added async-io quiz

This commit is contained in:
Chris Boesch
2026-04-03 18:11:00 +02:00
parent 2500936153
commit 1c6487c1e7
25 changed files with 399 additions and 20 deletions

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@@ -1109,20 +1109,29 @@ const exercises = [_]Exercise{
.main_file = "083_anonymous_lists.zig", .main_file = "083_anonymous_lists.zig",
.output = "I say hello!", .output = "I say hello!",
}, },
.{
.main_file = "084_interfaces.zig",
.output =
\\Daily Insect Report:
\\Ant is alive.
\\Bee visited 17 flowers.
\\Grasshopper hopped 32 meters.
, // pay attention to the comma
},
// Skipped because of https://github.com/ratfactor/ziglings/issues/163 // Skipped because of https://github.com/ratfactor/ziglings/issues/163
// direct link: https://github.com/ziglang/zig/issues/6025 // direct link: https://github.com/ziglang/zig/issues/6025
.{ .{
.main_file = "084_async.zig", .main_file = "085_async.zig",
.output = "Current time: <timestamp>s since epoch", .output = "Current time: <timestamp>s since epoch",
.timestamp = true, .timestamp = true,
}, },
.{ .{
.main_file = "085_async2.zig", .main_file = "086_async2.zig",
.output = "Computing... the answer is: 42", .output = "Computing... the answer is: 42",
}, },
.{ .{
.main_file = "086_async3.zig", .main_file = "087_async3.zig",
.output = .output =
\\1 + 2 = 3 \\1 + 2 = 3
\\6 * 7 = 42 \\6 * 7 = 42
@@ -1130,7 +1139,7 @@ const exercises = [_]Exercise{
, // pay attention to the comma , // pay attention to the comma
}, },
.{ .{
.main_file = "087_async4.zig", .main_file = "088_async4.zig",
.output = .output =
\\Task 1 done. \\Task 1 done.
\\Task 2 done. \\Task 2 done.
@@ -1139,7 +1148,7 @@ const exercises = [_]Exercise{
, // pay attention to the comma , // pay attention to the comma
}, },
.{ .{
.main_file = "088_async5.zig", .main_file = "089_async5.zig",
.output = .output =
\\Starting long computation... \\Starting long computation...
\\Canceling slow task... \\Canceling slow task...
@@ -1148,19 +1157,19 @@ const exercises = [_]Exercise{
, // pay attention to the comma , // pay attention to the comma
}, },
.{ .{
.main_file = "089_async6.zig", .main_file = "090_async6.zig",
.output = "Hare: I'm fast!", .output = "Hare: I'm fast!",
}, },
.{ .{
.main_file = "090_async7.zig", .main_file = "091_async7.zig",
.output = "Counter: 400", .output = "Counter: 400",
}, },
.{ .{
.main_file = "091_async8.zig", .main_file = "092_async8.zig",
.output = "Sum of 1..10 = 55", .output = "Sum of 1..10 = 55",
}, },
.{ .{
.main_file = "092_async9.zig", .main_file = "093_async9.zig",
.output = .output =
\\Main thread continues... \\Main thread continues...
\\Computing on a separate thread! \\Computing on a separate thread!
@@ -1169,7 +1178,7 @@ const exercises = [_]Exercise{
, // pay attention to the comma , // pay attention to the comma
}, },
.{ .{
.main_file = "093_async10.zig", .main_file = "094_async10.zig",
.output = .output =
\\Starting critical section... \\Starting critical section...
\\Critical section completed safely. \\Critical section completed safely.
@@ -1177,17 +1186,14 @@ const exercises = [_]Exercise{
, // pay attention to the comma , // pay attention to the comma
}, },
.{ .{
.main_file = "094_async_quiz.zig", .main_file = "095_quiz_async.zig",
.output = "",
.skip = true,
},
.{
.main_file = "095_interfaces.zig",
.output = .output =
\\Daily Insect Report: \\=== Doctor Zoraptera's Garden Report ===
\\Ant is alive. \\Temperature : 23C
\\Bee visited 17 flowers. \\Humidity : 63%
\\Grasshopper hopped 32 meters. \\Wind : 13 km/h
\\Readings : 9
\\Bee-friendly conditions! Expect high pollination.
, // pay attention to the comma , // pay attention to the comma
}, },
.{ .{

