get rid of surf_exit()

[simgrid.git] / doc / doxygen / uhood_switch.doc

/*! @page uhood_switch Process Synchronizations and Context Switching

@tableofcontents

@section uhood_switch_DES SimGrid as an Operating System

SimGrid is a discrete event simulator of distributed systems: it does
not simulate the world by small fixed-size steps but determines the
date of the next event (such as the end of a communication, the end of
a computation) and jumps to this date.

A number of actors executing user-provided code run on top of the
simulation kernel. The interactions between these actors and the
simulation kernel are very similar to the ones between the system
processes and the Operating System (except that the actors and
simulation kernel share the same address space in a single OS
process).

When an actor needs to interact with the outer world (eg. to start a
communication), it issues a <i>simcall</i> (simulation call), just
like a system process issues a <i>syscall</i> to interact with its
environment through the Operating System. Any <i>simcall</i> freezes
the actor until it is woken up by the simulation kernel (eg. when the
communication is finished).

Mimicking the OS behavior may seem over-engineered here, but this is
mandatory to the model-checker. The simcalls, representing actors'
actions, are the transitions of the formal system. Verifying the
system requires to manipulate these transitions explicitly. This also
allows one to run the actors safely in parallel, even if this is less
commonly used by our users.

So, the key ideas here are:

 - The simulator is a discrete event simulator (event-driven).

 - An actor can issue a blocking simcall and will be suspended until
   it is woken up by the simulation kernel (when the operation is
   completed).

 - In order to move forward in (simulated) time, the simulation kernel
   needs to know which actions the actors want to do.

 - The simulated time will only move forward when all the actors are
   blocked, waiting on a simcall.

This leads to some very important consequences:

 - An actor cannot synchronize with another actor using OS-level primitives
   such as `pthread_mutex_lock()` or `std::mutex`. The simulation kernel
   would wait for the actor to issue a simcall and would deadlock. Instead it
   must use simulation-level synchronization primitives
   (such as `simcall_mutex_lock()`).

 - Similarly, an actor cannot sleep using
   `std::this_thread::sleep_for()` which waits in the real world but
   must instead wait in the simulation with
   `simgrid::s4u::Actor::this_actor::sleep_for()` which waits in the
   simulation.

 - The simulation kernel cannot block.
   Only the actors can block (using simulation primitives).

@section uhood_switch_futures Futures and Promises

@subsection uhood_switch_futures_what What is a future?

Futures are a nice classical programming abstraction, present in many
language.  Wikipedia defines a
[future](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futures_and_promises) as an
object that acts as a proxy for a result that is initially unknown,
usually because the computation of its value is yet incomplete. This
concept is thus perfectly adapted to represent in the kernel the
asynchronous operations corresponding to the actors' simcalls.


Futures can be manipulated using two kind of APIs:

 - a <b>blocking API</b> where we wait for the result to be available
   (`res = f.get()`);

 - a <b>continuation-based API</b> where we say what should be done
   with the result when the operation completes
   (`future.then(something_to_do_with_the_result)`). This is heavily
   used in ECMAScript that exhibits the same kind of never-blocking
   asynchronous model as our discrete event simulator.

C++11 includes a generic class (`std::future<T>`) which implements a
blocking API.  The continuation-based API is not available in the
standard (yet) but is [already
described](http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/docs/papers/2015/p0159r0.html#futures.unique_future.6)
in the Concurrency Technical Specification.

`Promise`s are the counterparts of `Future`s: `std::future<T>` is used
<em>by the consumer</em> of the result. On the other hand,
`std::promise<T>` is used <em>by the producer</em> of the result. The
producer calls `promise.set_value(42)` or `promise.set_exception(e)`
in order to <em>set the result</em> which will be made available to
the consumer by `future.get()`.

@subsection uhood_switch_futures_needs Which future do we need?

The blocking API provided by the standard C++11 futures does not suit
our needs since the simulation kernel <em>cannot</em> block, and since
we want to explicitly schedule the actors.  Instead, we need to
reimplement a continuation-based API to be used in our event-driven
simulation kernel.

Our futures are based on the C++ Concurrency Technical Specification
API, with a few differences:

 - The simulation kernel is single-threaded so we do not need 
   inter-thread synchronization for our futures.

