Rewrite sync Assembler to improve performance.

Previously, a latch was used to synchronize the user thread reading messages and
the background thread reading from the network. This required two thread switches
per message.

Now, the background thread writes messages to queue, from which the user thread
reads. This allows passing several frames at each thread switch, reducing the
overhead.

With this server code::

    async def test(websocket):
        for i in range(int(await websocket.recv())):
            await websocket.send(f"{{\"iteration\": {i}}}")

and this client code::

    with connect("ws://localhost:8765", compression=None) as websocket:
        websocket.send("1_000_000")
        for message in websocket:
            pass

an unscientific benchmark (running it on my laptop) shows a 2.5x speedup, going
from 11 seconds to 4.4 seconds. Setting a very large recv_bufsize and max_size doesn't yield significant further improvement.

The new implementation mirrors the asyncio implementation and gains the
option to prevent or force decoding of frames. Refs #1376.

Author: aaugustin

docs/project/changelog.rst

@@ -70,10 +70,21 @@ Backwards-incompatible changes
     If you wrote an :class:`extension <extensions.Extension>` that relies on
     methods not provided by these new types, you may need to update your code.
 
+New features
+............
+
+* Added an option to receive text frames as :class:`bytes`, without decoding,
+  in the :mod:`threading` implementation; also binary frames as :class:`str`.
+
+* Added an option to send :class:`bytes` as a text frame in the :mod:`asyncio`
+  and :mod:`threading` implementations, as well as :class:`str` a binary frame.
+
 Improvements
 ............
 
-* Sending or receiving large compressed frames is now faster.
+* Sending or receiving large compressed messages is now faster.
+
+* The :mod:`threading` implementation receives messages faster.
 
 .. _13.1:
 
@@ -198,6 +209,9 @@ New features
 
 * Validated compatibility with Python 3.12 and 3.13.
 
+* Added an option to receive text frames as :class:`bytes`, without decoding,
+  in the :mod:`asyncio` implementation; also binary frames as :class:`str`.
+
 * Added :doc:`environment variables <../reference/variables>` to configure debug
   logs, the ``Server`` and ``User-Agent`` headers, as well as security limits.
 

src/websockets/asyncio/client.py

@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ class ClientConnection(Connection):
     closed with any other code.
 
     The ``ping_interval``, ``ping_timeout``, ``close_timeout``, ``max_queue``,
-    and ``write_limit`` arguments the same meaning as in :func:`connect`.
+    and ``write_limit`` arguments have the same meaning as in :func:`connect`.
 
     Args:
         protocol: Sans-I/O connection.

src/websockets/asyncio/messages.py

@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ def reset(self, items: Iterable[T]) -> None:
         self.queue.extend(items)
 
     def abort(self) -> None:
+        """Close the queue, raising EOFError in get() if necessary."""
         if self.get_waiter is not None and not self.get_waiter.done():
             self.get_waiter.set_exception(EOFError("stream of frames ended"))
         # Clear the queue to avoid storing unnecessary data in memory.
@@ -89,7 +90,7 @@ def __init__(  # pragma: no cover
         pause: Callable[[], Any] = lambda: None,
         resume: Callable[[], Any] = lambda: None,
     ) -> None:
-        # Queue of incoming messages. Each item is a queue of frames.
+        # Queue of incoming frames.
         self.frames: SimpleQueue[Frame] = SimpleQueue()
 
         # We cannot put a hard limit on the size of the queue because a single
@@ -140,36 +141,35 @@ async def get(self, decode: bool | None = None) -> Data:
         if self.get_in_progress:
             raise ConcurrencyError("get() or get_iter() is already running")
 
-        # Locking with get_in_progress ensures only one coroutine can get here.
         self.get_in_progress = True
 
