Running in the background

[amadensor]

Is it possible to have the web server running in the background and have other tasks also executing? I want to build a project that has a web interface to do the configuration, but uses GPIO pins and catches actions from physical buttons. This would obviously be a separate loop executing.

[amadensor]

I made it do the thing, but there might be a better way:

async def main():
    gpioloop=asyncio.create_task( do_things())
    web=asyncio.create_task( app.start_server(port=80, debug=True))
    await gpioloop
    await web

async def do_things():
    while True:
        print("Do More")
        await asyncio.sleep(1)

asyncio.run(main())

[miguelgrinberg]

This is fine, but given that you do not have anything to do in the main asyncio task I would suggest you run one of the two in a background task and the other in the main one.

[amadensor]

Hopefully this helps other also.

[pwittich]

This is fine, but given that you do not have anything to do in the main asyncio task I would suggest you run one of the two in a background task and the other in the main one.

Can I ask for more information about your response? I'm running into a similar issue. When you say 'background task' do you mean something like

async def main():
    _thread.start_new_thread(do_something,())
    web=asyncio.create_task( app.start_server(port=80, debug=True))
    await web

That is what I am trying to do, so far without a lot of luck.

(I can start a new thread but this one is quite what I want to do. What I'm finding is that the application stalls when a request comes in, for reasons I am trying to figure out.)

[miguelgrinberg]

Thread support in microcontroller boards is very limited or many times not available. And besides, Microdot is an async framework, so threads cannot be used, even if they are available.

To start a job in the background you use asyncio.create_task. For example:

async def main():
    web = asyncio.create_task( app.start_server(port=80, debug=True))
    while True:
        # do something else here, while the web server runs in the background
    await web  # wait for the web server to end

[madflier]

async def main():
    web = asyncio.create_task( app.start_server(port=80, debug=True))
    while True:
        # do something else here, while the web server runs in the background
    await web  # wait for the web server to end

Why the await web line here? Presumably it is never reached by the code.

</naive poster mode>