 - As the simulation kernel cannot block, `f.wait()` is not meaningful
   in this context.

 - Similarly, `future.get()` does an implicit wait. Calling this method in the
   simulation kernel only makes sense if the future is already ready. If the
   future is not ready, this would deadlock the simulator and an error is
   raised instead.

 - We always call the continuations in the simulation loop (and not
   inside the `future.then()` or `promise.set_value()` calls). That
   way, we don't have to fear problems like invariants not being
   restored when the callbacks are called :fearful: or stack overflows
   triggered by deeply nested continuations chains :cold_sweat:. The
   continuations are all called in a nice and predictable place in the
   simulator with a nice and predictable state :relieved:.

 - Some features of the standard (such as shared futures) are not
   needed in our context, and thus not considered here.

@subsection uhood_switch_futures_implem Implementing `Future` and `Promise`

The `simgrid::kernel::Future` and `simgrid::kernel::Promise` use a
shared state defined as follows:

@code{cpp}
enum class FutureStatus {
  not_ready,
  ready,
  done,
};

class FutureStateBase : private boost::noncopyable {
public:
  void schedule(simgrid::xbt::Task<void()>&& job);
  void set_exception(std::exception_ptr exception);
  void set_continuation(simgrid::xbt::Task<void()>&& continuation);
  FutureStatus get_status() const;
  bool is_ready() const;
  // [...]
private:
  FutureStatus status_ = FutureStatus::not_ready;
  std::exception_ptr exception_;
  simgrid::xbt::Task<void()> continuation_;
};

template<class T>
class FutureState : public FutureStateBase {
public:
  void set_value(T value);
  T get();
private:
  boost::optional<T> value_;
};

template<class T>
class FutureState<T&> : public FutureStateBase {
  // ...
};
template<>
class FutureState<void> : public FutureStateBase {
  // ...
};
@endcode

Both `Future` and `Promise` have a reference to the shared state:

@code{cpp}
template<class T>
class Future {
  // [...]
private:
  std::shared_ptr<FutureState<T>> state_;
};

template<class T>
class Promise {
  // [...]
private:
  std::shared_ptr<FutureState<T>> state_;
  bool future_get_ = false;
};
@endcode

The crux of `future.then()` is:

@code{cpp}
template<class T>
template<class F>
auto simgrid::kernel::Future<T>::then_no_unwrap(F continuation)
-> Future<decltype(continuation(std::move(*this)))>
{
  typedef decltype(continuation(std::move(*this))) R;

  if (state_ == nullptr)
    throw std::future_error(std::future_errc::no_state);

  auto state = std::move(state_);
  // Create a new future...
  Promise<R> promise;
  Future<R> future = promise.get_future();
  // ...and when the current future is ready...
  state->set_continuation(simgrid::xbt::makeTask(
    [](Promise<R> promise, std::shared_ptr<FutureState<T>> state,
         F continuation) {
      // ...set the new future value by running the continuation.
      Future<T> future(std::move(state));
      simgrid::xbt::fulfillPromise(promise,[&]{
        return continuation(std::move(future));
      });
    },
    std::move(promise), state, std::move(continuation)));
  return std::move(future);
}
@endcode

We added a (much simpler) `future.then_()` method which does not
create a new future:

@code{cpp}
template<class T>
template<class F>
void simgrid::kernel::Future<T>::then_(F continuation)
{
  if (state_ == nullptr)
    throw std::future_error(std::future_errc::no_state);
  // Give shared-ownership to the continuation:
  auto state = std::move(state_);
  state->set_continuation(simgrid::xbt::makeTask(
    std::move(continuation), state));
}
@endcode

The `.get()` delegates to the shared state. As we mentioned previously, an
error is raised if the future is not ready:

@code{cpp}
template<class T>
T simgrid::kernel::Future::get()
{
  if (state_ == nullptr)
    throw std::future_error(std::future_errc::no_state);
  std::shared_ptr<FutureState<T>> state = std::move(state_);
  return state->get();
}

template<class T>
T simgrid::kernel::FutureState<T>::get()
{
  xbt_assert(status_ == FutureStatus::ready, "Deadlock: this future is not ready");
  status_ = FutureStatus::done;
  if (exception_) {
    std::exception_ptr exception = std::move(exception_);
    std::rethrow_exception(std::move(exception));
  }
  xbt_assert(this->value_);
  auto result = std::move(this->value_.get());
  this->value_ = boost::optional<T>();
  return std::move(result);
}
@endcode

@section uhood_switch_simcalls Implementing the simcalls

So a simcall is a way for the actor to push a request to the
simulation kernel and yield the control until the request is
fulfilled. The performance requirements are very high because
the actors usually do an inordinate amount of simcalls during the
simulation. 