-        # First frame
+        # Locking with get_in_progress prevents concurrent execution until
+        # get() fetches a complete message or is cancelled.
+
         try:
+            # First frame
             frame = await self.frames.get()
-        except asyncio.CancelledError:
-            self.get_in_progress = False
-            raise
-        self.maybe_resume()
-        assert frame.opcode is OP_TEXT or frame.opcode is OP_BINARY
-        if decode is None:
-            decode = frame.opcode is OP_TEXT
-        frames = [frame]
-
-        # Following frames, for fragmented messages
-        while not frame.fin:
-            try:
-                frame = await self.frames.get()
-            except asyncio.CancelledError:
-                # Put frames already received back into the queue
-                # so that future calls to get() can return them.
-                self.frames.reset(frames)
-                self.get_in_progress = False
-                raise
             self.maybe_resume()
-            assert frame.opcode is OP_CONT
-            frames.append(frame)
-
-        self.get_in_progress = False
+            assert frame.opcode is OP_TEXT or frame.opcode is OP_BINARY
+            if decode is None:
+                decode = frame.opcode is OP_TEXT
+            frames = [frame]
+
+            # Following frames, for fragmented messages
+            while not frame.fin:
+                try:
+                    frame = await self.frames.get()
+                except asyncio.CancelledError:
+                    # Put frames already received back into the queue
+                    # so that future calls to get() can return them.
+                    self.frames.reset(frames)
+                    raise
+                self.maybe_resume()
+                assert frame.opcode is OP_CONT
+                frames.append(frame)
+
+        finally:
+            self.get_in_progress = False
 
         data = b"".join(frame.data for frame in frames)
         if decode:
@@ -207,9 +207,14 @@ async def get_iter(self, decode: bool | None = None) -> AsyncIterator[Data]:
         if self.get_in_progress:
             raise ConcurrencyError("get() or get_iter() is already running")
 
-        # Locking with get_in_progress ensures only one coroutine can get here.
         self.get_in_progress = True
 
+        # Locking with get_in_progress prevents concurrent execution until
+        # get_iter() fetches a complete message or is cancelled.
+
+        # If get_iter() raises an exception e.g. in decoder.decode(),
+        # get_in_progress remains set and the connection becomes unusable.
+
         # First frame
         try:
             frame = await self.frames.get()
@@ -233,6 +238,7 @@ async def get_iter(self, decode: bool | None = None) -> AsyncIterator[Data]:
             # here will leave the assembler in a stuck state. Future calls to
             # get() or get_iter() will raise ConcurrencyError.
             frame = await self.frames.get()
+
             self.maybe_resume()
             assert frame.opcode is OP_CONT
             if decode:

src/websockets/asyncio/server.py

@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ class ServerConnection(Connection):
     closed with any other code.
 
     The ``ping_interval``, ``ping_timeout``, ``close_timeout``, ``max_queue``,
-    and ``write_limit`` arguments the same meaning as in :func:`serve`.
+    and ``write_limit`` arguments have the same meaning as in :func:`serve`.
 
     Args:
         protocol: Sans-I/O connection.

src/websockets/sync/client.py

@@ -40,10 +40,12 @@ class ClientConnection(Connection):
     :exc:`~websockets.exceptions.ConnectionClosedError` when the connection is
     closed with any other code.
 
+    The ``close_timeout`` and ``max_queue`` arguments have the same meaning as
+    in :func:`connect`.
+
     Args:
         socket: Socket connected to a WebSocket server.
         protocol: Sans-I/O connection.
-        close_timeout: Timeout for closing the connection in seconds.
 
     """
 
@@ -53,13 +55,15 @@ def __init__(
         protocol: ClientProtocol,
         *,
         close_timeout: float | None = 10,
+        max_queue: int | tuple[int, int | None] = 16,
     ) -> None:
         self.protocol: ClientProtocol
         self.response_rcvd = threading.Event()
         super().__init__(
             socket,
             protocol,
             close_timeout=close_timeout,
+            max_queue=max_queue,
         )
 