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@@ -0,0 +1,186 @@
//
// Quiz Time — Async I/O!
//
// Doctor Zoraptera's insect simulation is going well, but she
// realized that her virtual garden needs weather data! Insects
// behave differently depending on temperature, humidity, and
// wind conditions.
//
// She has set up three weather sensors around the garden that
// measure conditions in parallel and report their readings
// through a shared data channel. A collector task gathers the
// readings, and after all sensors have reported, a garden
// report is printed.
//
// But Doctor Z rushed through the code (she was being chased
// by a grasshopper) and left several bugs. Can you fix them?
//
// Here's what the program should do:
// 1. Three sensor tasks run concurrently, each sending
// exactly 3 readings through a Queue
// 2. A collector task receives readings, protected by a Mutex
// 3. After all sensors finish, the queue is closed
// 4. The final report is written in a cancel-protected section
//
// *************************************************************
// * A NOTE ABOUT THIS EXERCISE *
// * *
// * This quiz uses concepts from exercises 084-093. *
// * There are 6 bugs to fix — look for the ???s! *
// * *
// *************************************************************
//
const std = @import("std");
const print = std.debug.print;
const SensorType = enum { thermometer, hygrometer, anemometer };
const Reading = struct {
sensor_type: SensorType,
value: i32,
};
const GardenWeather = struct {
temperature: i32 = 0,
humidity: i32 = 0,
wind: i32 = 0,
readings_count: u32 = 0,
mutex: std.Io.Mutex = .init,
fn addReading(self: *GardenWeather, io: std.Io, reading: Reading) void {
// Bug 1: The collector needs to lock before modifying
// shared state. What Mutex method acquires the lock?
self.mutex.lock(io) catch return;
self.mutex.???(io) catch return;
switch (reading.sensor_type) {
.thermometer => self.temperature = reading.value,
.hygrometer => self.humidity = reading.value,
.anemometer => self.wind = reading.value,
}
self.readings_count += 1;
}
};
pub fn main(init: std.process.Init) !void {
const io = init.io;
var weather = GardenWeather{};
var reading_buf: [8]Reading = undefined;
var queue: std.Io.Queue(Reading) = .init(&reading_buf);
// Sensor group: runs all three sensors to completion.
var sensors: std.Io.Group = .init;
// Start three sensor tasks. They need GUARANTEED concurrency
// since they each simulate real-time measurement.
//
// Bug 2: io.async doesn't guarantee a separate thread.
// Which Io method guarantees true concurrency?
// (Don't forget: it can fail, so you need 'try'!)
try sensors.???(io, sensor, .{ io, &queue, .thermometer, 20 });
try sensors.???(io, sensor, .{ io, &queue, .hygrometer, 60 });
try sensors.???(io, sensor, .{ io, &queue, .anemometer, 10 });
// Collector group: processes readings from the queue.
var collectors: std.Io.Group = .init;
collectors.async(io, collector, .{ io, &queue, &weather });
// Bug 3: Wait for ALL sensors to finish sending their readings.
// What Group method blocks until all tasks complete?
try sensors.await(io);
// try sensors.???(io);
// All sensors done — close the queue so the collector knows
// there's no more data coming.
queue.close(io);
// Wait for the collector to drain the queue.
try collectors.await(io);
// Now write the garden report. This is critical — it must
// NOT be interrupted, even if something tries to cancel us!
//
// Bug 4: Protect this section from cancellation.
// What Io method swaps the cancel protection state?
const old_protection = io.???(.blocked);
defer _ = io.???(old_protection);
printGardenReport(&weather);
}
fn sensor(
io: std.Io,
queue: *std.Io.Queue(Reading),
sensor_type: SensorType,
base_value: i32,
) void {
// Each sensor takes exactly 3 measurements.
for (1..4) |i| {
io.sleep(std.Io.Duration.fromMilliseconds(100), .awake) catch return;
const reading = Reading{
.sensor_type = sensor_type,
.value = base_value + @as(i32, @intCast(i)),
};
// Bug 5: Send the reading into the queue.
// What Queue method sends a single element?
queue.???(io, reading) catch return;
}
}
fn collector(
io: std.Io,
queue: *std.Io.Queue(Reading),
weather: *GardenWeather,
) void {
while (true) {
const reading = queue.getOne(io) catch |err| switch (err) {
error.Closed => break,
error.Canceled => return,
};
weather.addReading(io, reading);
}
}
fn printGardenReport(weather: *GardenWeather) void {
print("=== Doctor Zoraptera's Garden Report ===\n", .{});
print("Temperature : {}C\n", .{weather.temperature});
print("Humidity : {}%\n", .{weather.humidity});
print("Wind : {} km/h\n", .{weather.wind});
print("Readings : {}\n", .{weather.readings_count});
if (weather.temperature > 20 and weather.wind < 15) {
print("Bee-friendly conditions! Expect high pollination.\n", .{});
} else {
print("Grasshoppers will be grumpy today.\n", .{});
}
}
// Further reading for the curious:
//
// This quiz covered the main async I/O primitives:
// io.async() - launch a task (may run inline)
// io.concurrent() - launch with guaranteed parallelism
// Group.concurrent() - concurrent tasks in a group
// Future.await/cancel - collect or cancel a single task
// Group.async/await/cancel - manage fire-and-forget tasks
// Select.async/await - race tasks, act on first completion
// Queue - bounded channel between tasks
// Mutex - protect shared state
// CancelProtection - shield critical sections
//
// There are more synchronization primitives we didn't cover:
// Condition - wait for a condition to become true
// RwLock - multiple readers OR one writer
// Semaphore - limit concurrent access to a resource
// Futex - low-level wait/wake on a memory address
// Batch - submit multiple I/O operations at once
//
// The key insight: all of these work through the Io VTable,
// so your code is portable across backends (Threaded, Uring,
// Kqueue, Dispatch) without any changes!
//
// Doctor Zoraptera approves.