As for real syscalls, the basic idea is to write the wanted call and
its arguments in a memory area that is specific to the actor, and
yield the control to the simulation kernel. Once in kernel mode, the
simcalls of each demanding actor are evaluated sequentially in a
strictly reproducible order. This makes the whole simulation
reproducible.


@subsection uhood_switch_simcalls_v2 The historical way

In the very first implementation, everything was written by hand and
highly optimized, making our software very hard to maintain and
evolve. We decided to sacrifice some performance for
maintainability. In a second try (that is still in use in SimGrid
v3.13), we had a lot of boiler code generated from a python script,
taking the [list of simcalls](https://github.com/simgrid/simgrid/blob/4ae2fd01d8cc55bf83654e29f294335e3cb1f022/src/simix/simcalls.in)
as input. It looks like this:

@code{cpp}
# This looks like C++ but it is a basic IDL-like language
# (one definition per line) parsed by a python script:

void process_kill(smx_actor_t process);
void process_killall(int reset_pid);
void process_cleanup(smx_actor_t process) [[nohandler]];
void process_suspend(smx_actor_t process) [[block]];
void process_resume(smx_actor_t process);
void process_set_host(smx_actor_t process, sg_host_t dest);
int  process_is_suspended(smx_actor_t process) [[nohandler]];
int  process_join(smx_actor_t process, double timeout) [[block]];
int  process_sleep(double duration) [[block]];

smx_mutex_t mutex_init();
void        mutex_lock(smx_mutex_t mutex) [[block]];
int         mutex_trylock(smx_mutex_t mutex);
void        mutex_unlock(smx_mutex_t mutex);

[...]
@endcode

At runtime, a simcall is represented by a structure containing a simcall
number and its arguments (among some other things):

@code{cpp}
struct s_smx_simcall {
  // Simcall number:
  Simcall call;
  // Issuing actor:
  smx_actor_t issuer;
  // Arguments of the simcall:
  union u_smx_scalar args[11];
  // Result of the simcall:
  union u_smx_scalar result;
  // Some additional stuff:
  smx_timer_t timer;
  int mc_value;
};
@endcode

with the a scalar union type:

@code{cpp}
union u_smx_scalar {
  char            c;
  short           s;
  int             i;
  long            l;
  long long       ll;
  unsigned char   uc;
  unsigned short  us;
  unsigned int    ui;
  unsigned long   ul;
  unsigned long long ull;
  double          d;
  void*           dp;
  FPtr            fp;
};
@endcode

When manually calling the relevant [Python
script](https://github.com/simgrid/simgrid/blob/4ae2fd01d8cc55bf83654e29f294335e3cb1f022/src/simix/simcalls.py),
this generates a bunch of C++ files:

* an enum of all the [simcall numbers](https://github.com/simgrid/simgrid/blob/4ae2fd01d8cc55bf83654e29f294335e3cb1f022/src/simix/popping_enum.h#L19);

* [user-side wrappers](https://github.com/simgrid/simgrid/blob/4ae2fd01d8cc55bf83654e29f294335e3cb1f022/src/simix/popping_bodies.cpp)
  responsible for wrapping the parameters in the `struct s_smx_simcall`;
  and wrapping out the result;

* [accessors](https://github.com/simgrid/simgrid/blob/4ae2fd01d8cc55bf83654e29f294335e3cb1f022/src/simix/popping_accessors.hpp)
   to get/set values of of `struct s_smx_simcall`;

* a simulation-kernel-side [big switch](https://github.com/simgrid/simgrid/blob/4ae2fd01d8cc55bf83654e29f294335e3cb1f022/src/simix/popping_generated.cpp#L106)
  handling all the simcall numbers.

