Question 1

webworker-threads vs Node.js worker_threads: which should I use?

Accepted Answer

webworker-threads was an early solution for parallelism in Node.js with a Web Worker API, but Node.js now has a built-in worker_threads module that's better integrated and maintained. For new projects, worker_threads is generally preferred unless you need specific thread pool features from webworker-threads.

Question 2

How to pass complex data structures to webworker-threads?

Accepted Answer

Use postMessage to send serializable objects, as shown in the examples with event.data. For functions or non-serializable data, define them inside the worker code using eval() or load() from files, but note that native objects aren't supported.

Question 3

Is webworker-threads stable for production use?

Accepted Answer

It has been used in projects like EtherCalc, but the README includes a 'WIP WIP WIP' section indicating some parts are under construction. Check the GitHub repository for recent updates and issue tracking before deploying in critical environments.

Question 4

Can webworker-threads automatically use all CPU cores?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it uses native OS threads that leverage all available CPU cores for parallelism, as described in the README's feature on automatic core utilization. This is effective for distributing compute-heavy tasks across multiple cores.

Question 5

How to handle errors in webworker-threads workers?

Accepted Answer

Errors can be caught through callbacks in methods like eval() or by setting up error event listeners. The API uses event-driven communication, so ensure proper error handling in callbacks to avoid uncaught exceptions in background threads.

Question 6

What's the performance cost of creating threads with webworker-threads?

Accepted Answer

Thread creation has overhead, and data serialization between threads can impact performance. For long-running CPU-bound tasks, the parallelism benefits usually outweigh this, but for short-lived tasks, the overhead might not justify using threads.

webworker-threads

What is webworker-threads?

Overview

Use Cases

Best For

Related Projects

Found a gem we're missing?

Not Ideal For

Pros & Cons

Pros

Cons

Frequently Asked Questions