With pthread's rwlock (reader-writer lock) implementation, I got 23.4 million reads in five seconds. With read-copy-update (RCU), I had 49.2 million reads, a one hundred ten percent improvement with zero changes to the workload.
Ever since writing about them, the generator in JavaScript has become my favorite hammer. I'll wield it nearly any chance I can get it. Usually, that looks like rolling through a finite batch of items over time. For example, doing something with a bunch of leap years: ...or lazily processing some files: In both examples, the pool of items is exhausted once and never replenished. The for loop stops, and the final item returned by the iterator contains done: true. C'est fini.
At that point, backpressure and load shedding are the only things that retain a system that can still operate. If you have ever been in a Starbucks overwhelmed by mobile orders, you know the feeling. The in-store experience breaks down. You no longer know how many orders are ahead of you. There is no clear line, no reliable wait estimate, and often no real cancellation path unless you escalate and make noise.