Then one has to write the code of the kernel side handler for the simcall
and the code of the simcall itself (which calls the code-generated
marshaling/unmarshaling stuff).

In order to simplify this process, we added two generic simcalls which can be
used to execute a function in the simulation kernel:

@code{cpp}
# This one should really be called run_immediate:
void run_kernel(std::function<void()> const* code) [[nohandler]];
void run_blocking(std::function<void()> const* code) [[block,nohandler]];
@endcode

### Immediate simcall

The first one (`simcall_run_kernel()`) executes a function in the simulation
kernel context and returns immediately (without blocking the actor):

@code{cpp}
void simcall_run_kernel(std::function<void()> const& code)
{
  simcall_BODY_run_kernel(&code);
}

template<class F> inline
void simcall_run_kernel(F& f)
{
  simcall_run_kernel(std::function<void()>(std::ref(f)));
}
@endcode

On top of this, we add a wrapper which can be used to return a value of any
type and properly handles exceptions:

@code{cpp}
template<class F>
typename std::result_of<F()>::type kernelImmediate(F&& code)
{
  // If we are in the simulation kernel, we take the fast path and
  // execute the code directly without simcall
  // marshalling/unmarshalling/dispatch:
  if (SIMIX_is_maestro())
    return std::forward<F>(code)();

  // If we are in the application, pass the code to the simulation
  // kernel which executes it for us and reports the result:
  typedef typename std::result_of<F()>::type R;
  simgrid::xbt::Result<R> result;
  simcall_run_kernel([&]{
    xbt_assert(SIMIX_is_maestro(), "Not in maestro");
    simgrid::xbt::fulfillPromise(result, std::forward<F>(code));
  });
  return result.get();
}
@endcode

where [`Result<R>`](#result) can store either a `R` or an exception.

Example of usage:

@code{cpp}
xbt_dict_t Host::properties() {
  return simgrid::simix::kernelImmediate([&] {
    simgrid::surf::HostImpl* surf_host =
      this->extension<simgrid::surf::HostImpl>();
    return surf_host->getProperties();
  });
}
@endcode

### Blocking simcall {#uhood_switch_v2_blocking}

The second generic simcall (`simcall_run_blocking()`) executes a function in
the SimGrid simulation kernel immediately but does not wake up the calling actor
immediately:

@code{cpp}
void simcall_run_blocking(std::function<void()> const& code);

template<class F>
void simcall_run_blocking(F& f)
{
  simcall_run_blocking(std::function<void()>(std::ref(f)));
}
@endcode

The `f` function is expected to setup some callbacks in the simulation
kernel which will wake up the actor (with
`simgrid::simix::unblock(actor)`) when the operation is completed.

This is wrapped in a higher-level primitive as well. The
`kernel_sync()` function expects a function-object which is executed
immediately in the simulation kernel and returns a `Future<T>`.  The
simulator blocks the actor and resumes it when the `Future<T>` becomes
ready with its result:

@code{cpp}
template<class F>
auto kernel_sync(F code) -> decltype(code().get())
{
  typedef decltype(code().get()) T;
  xbt_assert(not SIMIX_is_maestro(), "Can't execute blocking call in kernel mode");

  smx_actor_t self = SIMIX_process_self();
  simgrid::xbt::Result<T> result;

  simcall_run_blocking([&result, self, &code]{
    try {
      auto future = code();
      future.then_([&result, self](simgrid::kernel::Future<T> value) {
        // Propagate the result from the future
        // to the simgrid::xbt::Result:
        simgrid::xbt::setPromise(result, value);
        simgrid::simix::unblock(self);
      });
    }
    catch (...) {
      // The code failed immediately. We can wake up the actor
      // immediately with the exception:
      result.set_exception(std::current_exception());
      simgrid::simix::unblock(self);
    }
  });

  // Get the result of the operation (which might be an exception):
  return result.get();
}
@endcode

A contrived example of this would be:

@code{cpp}
int res = simgrid::simix::kernel_sync([&] {
  return kernel_wait_until(30).then(
    [](simgrid::kernel::Future<void> future) {
      return 42;
    }
  );
});
@endcode

