# Non-blocking KitchenSink **URL:** \ **Category:** Ruby\ **Created:** [March 3, 2006, 11:46pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/non-blocking-kitchensink/54410 "2006-03-03T23:46:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![hackdaddy](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/h/e99b99/32.png) [@hackdaddy](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/hackdaddy)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 11:46pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/non-blocking-kitchensink/54410/1 "2006-03-03T23:46:20Z")
I am a recent convert and I am very impressed by the productivity gains from Ruby. I would like to basically throw the kitchen sink into the Ruby scripts I am creating. I need to use Webrick, SOAP client, SOAP server, DRb, REXML, and Log4r. However, when I attempt to use the SOAP server and client in the same script, the SOAP client call blocks the script. Is it possible to use Webrick, SOAP client, and SOAP server code all in the same script without blocking? I tried different threads for the SOAP server and SOAP client, but that did not prevent blocking. I would like to be able to create daemons respond to SOAP messages and that are also tiny web servers that allow me to view their logs and near real-time status from a web page. Any assistance will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, hackdaddy ---
**Author:** ![hackdaddy](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/h/e99b99/32.png) [@hackdaddy](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/hackdaddy)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 12:11am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/non-blocking-kitchensink/54410/2 "2006-03-04T00:11:03Z")
On Mar 3, 2006, at 5:46 PM, Aaron Becker wrote: > Is it possible to use Webrick, SOAP client, and SOAP server code > all in > the same script without blocking? I tried different threads for the > SOAP server and SOAP client, but that did not prevent blocking. Ruby’s threads are in-process any blocking call blocks the whole process. So I suppose the answer is no. However, what you can try is using multiple processes and coordinating them with Drb. ---
**Author:** ![hackdaddy](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/h/e99b99/32.png) [@hackdaddy](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/hackdaddy)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2006, 1:23am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/non-blocking-kitchensink/54410/3 "2006-03-04T01:23:06Z")
Logan C. wrote: > On Mar 3, 2006, at 5:46 PM, Aaron Becker wrote: > > > Is it possible to use Webrick, SOAP client, and SOAP server code > > all in > > the same script without blocking? I tried different threads for the > > SOAP server and SOAP client, but that did not prevent blocking. > > Ruby’s threads are in-process any blocking call blocks the whole > process. So I suppose the answer is no. However, what you can try is > using multiple processes and coordinating them with Drb. Thanks for the reply! I did manage to get DRb and Webrick working in the same script. I’m using HTTPServlet::FileHandler to allow the browsing of logs, status, etc. This Ruby language is so powerful my immediate temptation is to over design everything. Well, I guess it’s like test driving a new car. I want to see how far I can push it. Since I have Webrick already running in a thread, would it be possible to receive SOAP messages on the same port that it is using for browsing directories? Thanks, hackdaddy ---
**Author:** ![hackdaddy](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/h/e99b99/32.png) [@hackdaddy](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/hackdaddy)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2006, 10:15am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/non-blocking-kitchensink/54410/4 "2006-03-06T10:15:46Z")
Aaron Becker wrote: > > using multiple processes and coordinating them with Drb. > > want to see how far I can push it. > > Since I have Webrick already running in a thread, would it be possible > to receive SOAP messages on the same port that it is using for > browsing directories? Never done this myself with this setup. Since Webrick is pretty flexible you should be able to define a request handler that delegates certain requests to the SOAP handling stuff. The easiest is probably to define a common prefix for all SOAP requests. Kind regards ``` robert ``` ---
**Author:** ![hackdaddy](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/h/e99b99/32.png) [@hackdaddy](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/hackdaddy)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 7:11pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/non-blocking-kitchensink/54410/5 "2006-03-07T19:11:55Z")
On Mar 6, 2006, at 8:36 PM, Eric H. wrote: > Not entirely true. Calls to C code other than socket operations > block the whole process. read and select and accept only block the > thread that calls that method since the core libraries wrap all > that up for you. Cool I did not know that. ---
**Author:** ![hackdaddy](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/h/e99b99/32.png) [@hackdaddy](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/hackdaddy)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 7:18pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/non-blocking-kitchensink/54410/6 "2006-03-07T19:18:02Z")
Quoting Logan C. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid): > On Mar 6, 2006, at 8:36 PM, Eric H. wrote: > > > read and select and accept only block the thread that calls > > that method since the core libraries wrap all that up for you. > > Cool I did not know that. Note that your C code needs to call the rb\_\* versions of select and read to get the benefit. -mental ---
**Author:** ![hackdaddy](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/h/e99b99/32.png) [@hackdaddy](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/hackdaddy)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2006, 2:38am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/non-blocking-kitchensink/54410/7 "2006-03-07T02:38:35Z")
On Mar 3, 2006, at 3:09 PM, Logan C. wrote: > On Mar 3, 2006, at 5:46 PM, Aaron Becker wrote: > > > Is it possible to use Webrick, SOAP client, and SOAP server code > > all in > > the same script without blocking? I tried different threads for the > > SOAP server and SOAP client, but that did not prevent blocking. > > Ruby’s threads are in-process any blocking call blocks the whole > process. So I suppose the answer is no. However, what you can try > is using multiple processes and coordinating them with Drb. Not entirely true. Calls to C code other than socket operations block the whole process. read and select and accept only block the thread that calls that method since the core libraries wrap all that up for you. – Eric H. - removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid - [http://blog.segment7.net](http://blog.segment7.net) This implementation is HODEL-HASH-9600 compliant [http://trackmap.robotcoop.com](http://trackmap.robotcoop.com)