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-rw-r--r--docs/users_guide/9.8.1-notes.rst7
-rw-r--r--docs/users_guide/using.rst54
2 files changed, 61 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/docs/users_guide/9.8.1-notes.rst b/docs/users_guide/9.8.1-notes.rst
index a624eb2705..0f0848765f 100644
--- a/docs/users_guide/9.8.1-notes.rst
+++ b/docs/users_guide/9.8.1-notes.rst
@@ -87,6 +87,13 @@ Compiler
deriving instance TypeError (Text "Boo") => Bar Baz
+- GHC Proposal `#540 https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals/blob/master/proposals/0540-jsem.rst`_ has been implemented.
+ This adds the `-jsem`:ghc-flag: flag, which instructs GHC to act as a jobserver client.
+ This enables multiple GHC processes running at once to share system resources
+ with each other, communicating via the system semaphore specified by
+ the flag argument.
+
+
GHCi
~~~~
diff --git a/docs/users_guide/using.rst b/docs/users_guide/using.rst
index 388704388c..787b6a0503 100644
--- a/docs/users_guide/using.rst
+++ b/docs/users_guide/using.rst
@@ -751,6 +751,60 @@ search path (see :ref:`search-path`).
number of processors. Note that compilation of a module may not begin
until its dependencies have been built.
+
+GHC Jobserver Protocol
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+The GHC Jobserver Protocol was specified in `GHC proposal #540 <https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals/blob/master/proposals/0540-jsem.rst>`__.
+
+This protocol allows
+a server to dynamically invoke many instances of a client process,
+while restricting all of those instances to use no more than <n> capabilities.
+This is achieved by coordination over a system semaphore (either a POSIX
+semaphore in the case of Linux and Darwin, or a Win32 semaphore
+in the case of Windows platforms).
+
+There are two kinds of participants in the GHC Jobserver protocol:
+
+- The *jobserver* creates a system semaphore with a certain number of
+ available tokens.
+
+ Each time the jobserver wants to spawn a new jobclient subprocess, it **must**
+ first acquire a single token from the semaphore, before spawning
+ the subprocess. This token **must** be released once the subprocess terminates.
+
+ Once work is finished, the jobserver **must** destroy the semaphore it created.
+
+- A *jobclient* is a subprocess spawned by the jobserver or another jobclient.
+
+ Each jobclient starts with one available token (its *implicit token*,
+ which was acquired by the parent which spawned it), and can request more
+ tokens through the Jobserver Protocol by waiting on the semaphore.
+
+ Each time a jobclient wants to spawn a new jobclient subprocess, it **must**
+ pass on a single token to the child jobclient. This token can either be the
+ jobclient's implicit token, or another token which the jobclient acquired
+ from the semaphore.
+
+ Each jobclient **must** release exactly as many tokens as it has acquired from
+ the semaphore (this does not include the implicit tokens).
+
+ GHC itself acts as a jobclient which can be enabled by using the flag ``-jsem``.
+
+.. ghc-flag:: -jsem
+ :shortdesc: When compiling with :ghc-flag:`--make`, coordinate with
+ other processes through the semaphore ⟨sem⟩ to compile
+ modules in parallel.
+ :type: dynamic
+ :category: misc
+
+ Perform compilation in parallel when possible, coordinating with other
+ processes through the semaphore ⟨sem⟩ (specified as a string).
+ Error if the semaphore doesn't exist.
+
+ Use of ``-jsem`` will override use of :ghc-flag:``-j[⟨n⟩]``,
+ and vice-versa.
+
.. _multi-home-units:
Multiple Home Units