Python 2.6 send connection object over Queue / Pipe / etc.

Question

Given this bug (Python Issue 4892) that gives rise to the following error:

>>> import multiprocessing
>>> multiprocessing.allow_connection_pickling()
>>> q = multiprocessing.Queue()
>>> p = multiprocessing.Pipe()
>>> q.put(p)
>>> q.get()
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
  File     "/.../python2.6/multiprocessing/queues.py", line 91, in get
    res = self._recv()
TypeError: Required argument 'handle' (pos 1) not found

Does anyone know of a workaround to pass a Connection object on a Queue?

Thank you.

Answer 1

Here's roughly what I did:

# Producer
from multiprocessing.reduction import reduce_connection
from multiprocessing import Pipe

   # Producer and Consumer share the Queue we call queue
def handle(queue):
   reader, writer = Pipe()
   pickled_writer = pickle.dumps(reduce_connection(writer))
   queue.put(pickled_writer)

and

# Consumer
from multiprocessing.reduction import rebuild_connection

def wait_for_request():
    pickled_write = queue.get(block=True) # block=True isn't necessary, of course
    upw = pickle.loads(pickled_writer) # unpickled writer
    writer = upw[0](upw[1][0],upw[1][1],upw[1][2])

The last line is cryptic, coming from the following:

>>> upw
(<function rebuild_connection at 0x1005df140>,
(('/var/folders/.../pymp-VhT3wX/listener-FKMB0W',
17, False), True, True))

Hope that helps someone else. It works fine for me.