think. The Idea of Technology was new for me but worth to be read and thought abot it (although I'm not a native english-speaker and have some difficulties whith this language)
Brustvergrößerung Berlin wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 12-07-2006 2:44 PM
A quite intresting idea is realized in this website! And a good and easy to handle design has been found too!
Bannerdesign wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 12-09-2006 2:02 AM
Very quite intresting idea is realized in this website! And a good and easy to handle design has been found too!
bonny segretaria wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 12-09-2006 8:20 AM
segretaria
studentessa fighette strip wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 12-09-2006 8:21 AM
fighette
stampante scanner wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 12-09-2006 8:22 AM
stampante
barbecue grill smoker wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 12-09-2006 8:23 AM
barbecue
CableGuy wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 12-09-2006 12:41 PM
Thanks, but ged rid of all the spam entries
phentermine wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 12-11-2006 6:45 AM
nice site:thank you for all
mozao wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 12-11-2006 10:38 AM
velidence mozao grebetti
Weberfolg wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 12-11-2006 1:24 PM
This is the way.
Thanks guys!
ranking wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 12-15-2006 8:17 AM
Right, webapps aren't the killer app. BPM is moreso, although lots of manager types who have to create actual workflows do in fact seem to prefer working with state-machines ranking and pagerank
Mr. Marketing wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 12-18-2006 1:40 PM
Very interesting informations.
Thanks!
Motorrad wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 12-19-2006 5:36 PM
Very good informations.
Thx!
Meble oryginalne wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 12-20-2006 2:28 AM
Very intresting informations ! good and easy to navigate site too ! I think, one of the most interesting blogs.
Julie wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 12-20-2006 4:16 AM
Good and constructive ideas.
Thank you!
Thermage wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 12-22-2006 8:30 AM
Supreme concept of a personalized web portal.
piter wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 01-09-2007 8:35 AM
Ray LaMontagne's backstory is so inspiring, it's mentioned in every single piece of press he gets (sorta like M.I.A.). So I apologize if you heard this already.

A few years ago, Ray was living with his family in the rural Maine log cabin he built himself. He awoke at 4:30 each morning to work at the local shoe factory. These were dark times, and Ray admits he was on the verge of suicide. On one particular day, he awoke to Stephen Stills' "Tree Top Flyer" on the clock radio. It was a life-changing event. He tells Details...
http://gifs-fofos.iarrt.com.es/ :::

"I just sat up in bed and listened. I did not go to work that day; I went to record stores and sought that album out. I just knew. This is what I'm gonna do."
http://reflexiones.framm.org.es/ :::
Volf wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 01-09-2007 8:36 AM
<a href="http://www.biddi.com.es/sexco-mpg.html">sexco mpg</a> :::
A friend of a friend put Ray in touch with a music publisher, a major label bidding war followed, and now Ray's rough-hewn country-rock is garnering critical acclaim worldwide. He'll be opening for Dave Matthews Band later this summer.
<a href="http://wickedweasel-veronica.framm.org.es/">wickedweasel veronica</a> :::
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on 01-09-2007 8:37 AM
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Carol wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 01-14-2007 3:43 AM
I agree, I don't think the web servers are the killer app. People tend to simplify things they don't understand...
olo wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 01-15-2007 1:40 PM
http://www.coppie-campane.xerkop16.info teen erotca http://www.fine-ass.verkop16.info insanely great
Rezepte wrote re: Bracha and Bray on Continuations
on 01-18-2007 2:34 PM
It´s very interesting