### Asynchronous operations {#uhood_switch_v2_async}

We can write the related `kernel_async()` which wakes up the actor immediately
and returns a future to the actor. As this future is used in the actor context,
it is a different future
(`simgrid::simix::Future` instead of `simgrid::kernel::Future`)
which implements a C++11 `std::future` wait-based API:

@code{cpp}
template <class T>
class Future {
public:
  Future() {}
  Future(simgrid::kernel::Future<T> future) : future_(std::move(future)) {}
  bool valid() const { return future_.valid(); }
  T get();
  bool is_ready() const;
  void wait();
private:
  // We wrap an event-based kernel future:
  simgrid::kernel::Future<T> future_;
};
@endcode

The `future.get()` method is implemented as[^getcompared]:

@code{cpp}
template<class T>
T simgrid::simix::Future<T>::get()
{
  if (!valid())
    throw std::future_error(std::future_errc::no_state);
  smx_actor_t self = SIMIX_process_self();
  simgrid::xbt::Result<T> result;
  simcall_run_blocking([this, &result, self]{
    try {
      // When the kernel future is ready...
      this->future_.then_(
        [this, &result, self](simgrid::kernel::Future<T> value) {
          // ... wake up the process with the result of the kernel future.
          simgrid::xbt::setPromise(result, value);
          simgrid::simix::unblock(self);
      });
    }
    catch (...) {
      result.set_exception(std::current_exception());
      simgrid::simix::unblock(self);
    }
  });
  return result.get();
}
@endcode

`kernel_async()` simply :wink: calls `kernelImmediate()` and wraps the
`simgrid::kernel::Future` into a `simgrid::simix::Future`:

@code{cpp}
template<class F>
auto kernel_async(F code)
  -> Future<decltype(code().get())>
{
  typedef decltype(code().get()) T;

  // Execute the code in the simulation kernel and get the kernel future:
  simgrid::kernel::Future<T> future =
    simgrid::simix::kernelImmediate(std::move(code));

  // Wrap the kernel future in a user future:
  return simgrid::simix::Future<T>(std::move(future));
}
@endcode

A contrived example of this would be:

@code{cpp}
simgrid::simix::Future<int> future = simgrid::simix::kernel_sync([&] {
  return kernel_wait_until(30).then(
    [](simgrid::kernel::Future<void> future) {
      return 42;
    }
  );
});
do_some_stuff();
int res = future.get();
@endcode

`kernel_sync()` could be rewritten as:

@code{cpp}
template<class F>
auto kernel_sync(F code) -> decltype(code().get())
{
  return kernel_async(std::move(code)).get();
}
@endcode

The semantic is equivalent but this form would require two simcalls
instead of one to do the same job (one in `kernel_async()` and one in
`.get()`).

## Mutexes and condition variables

### Condition Variables

Similarly SimGrid already had simulation-level condition variables
which can be exposed using the same API as `std::condition_variable`:

@code{cpp}
class ConditionVariable {
private:
  friend s_smx_cond_t;
  smx_cond_t cond_;
  ConditionVariable(smx_cond_t cond) : cond_(cond) {}
public:

  ConditionVariable(ConditionVariable const&) = delete;
  ConditionVariable& operator=(ConditionVariable const&) = delete;

  friend void intrusive_ptr_add_ref(ConditionVariable* cond);
  friend void intrusive_ptr_release(ConditionVariable* cond);
  using Ptr = boost::intrusive_ptr<ConditionVariable>;
  static Ptr createConditionVariable();

  void wait(std::unique_lock<Mutex>& lock);
  template<class P>
  void wait(std::unique_lock<Mutex>& lock, P pred);

  // Wait functions taking a plain double as time:

  std::cv_status wait_until(std::unique_lock<Mutex>& lock,
    double timeout_time);
  std::cv_status wait_for(
    std::unique_lock<Mutex>& lock, double duration);
  template<class P>
  bool wait_until(std::unique_lock<Mutex>& lock,
    double timeout_time, P pred);
  template<class P>
  bool wait_for(std::unique_lock<Mutex>& lock,
    double duration, P pred);

