sync: improve docs for watch channels

tokio/src/sync/mod.rs

@@ -383,7 +383,7 @@
 //!                         sleep.set(time::sleep_until(op_start + conf.timeout));
 //!                     }
 //!                     _ = rx.changed() => {
-//!                         conf = rx.borrow().clone();
+//!                         conf = rx.borrow_and_update().clone();
 //!
 //!                         // The configuration has been updated. Update the
 //!                         // `sleep` using the new `timeout` value.

tokio/src/sync/watch.rs

@@ -10,24 +10,72 @@
 //!
 //! [`channel`] returns a [`Sender`] / [`Receiver`] pair. These are the producer
 //! and consumer halves of the channel. The channel is created with an initial
-//! value. The **latest** value stored in the channel is accessed with
-//! [`Receiver::borrow()`]. Awaiting [`Receiver::changed()`] waits for a new
-//! value to be sent by the [`Sender`] half.
+//! value.
+//!
+//! Each [`Receiver`] independently tracks the last value *seen* by its caller.
+//!
+//! To access the **current** value stored in the channel and mark it as *seen*
+//! by a given [`Receiver`], use [`Receiver::borrow_and_update()`].
+//!
+//! To access the current value **without** marking it as *seen*, use
+//! [`Receiver::borrow()`]. (If the value has already been marked *seen*,
+//! [`Receiver::borrow()`] is equivalent to [`Receiver::borrow_and_update()`].)
+//!
+//! ## Change notifications
+//!
+//! The [`Receiver`] half provides an asynchronous [`changed`] method. This
+//! method is ready when a new, *unseen* value is sent via the [`Sender`] half.
+//!
+//! * [`Receiver::changed()`] returns `Ok(())` on receiving a new value, or
+//!   `Err(`[`error::RecvError`]`)` if the [`Sender`] has been dropped.
+//! * If the current value is *unseen* when calling [`changed`], then
+//!   [`changed`] will return immediately. If the current value is *seen*, then
+//!   it will sleep until either a new message is sent via the [`Sender`] half,
+//!   or the [`Sender`] is dropped.
+//! * On completion, the [`changed`] method marks the new value as *seen*.
+//! * At creation, the initial value is considered *seen*. In other words,
+//!   [`Receiver::changed()`] will not return until a subsequent value is sent.
+//! * New [`Receiver`] instances can be created with [`Sender::subscribe()`].
+//!   The current value at the time the [`Receiver`] is created is considered
+//!   *seen*.
+//!
+//! ## `borrow_and_update` versus `borrow`
+//!
+//! If the receiver intends to await notifications from [`changed`] in a loop,
+//! [`Receiver::borrow_and_update()`] should be preferred over
+//! [`Receiver::borrow()`].  This avoids a potential race where a new value is
+//! sent between [`changed`] being ready and the value being read. (If
+//! [`Receiver::borrow()`] is used, the loop may run twice with the same value.)
+//!
+//! If the receiver is only interested in the current value, and does not intend
+//! to wait for changes, then [`Receiver::borrow()`] can be used. It may be more
+//! convenient to use [`borrow`](Receiver::borrow) since it's an `&self`
+//! method---[`borrow_and_update`](Receiver::borrow_and_update) requires `&mut
+//! self`.
 //!
 //! # Examples
 //!
+//! The following example prints `hello! world! `.
+//!
 //! ```
 //! use tokio::sync::watch;
+//! use tokio::time::{Duration, sleep};
 //!
 //! # async fn dox() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
 //! let (tx, mut rx) = watch::channel("hello");
 //!
 //! tokio::spawn(async move {
-//!     while rx.changed().await.is_ok() {
-//!         println!("received = {:?}", *rx.borrow());
+//!     // Use the equivalent of a "do-while" loop so the initial value is
+//!     // processed before awaiting the `changed()` future.
+//!     loop {
+//!         println!("{}! ", *rx.borrow_and_update());
+//!         if rx.changed().await.is_err() {
+//!             break;
+//!         }
 //!     }
 //! });
 //!
+//! sleep(Duration::from_millis(100)).await;
 //! tx.send("world")?;
 //! # Ok(())
 //! # }
@@ -39,8 +87,8 @@
 //! when all [`Receiver`] handles have been dropped. This indicates that there
 //! is no further interest in the values being produced and work can be stopped.
 //!
-//! The value in the channel will not be dropped until the sender and all receivers
-//! have been dropped.
+//! The value in the channel will not be dropped until the sender and all
+//! receivers have been dropped.
 //!
 //! # Thread safety
 //!
@@ -50,11 +98,15 @@
 //!
 //! [`Sender`]: crate::sync::watch::Sender
 //! [`Receiver`]: crate::sync::watch::Receiver
+//! [`changed`]: crate::sync::watch::Receiver::changed
 //! [`Receiver::changed()`]: crate::sync::watch::Receiver::changed
 //! [`Receiver::borrow()`]: crate::sync::watch::Receiver::borrow
+//! [`Receiver::borrow_and_update()`]:
+//!     crate::sync::watch::Receiver::borrow_and_update
 //! [`channel`]: crate::sync::watch::channel
 //! [`Sender::is_closed`]: crate::sync::watch::Sender::is_closed
 //! [`Sender::closed`]: crate::sync::watch::Sender::closed
+//! [`Sender::subscribe()`]: crate::sync::watch::Sender::subscribe
 
 use crate::sync::notify::Notify;
 
@@ -374,19 +426,28 @@ mod state {
 ///
 /// # Examples
 ///
+/// The following example prints `hello! world! `.
+///
 /// ```
 /// use tokio::sync::watch;
+/// use tokio::time::{Duration, sleep};
 ///
 /// # async fn dox() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
-///     let (tx, mut rx) = watch::channel("hello");
+/// let (tx, mut rx) = watch::channel("hello");
 ///
-///     tokio::spawn(async move {
-///         while rx.changed().await.is_ok() {
-///             println!("received = {:?}", *rx.borrow());
+/// tokio::spawn(async move {
+///     // Use the equivalent of a "do-while" loop so the initial value is
+///     // processed before awaiting the `changed()` future.
+///     loop {
+///         println!("{}! ", *rx.borrow_and_update());
+///         if rx.changed().await.is_err() {
+///             break;
 ///         }
-///     });
+///     }
+/// });
 ///
-///     tx.send("world")?;
+/// sleep(Duration::from_millis(100)).await;
+/// tx.send("world")?;
 /// # Ok(())
 /// # }
 /// ```
@@ -572,6 +633,9 @@ impl<T> Receiver<T> {
     ///
     /// This method returns an error if and only if the [`Sender`] is dropped.
     ///
+    /// For more information, see
+    /// [*Change notifications*](self#change-notifications) in the module-level documentation.
+    ///
     /// # Cancel safety
     ///
     /// This method is cancel safe. If you use it as the event in a
@@ -595,7 +659,7 @@ impl<T> Receiver<T> {
     ///     });
     ///
     ///     assert!(rx.changed().await.is_ok());
-    ///     assert_eq!(*rx.borrow(), "goodbye");
+    ///     assert_eq!(*rx.borrow_and_update(), "goodbye");
     ///
     ///     // The `tx` handle has been dropped
     ///     assert!(rx.changed().await.is_err());