andywer/threads.js

Should we support passing functions to workers?

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#145 opened on Aug 8, 2019

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Description

In v0.x we built the library around the idea of passing functions to the worker that would be serialized, passed as a message, deserialized and then executed in the worker.

This approach has some subtle, yet strong limitations, though. That's why v1.0 does not support passing functions anymore, in order to prevent people from running into those not-always-obvious issues.

Maybe there are use cases where one really needs to be able to pass functions to workers. Then we need to make sure, though, that the user is aware of the passed function's limitations:

  • Cannot access any variable declared outside the functions scope
  • Cannot import or require() other modules in the function (at least not in the browser when bundling)

In response to #141, #144.

Contributor guide

Research direction
Understand the limitations of serializing functions for workers and design a safe API that warns users about scope and import restrictions. Review previous discussions (#141, #144) and consider adding a new method with clear documentation.
Tech stack
typescript
Domain
backendapi
Issue type
Feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-2 days
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
Active
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
Mostly clear
Prerequisites
JavaScriptTypeScript
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
60