safe-instances (previously called safe_children)

A complete, functional, fast and simple Node.js threading module.

safe-instances was developed by Oratio.io for Oratio.js's Module System. It's based on children pools, allowing you to

NOTE: With release 2.0, sending file names when doing new Child() is DEPRECATED. You must do new ChildFile(), as explained in the quick-start tutorial.

Installation

npm install safe-instances

Getting Started

var Child = require('safe-instances');
var pool = new Child.Pool(3); //Creates pool with 3 processes

var child = new Child('process.handle("randomMessage", function(value, callback){ callback(value) }', pool, 3 * 60);
child.start();

child.contact('randomMessage', 'myValue') //NOTE: You might pass a third callback argument, too.
.then(function(value){
  console.log(value); //<- "myValue"
});

Need to send file locations instead of strings when creating new script? Do:

Child.File.usesCache = false; //Default: true. Caches scripts for being re-used.

var child = new Child.File(__dirname + 'script.js', 3 * 60);

[...]

Documentation

new Child(code, pool, timeout)

Returns new Child object with following properties:

• child.setPool(pool); Sets child's pool to pool.
• child.encoding - Default: utf8.
• child.commandType - Default: node.
• child.timeout - The timeout you set when creating a child - defaults to 1 minute. Only works before beginning the script.
• child.logs - Do console.logs from the child appear on your console?
• child.contact(event, message) - Returns Promise. Should be handled with process.handle in the child process.