     def handshake(
@@ -135,6 +139,7 @@ def connect(
     close_timeout: float | None = 10,
     # Limits
     max_size: int | None = 2**20,
+    max_queue: int | tuple[int, int | None] = 16,
     # Logging
     logger: LoggerLike | None = None,
     # Escape hatch for advanced customization
@@ -183,6 +188,10 @@ def connect(
             :obj:`None` disables the timeout.
         max_size: Maximum size of incoming messages in bytes.
             :obj:`None` disables the limit.
+        max_queue: High-water mark of the buffer where frames are received.
+            It defaults to 16 frames. The low-water mark defaults to ``max_queue
+            // 4``. You may pass a ``(high, low)`` tuple to set the high-water
+            and low-water marks.
         logger: Logger for this client.
             It defaults to ``logging.getLogger("websockets.client")``.
             See the :doc:`logging guide <../../topics/logging>` for details.
@@ -287,6 +296,7 @@ def connect(
             sock,
             protocol,
             close_timeout=close_timeout,
+            max_queue=max_queue,
         )
     except Exception:
         if sock is not None:

src/websockets/sync/connection.py

@@ -49,10 +49,14 @@ def __init__(
         protocol: Protocol,
         *,
         close_timeout: float | None = 10,
+        max_queue: int | tuple[int, int | None] = 16,
     ) -> None:
         self.socket = socket
         self.protocol = protocol
         self.close_timeout = close_timeout
+        if isinstance(max_queue, int):
+            max_queue = (max_queue, None)
+        self.max_queue = max_queue
 
         # Inject reference to this instance in the protocol's logger.
         self.protocol.logger = logging.LoggerAdapter(
@@ -76,8 +80,15 @@ def __init__(
         # Mutex serializing interactions with the protocol.
         self.protocol_mutex = threading.Lock()
 
+        # Lock stopping reads when the assembler buffer is full.
+        self.recv_flow_control = threading.Lock()
+
         # Assembler turning frames into messages and serializing reads.
-        self.recv_messages = Assembler()
+        self.recv_messages = Assembler(
+            *self.max_queue,
+            pause=self.recv_flow_control.acquire,
+            resume=self.recv_flow_control.release,
+        )
 
         # Whether we are busy sending a fragmented message.
         self.send_in_progress = False
@@ -88,6 +99,10 @@ def __init__(
         # Mapping of ping IDs to pong waiters, in chronological order.
         self.ping_waiters: dict[bytes, threading.Event] = {}
 
+        # Exception raised in recv_events, to be chained to ConnectionClosed
+        # in the user thread in order to show why the TCP connection dropped.
+        self.recv_exc: BaseException | None = None
+
         # Receiving events from the socket. This thread is marked as daemon to
         # allow creating a connection in a non-daemon thread and using it in a
         # daemon thread. This mustn't prevent the interpreter from exiting.
@@ -97,10 +112,6 @@ def __init__(
         )
         self.recv_events_thread.start()
 
-        # Exception raised in recv_events, to be chained to ConnectionClosed
-        # in the user thread in order to show why the TCP connection dropped.
-        self.recv_exc: BaseException | None = None
-
     # Public attributes
 
     @property
@@ -172,7 +183,7 @@ def __iter__(self) -> Iterator[Data]:
         except ConnectionClosedOK:
             return
 
-    def recv(self, timeout: float | None = None) -> Data:
+    def recv(self, timeout: float | None = None, decode: bool | None = None) -> Data:
         """
         Receive the next message.
 
@@ -191,21 +202,36 @@ def recv(self, timeout: float | None = None) -> Data:
         If the message is fragmented, wait until all fragments are received,
         reassemble them, and return the whole message.
 
+        Args:
+            timeout: Timeout for receiving a message in seconds.
+            decode: Set this flag to override the default behavior of returning
+                :class:`str` or :class:`bytes`. See below for details.
+
         Returns:
             A string (:class:`str`) for a Text_ frame or a bytestring
             (:class:`bytes`) for a Binary_ frame.
 