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@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
--- exercises/084_interfaces.zig 2025-08-15 15:17:57.839348063 +0200
+++ answers/084_interfaces.zig 2026-04-03 14:27:32.670756488 +0200
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@
for (my_insects) |insect| {
// Almost done! We want to print() each insect with a
// single method call here.
- ???
+ insect.print();
}
}

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@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
--- exercises/085_async.zig 2026-04-01 20:40:08.904999609 +0200
+++ answers/085_async.zig 2026-04-01 20:40:05.641933231 +0200
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
const std = @import("std");
pub fn main(init: std.process.Init) !void {
- const io = init.???;
+ const io = init.io;
// Get the current wall-clock time using the Io interface.
// Hint: Timestamp.now() takes an Io and a Clock type (.real = wall clock).

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@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
--- exercises/086_async2.zig 2026-04-01 19:22:50.017227542 +0200
+++ answers/086_async2.zig 2026-04-01 19:21:57.569158481 +0200
@@ -38,9 +38,9 @@
// Now collect the result. What method on Future gives us
// the value, blocking if it isn't ready yet?
- const answer = future.???(io);
+ const answer = future.await(io);
- std.debug.print("The answer is: {}\n", .{answer});
+ std.debug.print("the answer is: {}\n", .{answer});
}
fn computeAnswer(a: u32, b: u32) u32 {

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@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
--- exercises/087_async3.zig 2026-04-01 22:51:05.540094851 +0200
+++ answers/087_async3.zig 2026-04-01 22:50:44.579669189 +0200
@@ -29,12 +29,12 @@
const io = init.io;
// Launch both tasks asynchronously.
- var future_a = io.async(slowAdd, .{ 10, 20 });
- var future_b = ???(slowMul, .{ 6, 7 });
+ var future_a = io.async(slowAdd, .{ 1, 2 });
+ var future_b = io.async(slowMul, .{ 6, 7 });
// Await both results.
const sum = future_a.await(io);
- const product = future_b.???(io);
+ const product = future_b.await(io);
print("{} + {} = {}\n", .{ 1, 2, sum });
print("{} * {} = {}\n", .{ 6, 7, product });

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@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
--- exercises/088_async4.zig 2026-04-01 23:17:31.066443941 +0200
+++ answers/088_async4.zig 2026-04-01 23:17:39.251612131 +0200
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@
// Wait for all tasks to finish.
// What Group method blocks until all tasks complete?
- try group.???
+ try group.await(io);
print("All tasks finished!\n", .{});
}

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@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
--- exercises/089_async5.zig 2026-04-01 23:40:40.505855238 +0200
+++ answers/089_async5.zig 2026-04-01 23:40:10.176236971 +0200
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@
// We don't want to wait 10 seconds!
// Which Future method requests cancellation AND returns the result?
- const result = ???;
+ const result = future.cancel(io);
print("Task returned: {}\n", .{result});
}

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@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
--- exercises/090_async6.zig 2026-04-02 10:25:34.016616118 +0200
+++ answers/090_async6.zig 2026-04-02 10:27:48.827144051 +0200
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@
// Wait for the first finisher.
// What Select method returns the first completed result?
- const winner = ???;
+ const winner = try sel.await();
switch (winner) {
.hare => |msg| print("Hare: {s}\n", .{msg}),

