fstcore (version 0.10.0)

threads_fstlib: Get or set the number of threads used in parallel operations

Description

For parallel operations, the performance is determined to a great extend by the number of threads used. More threads will allow the CPU to perform more computational intensive tasks simultaneously, speeding up the operation. Using more threads also introduces some overhead that will scale with the number of threads used. Therefore, using the maximum number of available threads is not always the fastest solution. With threads_fstlib the number of threads can be adjusted to the users specific requirements. As a default, fstcore uses a number of threads equal to the number of logical cores in the system.

Usage

threads_fstlib(nr_of_threads = NULL, reset_after_fork = NULL)

Value

the number of threads (previously) used

Arguments

nr_of_threads

number of threads to use or NULL to get the current number of threads used in multithreaded operations.

reset_after_fork

when fstcore is running in a forked process, the usage of OpenMP can create problems. To prevent these, fstcore switches back to single core usage when it detects a fork. After the fork, the number of threads is reset to it's initial setting. However, on some compilers (e.g. Intel), switching back to multi-threaded mode can lead to issues. When reset_after_fork is set to FALSE, fstcore is left in single-threaded mode after the fork ends. After the fork, multithreading can be activated again manually by calling threads_fstlib with an appropriate value for nr_of_threads. The default (reset_after_fork = NULL) leaves the fork behavior unchanged.

Details

The number of threads can also be set with options(fst_threads = N). NOTE: This option is only read when the package's namespace is first loaded, with commands like library, require, or ::. If you have already used one of these, you must use threads_fstlib to set the number of threads.

Examples

# get current number of threads
threads_fstlib()

# set the number of threads
threads_fstlib(12)

# leave in single threaded mode after a fork
threads_fstlib(12, reset_after_fork = FALSE)

# reset number of threads after a fork
threads_fstlib(12, reset_after_fork = TRUE)