             .. _Text: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc6455#section-5.6
             .. _Binary: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc6455#section-5.6
 
+            You may override this behavior with the ``decode`` argument:
+
+            * Set ``decode=False`` to disable UTF-8 decoding of Text_ frames and
+              return a bytestring (:class:`bytes`). This improves performance
+              when decoding isn't needed, for example if the message contains
+              JSON and you're using a JSON library that expects a bytestring.
+            * Set ``decode=True`` to force UTF-8 decoding of Binary_ frames
+              and return a string (:class:`str`). This may be useful for
+              servers that send binary frames instead of text frames.
+
         Raises:
             ConnectionClosed: When the connection is closed.
             ConcurrencyError: If two threads call :meth:`recv` or
                 :meth:`recv_streaming` concurrently.
 
         """
         try:
-            return self.recv_messages.get(timeout)
+            return self.recv_messages.get(timeout, decode)
         except EOFError:
             # Wait for the protocol state to be CLOSED before accessing close_exc.
             self.recv_events_thread.join()
@@ -216,31 +242,47 @@ def recv(self, timeout: float | None = None) -> Data:
                 "is already running recv or recv_streaming"
             ) from None
 
-    def recv_streaming(self) -> Iterator[Data]:
+    def recv_streaming(self, decode: bool | None = None) -> Iterator[Data]:
         """
         Receive the next message frame by frame.
 
-        If the message is fragmented, yield each fragment as it is received.
-        The iterator must be fully consumed, or else the connection will become
+        This method is designed for receiving fragmented messages. It returns an
+        iterator that yields each fragment as it is received. This iterator must
+        be fully consumed. Else, future calls to :meth:`recv` or
+        :meth:`recv_streaming` will raise
+        :exc:`~websockets.exceptions.ConcurrencyError`, making the connection
         unusable.
 
         :meth:`recv_streaming` raises the same exceptions as :meth:`recv`.
 
+        Args:
+            decode: Set this flag to override the default behavior of returning
+                :class:`str` or :class:`bytes`. See below for details.
+
         Returns:
             An iterator of strings (:class:`str`) for a Text_ frame or
             bytestrings (:class:`bytes`) for a Binary_ frame.
 
             .. _Text: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc6455#section-5.6
             .. _Binary: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc6455#section-5.6
 
+            You may override this behavior with the ``decode`` argument:
+
+            * Set ``decode=False`` to disable UTF-8 decoding of Text_ frames
+              and return bytestrings (:class:`bytes`). This may be useful to
+              optimize performance when decoding isn't needed.
+            * Set ``decode=True`` to force UTF-8 decoding of Binary_ frames
+              and return strings (:class:`str`). This is useful for servers
+              that send binary frames instead of text frames.
+
         Raises:
             ConnectionClosed: When the connection is closed.
             ConcurrencyError: If two threads call :meth:`recv` or
                 :meth:`recv_streaming` concurrently.
 
         """
         try:
-            yield from self.recv_messages.get_iter()
+            yield from self.recv_messages.get_iter(decode)
         except EOFError:
             # Wait for the protocol state to be CLOSED before accessing close_exc.
             self.recv_events_thread.join()
@@ -571,8 +613,9 @@ def recv_events(self) -> None:
         try:
             while True:
                 try:
-                    if self.close_deadline is not None:
-                        self.socket.settimeout(self.close_deadline.timeout())
+                    with self.recv_flow_control:
+                        if self.close_deadline is not None:
+                            self.socket.settimeout(self.close_deadline.timeout())
                     data = self.socket.recv(self.recv_bufsize)
                 except Exception as exc:
                     if self.debug:
@@ -622,13 +665,9 @@ def recv_events(self) -> None:
                 # Given that automatic responses write small amounts of data,
                 # this should be uncommon, so we don't handle the edge case.
 
-                try:
-                    for event in events:
-                        # This may raise EOFError if the closing handshake
-                        # times out while a message is waiting to be read.
-                        self.process_event(event)
-                except EOFError:
-                    break
+                for event in events:
+                    # This isn't expected to raise an exception.
+                    self.process_event(event)
 
             # Breaking out of the while True: ... loop means that we believe
             # that the socket doesn't work anymore.