  // Wait functions taking a std::chrono time:

  template<class Rep, class Period, class P>
  bool wait_for(std::unique_lock<Mutex>& lock,
    std::chrono::duration<Rep, Period> duration, P pred);
  template<class Rep, class Period>
  std::cv_status wait_for(std::unique_lock<Mutex>& lock,
    std::chrono::duration<Rep, Period> duration);
  template<class Duration>
  std::cv_status wait_until(std::unique_lock<Mutex>& lock,
    const SimulationTimePoint<Duration>& timeout_time);
  template<class Duration, class P>
  bool wait_until(std::unique_lock<Mutex>& lock,
    const SimulationTimePoint<Duration>& timeout_time, P pred);

  // Notify:

  void notify_one();
  void notify_all();
  
};
@endcode

We currently accept both `double` (for simplicity and consistency with
the current codebase) and `std::chrono` types (for compatibility with
C++ code) as durations and timepoints. One important thing to notice here is
that `cond.wait_for()` and `cond.wait_until()` work in the simulated time,
not in the real time.

The simple `cond.wait()` and `cond.wait_for()` delegate to
pre-existing simcalls:

@code{cpp}
void ConditionVariable::wait(std::unique_lock<Mutex>& lock)
{
  simcall_cond_wait(cond_, lock.mutex()->mutex_);
}

std::cv_status ConditionVariable::wait_for(
  std::unique_lock<Mutex>& lock, double timeout)
{
  // The simcall uses -1 for "any timeout" but we don't want this:
  if (timeout < 0)
    timeout = 0.0;

  try {
    simcall_cond_wait_timeout(cond_, lock.mutex()->mutex_, timeout);
    return std::cv_status::no_timeout;
  }
  catch (const simgrid::TimeoutException& e) {
    // If the exception was a timeout, we have to take the lock again:
    try {
      lock.mutex()->lock();
      return std::cv_status::timeout;
    }
    catch (...) {
      std::terminate();
    }
  }
  catch (...) {
    std::terminate();
  }
}
@endcode

Other methods are simple wrappers around those two:

@code{cpp}
template<class P>
void ConditionVariable::wait(std::unique_lock<Mutex>& lock, P pred)
{
  while (!pred())
    wait(lock);
}

template<class P>
bool ConditionVariable::wait_until(std::unique_lock<Mutex>& lock,
  double timeout_time, P pred)
{
  while (!pred())
    if (this->wait_until(lock, timeout_time) == std::cv_status::timeout)
      return pred();
  return true;
}

template<class P>
bool ConditionVariable::wait_for(std::unique_lock<Mutex>& lock,
  double duration, P pred)
{
  return this->wait_until(lock,
    simgrid::s4u::Engine::get_clock() + duration, std::move(pred));
}
@endcode


## Conclusion

We wrote two future implementations based on the `std::future` API:

* the first one is a non-blocking event-based (`future.then(stuff)`)
  future used inside our (non-blocking event-based) simulation kernel;

* the second one is a wait-based (`future.get()`) future used in the actors
  which waits using a simcall.

These futures are used to implement `kernel_sync()` and `kernel_async()` which
expose asynchronous operations in the simulation kernel to the actors.

In addition, we wrote variations of some other C++ standard library
classes (`SimulationClock`, `Mutex`, `ConditionVariable`) which work in
the simulation:
  
  * using simulated time;

  * using simcalls for synchronisation.

Reusing the same API as the C++ standard library is very useful because:

  * we use a proven API with a clearly defined semantic;

  * people already familiar with those API can use our own easily;

  * users can rely on documentation, examples and tutorials made by other
    people;

  * we can reuse generic code with our types (`std::unique_lock`,
   `std::lock_guard`, etc.).

This type of approach might be useful for other libraries which define
their own contexts. An example of this is
[Mordor](https://github.com/mozy/mordor), an I/O library using fibers
(cooperative scheduling): it implements cooperative/fiber
[mutex](https://github.com/mozy/mordor/blob/4803b6343aee531bfc3588ffc26a0d0fdf14b274/mordor/fibersynchronization.h#L70),
[recursive
mutex](https://github.com/mozy/mordor/blob/4803b6343aee531bfc3588ffc26a0d0fdf14b274/mordor/fibersynchronization.h#L105)
which are compatible with the
[`BasicLockable`](http://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/concept/BasicLockable)
requirements (see
[`[thread.req.lockable.basic]`]((http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/docs/papers/2014/n4296.pdf#page=1175))
in the C++14 standard).

