Beginning with Actors.

2) Tim, Actors in Scala is definitely on my list. I am only slightly confused on these two points:
    - Actors simplify the execution of parallel, interdependent tasks because they replace shared data structures with           immutable message passing. Is there a reason to prefer actors to java executors when the tasks are independent?
    - I have read that scala.Actors will be dropped in Scala 2.10 and only Akka actors will be included. What is the difference between them?

2012/1/18 Tim Pigden <tim [dot] pigden [at] optrak [dot] com>

Edmondo
If you're looking for a general introduction and explanation of
concepts, the Artima Actors in Scala book is a good starting point

2012/1/18 √iktor Ҡlang <viktor [dot] klang [at] gmail [dot] com>:
>
>
> 2012/1/18 Edmondo Porcu <edmondo [dot] porcu [at] gmail [dot] com>
>>
>> Would be great if you could provide a little bit more details...Thank you
>
>
> *sprinkles details*
>
> I'll gladly answer questions, but be a bit more specific please.
>
> Cheers,
> √
>
>>
>> Best Regards
>>
>>
>> 2012/1/18 √iktor Ҡlang <viktor [dot] klang [at] gmail [dot] com>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Jan 18, 2012 at 10:04 AM, Naftoli Gugenheim
>>> <naftoligug [at] gmail [dot] com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> If it needs to execute in parallel then why use actors and not regular
>>>> Executors?
>>>
>>>
>>> I'd suggest using Future composition instead.
>>>
>>>>
>>>> The actor model is specifically designed for serial execution.
>>>
>>>
>>> No.
>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, Jan 18, 2012 at 1:37 AM, Edmondo Porcu <edmondo [dot] porcu [at] gmail [dot] com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Deear all,
>>>>> I need to use actors in the Java "Callable" way...meaning I have to
>>>>> submit two independent computations in Parallel....and synchronize on the
>>>>> completion or the timeout of the two operations...
>>>>>
>>>>> Can you point me to a resource where I can see how to implement this
>>>>> with actors?
>>>>>
>>>>> Thank you very much
>>>>>
>>>>> Best Regards
>>>>>
>>>>> Edmondo
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Viktor Klang
>>>
>>> Akka Tech Lead
>>> Typesafe - The software stack for applications that scale
>>>
>>> Twitter: @viktorklang
>>>
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Viktor Klang
>
> Akka Tech Lead
> Typesafe - The software stack for applications that scale
>
> Twitter: @viktorklang
>



--
Tim Pigden
Optrak Distribution Software Limited
+44 (0)1992 517100
http://www.linkedin.com/in/timpigden
http://optrak.com
Optrak Distribution Software Ltd is a limited company registered in
England and Wales.
Company Registration No. 2327613 Registered Offices: Orland House,
Mead Lane, Hertford, SG13 7AT England
This email and any attachments to it may be confidential and are
intended solely for the use of the individual to whom it is addressed.
Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do
not necessarily represent those of Optrak Distribution Software Ltd.
If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you must neither
take any action based upon its contents, nor copy or show it to
anyone. Please contact the sender if you believe you have received
this email in error.

Thank you all for your interest.
Let me rephrase my questions in a different way:
1) Viktor, what you do suggest is to create for example a class containing a given number of futures and collect their resuls. I know how to do it through a synchronizer, using for example a CountDownLatch .  I guess there is a better solution in Java to launch a given number of parallel processing and collect their results.
2) Tim, Actors in Scala is definitely on my list. I am only slightly confused on these two points:
    - Actors simplify the execution of parallel, interdependent tasks because they replace shared data structures with           immutable message passing. Is there a reason to prefer actors to java executors when the tasks are independent?
    - I have read that scala.Actors will be dropped in Scala 2.10 and only Akka actors will be included. What is the difference between them?
Thank you as usualBest Regards
Edmondo Porcu


2012/1/18 Tim Pigden <tim [dot] p [dot] [dot] [dot] [at] optrak [dot] com>

Edmondo
If you're looking for a general introduction and explanation of
concepts, the Artima Actors in Scala book is a good starting point

2012/1/18 √iktor Ҡlang <viktor [dot] [dot] [dot] [at] gmail [dot] com>:
>
>
> 2012/1/18 Edmondo Porcu <edmond [dot] [dot] [dot] [at] gmail [dot] com>
>>
>> Would be great if you could provide a little bit more details...Thank you
>
>
> *sprinkles details*
>
> I'll gladly answer questions, but be a bit more specific please.
>
> Cheers,
> √
>
>>
>> Best Regards
>>
>>
>> 2012/1/18 √iktor Ҡlang <viktor [dot] [dot] [dot] [at] gmail [dot] com>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Jan 18, 2012 at 10:04 AM, Naftoli Gugenheim
>>> <nafto [dot] [dot] [dot] [at] gmail [dot] com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> If it needs to execute in parallel then why use actors and not regular
>>>> Executors?
>>>
>>>
>>> I'd suggest using Future composition instead.
>>>
>>>>
>>>> The actor model is specifically designed for serial execution.
>>>
>>>
>>> No.
>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, Jan 18, 2012 at 1:37 AM, Edmondo Porcu <edmond [dot] [dot] [dot] [at] gmail [dot] com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Deear all,
>>>>> I need to use actors in the Java "Callable" way...meaning I have to
>>>>> submit two independent computations in Parallel....and synchronize on the
>>>>> completion or the timeout of the two operations...
>>>>>
>>>>> Can you point me to a resource where I can see how to implement this
>>>>> with actors?
>>>>>
>>>>> Thank you very much
>>>>>
>>>>> Best Regards
>>>>>
>>>>> Edmondo
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Viktor Klang
>>>
>>> Akka Tech Lead
>>> Typesafe - The software stack for applications that scale
>>>
>>> Twitter: @viktorklang
>>>
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Viktor Klang
>
> Akka Tech Lead
> Typesafe - The software stack for applications that scale
>
> Twitter: @viktorklang
>



