Class: Promise

• Inheritance
• Description
• Class protocol
  • instance creation
• Instance protocol
  • accessing
  • initialization
  • queries
• Examples

Inheritance:

   Object
   |
   +--Promise
      |
      +--TimedPromise

Package:

stx:libbasic2

Category:

Kernel-Processes

Version:

rev: 1.9 date: 2004/11/10 10:43:23

user: penk

file: Promise.st directory: libbasic2

module: stx stc-classLibrary: libbasic2

Description:

When created, a promise will start to evaluate its block in the background,
and promise to deliver the value of this computation, when asked
for it via #value. Promises can be used for background computations,
which automatically block the user of the result when that result is needed,
unless the computation finished in the meanwhile.

See also Block>>promise and Lazy/Future in the goodies directory.

Class protocol:

 new

 value: aBlock

create and return a Promise to evaluate aBlock at the current priority

 value: aBlock priority: aPrio

create and return a Promise to evaluate aBlock at some priority

Instance protocol:

 value

return the value of the promise.
If the evaluation process has not yet finished, wait for it.
Otherwise return the value immediately.
Any exception which occured during the evaluation is forwarded to the
requestor of the value here.

 value: anObject

fake value arrived

 initialize

setup

 value: aBlock priority: aPrio

setup and start the evaluation process.

 hasValue

return true, if the promise has a value avaliable.
(i.e. if sending #value to it would NOT block)

Examples: