Barry Margolin  <barmar@genuity.net> wrote:
+---------------
| However, since we're talking about using an interpreter as the server,
| it would not be difficult to design the interpreter so that each script
| invocation operated in its own sandbox.  When the invocation completes,
| the sandbox would be destroyed, freeing all the data that was allocated
| within it.
+---------------

Look at MzScheme's threads/namespaces/parameters/custodians:

    <URL:http://www.cs.rice.edu/CS/PLT/packages/doc/mzscheme/node91.htm>

In particular:

    A custodian manages a collection of threads, file-stream ports,
    process ports, TCP ports, and TCP listeners, [and has] the authority
    to shut down all of its managed values.
    ...
    (custodian-shutdown-all custodian) kills all running threads, closes
    all open ports, and closes all active TCP listeners that are managed
    by the custodian.

So if you create a new custodian for each request, make it the "current
custodian", then create a thread to satisfy the request, if the parent
server (also a thread) shuts down that custodian (e.g., for an idle timeout,
or because the thread exited) any files that were opened (including sockets)
will be closed.

And of course, when a thread shuts down, any data held locally within it
gets GC'd (eventually).

+---------------
| Certainly something like this is also needed to keep the scripts from
| interfering with each other if they make use of global variables.  "Global"
| would mean global within that invocation's sandbox, not global to the
| entire interpreter.
+---------------

Again, MzScheme provides multiple global variable namespaces which
should handle this perfectly:

	The current namespace is used by eval, load, compile, and
	expand-defmacro. Once an expression is evaled or compiled,
	the global variable references in the compiled expression
	are permanently attached to a particular namespace, so the
	current namespace at the time that the code is executed is
	not used as the namespace for referencing global variables
	in the expression. 

	Example: 

	  (define x 'orig) ; define in the original namespace 
	  ; The following let expression is compiled in the original 
	  ; namespace, so direct references to x see 'orig. 
	  (let ([n (make-namespace)]) ; make new namespace 
	    (parameterize ([current-namespace n]) 
	      (eval '(define x 'new)) ; evals in the new namespace 
	      (display x) ; displays 'orig 
	      (display (eval 'x)))) ; displays 'new

Note that DrScheme depends on namespaces to keep user programs being
debugged from interfering with DrScheme's own globals.


-Rob

-----
Rob Warnock, 31-2-510		rpw3@sgi.com
SGI Network Engineering		<URL:http://reality.sgi.com/rpw3/>
1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy.		Phone: 650-933-1673
Mountain View, CA  94043	PP-ASEL-IA