## Appendix: useful helpers

### `Result`

Result is like a mix of `std::future` and `std::promise` in a
single-object without shared-state and synchronisation:

@code{cpp}
template<class T>
class Result {
public:
  bool is_valid() const;
  void set_exception(std::exception_ptr e);
  void set_value(T&& value);
  void set_value(T const& value);
  T get();
private:
  boost::variant<boost::blank, T, std::exception_ptr> value_;
};
@endcode~

### Promise helpers

Those helper are useful for dealing with generic future-based code:

@code{cpp}
template<class R, class F>
auto fulfillPromise(R& promise, F&& code)
-> decltype(promise.set_value(code()))
{
  try {
    promise.set_value(std::forward<F>(code)());
  }
  catch(...) {
    promise.set_exception(std::current_exception());
  }
}

template<class P, class F>
auto fulfillPromise(P& promise, F&& code)
-> decltype(promise.set_value())
{
  try {
    std::forward<F>(code)();
    promise.set_value();
  }
  catch(...) {
    promise.set_exception(std::current_exception());
  }
}

template<class P, class F>
void setPromise(P& promise, F&& future)
{
  fulfillPromise(promise, [&]{ return std::forward<F>(future).get(); });
}
@endcode

### Task

`Task<R(F...)>` is a type-erased callable object similar to
`std::function<R(F...)>` but works for move-only types. It is similar to
`std::package_task<R(F...)>` but does not wrap the result in a `std::future<R>`
(it is not <i>packaged</i>).

|               |`std::function` |`std::packaged_task`|`simgrid::xbt::Task`
|---------------|----------------|--------------------|--------------------------
|Copyable       | Yes            | No                 | No
|Movable        | Yes            | Yes                | Yes
|Call           | `const`        | non-`const`        | non-`const`
|Callable       | multiple times | once               | once
|Sets a promise | No             | Yes                | No

It could be implemented as:

@code{cpp}
template<class T>
class Task {
private:
  std::packaged_task<T> task_;
public:

  template<class F>
  void Task(F f) :
    task_(std::forward<F>(f))
  {}

  template<class... ArgTypes>
  auto operator()(ArgTypes... args)
  -> decltype(task_.get_future().get())
  {
    task_(std::forward<ArgTypes)(args)...);
    return task_.get_future().get();
  }

};
@endcode

but we don't need a shared-state.

This is useful in order to bind move-only type arguments:

@code{cpp}
template<class F, class... Args>
class TaskImpl {
private:
  F code_;
  std::tuple<Args...> args_;
  typedef decltype(simgrid::xbt::apply(
    std::move(code_), std::move(args_))) result_type;
public:
  TaskImpl(F code, std::tuple<Args...> args) :
    code_(std::move(code)),
    args_(std::move(args))
  {}
  result_type operator()()
  {
    // simgrid::xbt::apply is C++17 std::apply:
    return simgrid::xbt::apply(std::move(code_), std::move(args_));
  }
};

template<class F, class... Args>
auto makeTask(F code, Args... args)
-> Task< decltype(code(std::move(args)...))() >
{
  TaskImpl<F, Args...> task(
    std::move(code), std::make_tuple(std::move(args)...));
  return std::move(task);
}
@endcode


## Notes    

[^getcompared]:

    You might want to compare this method with `simgrid::kernel::Future::get()`
    we showed previously: the method of the kernel future does not block and
    raises an error if the future is not ready; the method of the actor future
    blocks after having set a continuation to wake the actor when the future
    is ready.

[^lock]:

    `std::lock()` might kinda work too but it may not be such as good idea to
    use it as it may use a [<q>deadlock avoidance algorithm such as
    try-and-back-off</q>](http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/docs/papers/2014/n4296.pdf#page=1199).
    A backoff would probably uselessly wait in real time instead of simulated
    time. The deadlock avoidance algorithm might as well add non-determinism
    in the simulation which we would like to avoid.
    `std::try_lock()` should be safe to use though.

*/