[sigc] interthread communication library "sigx++" (crossposting)

[klaus triendl <klaus triendl eu>]

I would like to announce my work on "sigx++", a c++ interthread
communication library on top of libsigc++ and glibmm.

It features:
   * dispatcher based interthread communication
   * typesafe functor adaptors to execute functions in the context of
another thread (send messages inbetween threads)
   * threadsafe wrappers for signals and connections
   * deadlock detection for synchronous messages
   * ready-to-use with glibmm/gtkmm based programs


More specifically:
   * every variant of interthread communication is done via a dispatcher
under the hood;
This means that communication except for the dispatcher and synchronous
messages is lock-free;
instead of making functors, signals and connections threadsafe by
themselves they rather have wrappers that offer the same interface and
send a message to the concrete signal or connection in the context of
another thread (i.e. to the thread that owns the signals).
   * the dispatcher mechanism itself is generic such that multiple
dispatcher implementations can be plugged in
   * e.g. sigx++ out of the box extends the Glib::Dispatcher in a way
that not only nullary callbacks can be executed but callbacks with an
arbitrary number of arguments
   * for sending messages between threads, there exists a "tunnel"
functor adaptor adapting functions to be executed in the context of
another thread
   * sigx++ introduces a "dispatchable" concept, i.e. a class that just
can be part of interthread communication
   * sigx++ introduces a "threadable" concept, i.e. a class executed as
a thread
   * glibmm based implementations of dispatchable/threadable that create
and set up a glibmm thread context allow sigx++ to be used directly
within gtkmm programs



sigx++ started from ideas of Tim Mayberry's project "glibmmx" and some
discussions with him helped me to bring sigx++ to its current level.
I personally consider sigx++ as completed regarding its functionality
except the support for system signals; still some work needs to be done
though.

If you are interested in the library you can download it at
http://triendl.info/sigx
The example and test programs should give an impression how sigx++ can
be used.


Questions and comments are welcome and I hope for constructive discussions!

Klaus Triendl