--
Tim Pigden
Optrak Distribution Software Limited
+44 (0)1992 517100
http://www.linkedin.com/in/timpigden
http://optrak.com
Optrak Distribution Software Ltd is a limited company registered in
England and Wales.
Company Registration No. 2327613 Registered Offices: Orland House,
Mead Lane, Hertford, SG13 7AT England
This email and any attachments to it may be confidential and are
intended solely for the use of the individual to whom it is addressed.
Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do
not necessarily represent those of Optrak Distribution Software Ltd.
If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you must neither
take any action based upon its contents, nor copy or show it to
anyone. Please contact the sender if you believe you have received
this email in error.

Thank you all for your interest.
Let me rephrase my questions in a different way:
1) Viktor, what you do suggest is to create for example a class containing a given number of futures and collect their resuls. I know how to do it through a synchronizer, using for example a CountDownLatch .  I guess there is a better solution in Java to launch a given number of parallel processing and collect their results.

implicit val e = ExecutionContext.fromExecutor(yourExecutorGoesHere)
val futures = for (i ← 1 to 1000) yield Future(i * 2) // Create a sequence of Futures
val futureSum = Future.fold(futures)(0)(_ + _)
Await.result(futureSum, 1 second) must be(1001000)

2) Tim, Actors in Scala is definitely on my list. I am only slightly confused on these two points:
    - Actors simplify the execution of parallel, interdependent tasks because they replace shared data structures with           immutable message passing. Is there a reason to prefer actors to java executors when the tasks are independent?

    - I have read that scala.Actors will be dropped in Scala 2.10 and only Akka actors will be included. What is the difference between them?

Thank you as usualBest Regards
Edmondo Porcu


2012/1/18 Tim Pigden <tim [dot] pigden [at] optrak [dot] com>

Edmondo
If you're looking for a general introduction and explanation of
concepts, the Artima Actors in Scala book is a good starting point

2012/1/18 √iktor Ҡlang <viktor [dot] klang [at] gmail [dot] com>:
>
>
> 2012/1/18 Edmondo Porcu <edmondo [dot] porcu [at] gmail [dot] com>
>>
>> Would be great if you could provide a little bit more details...Thank you
>
>
> *sprinkles details*
>
> I'll gladly answer questions, but be a bit more specific please.
>
> Cheers,
> √
>
>>
>> Best Regards
>>
>>
>> 2012/1/18 √iktor Ҡlang <viktor [dot] klang [at] gmail [dot] com>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Jan 18, 2012 at 10:04 AM, Naftoli Gugenheim
>>> <naftoligug [at] gmail [dot] com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> If it needs to execute in parallel then why use actors and not regular
>>>> Executors?
>>>
>>>
>>> I'd suggest using Future composition instead.
>>>
>>>>
>>>> The actor model is specifically designed for serial execution.
>>>
>>>
>>> No.
>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, Jan 18, 2012 at 1:37 AM, Edmondo Porcu <edmondo [dot] porcu [at] gmail [dot] com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Deear all,
>>>>> I need to use actors in the Java "Callable" way...meaning I have to
>>>>> submit two independent computations in Parallel....and synchronize on the
>>>>> completion or the timeout of the two operations...
>>>>>
>>>>> Can you point me to a resource where I can see how to implement this
>>>>> with actors?
>>>>>
>>>>> Thank you very much
>>>>>
>>>>> Best Regards
>>>>>
>>>>> Edmondo
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Viktor Klang
>>>
>>> Akka Tech Lead
>>> Typesafe - The software stack for applications that scale
>>>
>>> Twitter: @viktorklang
>>>
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Viktor Klang
>
> Akka Tech Lead
> Typesafe - The software stack for applications that scale
>
> Twitter: @viktorklang
>



--
Tim Pigden
Optrak Distribution Software Limited
+44 (0)1992 517100
http://www.linkedin.com/in/timpigden
http://optrak.com
Optrak Distribution Software Ltd is a limited company registered in
England and Wales.
Company Registration No. 2327613 Registered Offices: Orland House,
Mead Lane, Hertford, SG13 7AT England
This email and any attachments to it may be confidential and are
intended solely for the use of the individual to whom it is addressed.
Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do
not necessarily represent those of Optrak Distribution Software Ltd.
If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you must neither
take any action based upon its contents, nor copy or show it to
anyone. Please contact the sender if you believe you have received
this email in error.