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@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
--- exercises/091_async7.zig 2026-04-02 10:50:08.142508099 +0200
+++ answers/091_async7.zig 2026-04-02 10:49:59.629341593 +0200
@@ -49,8 +49,8 @@
for (0..times) |_| {
// Acquire the lock before modifying shared state.
// What Mutex method blocks until the lock is acquired?
- state.mutex.??? catch return;
- defer state.mutex.unlock(); // <-- what's missing here?
+ state.mutex.lock(io) catch return;
+ defer state.mutex.unlock(io);
state.counter += 1;
}

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@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
--- exercises/092_async8.zig 2026-04-02 10:49:27.925721496 +0200
+++ answers/092_async8.zig 2026-04-02 10:49:31.694795212 +0200
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@
// Send numbers 1 through 10 into the queue.
for (1..11) |i| {
// What Queue method sends a single element, blocking if full?
- queue.???(io, @intCast(i)) catch return;
+ queue.putOne(io, @intCast(i)) catch return;
}
// Signal that we're done sending.
queue.close(io);

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@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
--- exercises/093_async9.zig 2026-04-03 13:44:50.526780809 +0200
+++ answers/093_async9.zig 2026-04-03 13:44:54.957870294 +0200
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
// Launch with a guaranteed separate thread.
// Which Io method guarantees true concurrency?
// (Hint: unlike io.async, this one can fail!)
- var future = try io.???(compute, .{io});
+ var future = try io.concurrent(compute, .{io});
print("Main thread continues...\n", .{});

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@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
--- exercises/094_async10.zig 2026-04-03 14:25:16.600025924 +0200
+++ answers/094_async10.zig 2026-04-03 14:24:56.192615893 +0200
@@ -50,8 +50,8 @@
// Protect this section from cancellation.
// What method swaps the cancel protection state?
- const old = io.???(. blocked);
- defer _ = io.???(old);
+ const old = io.swapCancelProtection(.blocked);
+ defer _ = io.swapCancelProtection(old);
// This sleep will NOT return error.Canceled even though
// we get canceled during it — protection is active!

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@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
--- exercises/095_quiz_async.zig 2026-04-03 18:04:53.577391455 +0200
+++ answers/095_quiz_async.zig 2026-04-03 18:05:42.570392172 +0200
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@
// Bug 1: The collector needs to lock before modifying
// shared state. What Mutex method acquires the lock?
self.mutex.lock(io) catch return;
- self.mutex.???(io) catch return;
+ defer self.mutex.unlock(io);
switch (reading.sensor_type) {
.thermometer => self.temperature = reading.value,
@@ -79,9 +79,9 @@
// Bug 2: io.async doesn't guarantee a separate thread.
// Which Io method guarantees true concurrency?
// (Don't forget: it can fail, so you need 'try'!)
- try sensors.???(io, sensor, .{ io, &queue, .thermometer, 20 });
- try sensors.???(io, sensor, .{ io, &queue, .hygrometer, 60 });
- try sensors.???(io, sensor, .{ io, &queue, .anemometer, 10 });
+ try sensors.concurrent(io, sensor, .{ io, &queue, .thermometer, 20 });
+ try sensors.concurrent(io, sensor, .{ io, &queue, .hygrometer, 60 });
+ try sensors.concurrent(io, sensor, .{ io, &queue, .anemometer, 10 });
// Collector group: processes readings from the queue.
var collectors: std.Io.Group = .init;
@@ -90,7 +90,6 @@
// Bug 3: Wait for ALL sensors to finish sending their readings.
// What Group method blocks until all tasks complete?
try sensors.await(io);
- // try sensors.???(io);
// All sensors done — close the queue so the collector knows
// there's no more data coming.
@@ -104,8 +103,8 @@
//
// Bug 4: Protect this section from cancellation.
// What Io method swaps the cancel protection state?
- const old_protection = io.???(.blocked);
- defer _ = io.???(old_protection);
+ const old_protection = io.swapCancelProtection(.blocked);
+ defer _ = io.swapCancelProtection(old_protection);
printGardenReport(&weather);
}
@@ -127,7 +126,7 @@
// Bug 5: Send the reading into the queue.
// What Queue method sends a single element?
- queue.???(io, reading) catch return;
+ queue.putOne(io, reading) catch return;
}
}