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Multithreaded Programming Guide     Oracle Solaris 11.1 Information Library
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Document Information

Preface

1.  Covering Multithreading Basics

2.  Basic Threads Programming

3.  Thread Attributes

4.  Programming with Synchronization Objects

Mutual Exclusion Lock Attributes

Initializing a Mutex Attribute Object

pthread_mutexattr_init Syntax

pthread_mutexattr_init Return Values

Destroying a Mutex Attribute Object

pthread_mutexattr_destroy Syntax

pthread_mutexattr_destroy Return Values

Setting the Scope of a Mutex

pthread_mutexattr_setpshared Syntax

pthread_mutexattr_setpshared Return Values

Getting the Scope of a Mutex

pthread_mutexattr_getpshared Syntax

pthread_mutexattr_getpshared Return Values

Setting the Mutex Type Attribute

pthread_mutexattr_settype Syntax

pthread_mutexattr_settype Return Values

Getting the Mutex Type Attribute

pthread_mutexattr_gettype Syntax

pthread_mutexattr_gettype Return Values

Setting the Mutex Attribute's Protocol

pthread_mutexattr_setprotocol Syntax

pthread_mutexattr_setprotocol Return Values

Getting the Mutex Attribute's Protocol

pthread_mutexattr_getprotocol Syntax

pthread_mutexattr_getprotocol Return Values

Setting the Mutex Attribute's Priority Ceiling

pthread_mutexattr_setprioceiling Syntax

pthread_mutexattr_setprioceiling Return Values

Getting the Mutex Attribute's Priority Ceiling

pthread_mutexattr_getprioceiling Syntax

pthread_mutexattr_getprioceiling Return Values

Setting the Mutex's Priority Ceiling

pthread_mutex_setprioceiling Syntax

pthread_mutex_setprioceiling Return Values

Getting the Mutex's Priority Ceiling

pthread_mutex_getprioceiling Syntax

pthread_mutex_getprioceiling Return Values

Setting the Mutex's Robust Attribute

pthread_mutexattr_setrobust_np Syntax

pthread_mutexattr_setrobust_np Return Values

Getting the Mutex's Robust Attribute

pthread_mutexattr_getrobust_np Syntax

pthread_mutexattr_getrobust_np Return Values

Using Mutual Exclusion Locks

Initializing a Mutex

pthread_mutex_init Syntax

pthread_mutex_init Return Values

Making a Mutex Consistent

pthread_mutex_consistent_np Syntax

pthread_mutex_consistent_np Return Values

Locking a Mutex

pthread_mutex_lock Syntax

pthread_mutex_lock Return Values

Unlocking a Mutex

pthread_mutex_unlock Syntax

pthread_mutex_unlock Return Values

Locking a Mutex Without Blocking

pthread_mutex_trylock Syntax

pthread_mutex_trylock Return Values

Locking a Mutex Before a Specified Absolute Time

pthread_mutex_timedlock() Syntax

pthread_mutex_timedlock() Return Values

Locking a Mutex Within a Specified Time Interval

pthread_mutex_reltimedlock_np() Syntax

pthread_mutex_reltimedlock_np() Return Values

Destroying a Mutex

pthread_mutex_destroy Syntax

pthread_mutex_destroy Return Values

Code Examples of Mutex Locking

Examples of Using Lock Hierarchies

Examples of Using Nested Locking With a Singly-Linked List

Example of Nested Locking With a Circularly-Linked List

Using Spin Locks

Initializing a Spin Lock

pthread_spin_init() Syntax

pthread_spin_init() Return Values

Acquiring a Spin Lock

pthread_spin_lock() Syntax

pthread_spin_lock() Return Values

Acquiring a Non-Blocking Spin Lock

pthread_spin_trylock() Syntax

pthread_spin_trylock() Return Values

Unlocking a Spin Lock

pthread_spin_unlock() Syntax

pthread_spin_unlock() Return Values

Destroying a Spin Lock

pthread_spin_destroy() Syntax

pthread_spin_destroy() Return Values

Condition Variable Attributes

Initializing a Condition Variable Attribute

pthread_condattr_init Syntax

pthread_condattr_init Return Values

Removing a Condition Variable Attribute

pthread_condattr_destroy Syntax

pthread_condattr_destroy Return Values

Setting the Scope of a Condition Variable

pthread_condattr_setpshared Syntax

pthread_condattr_setpshared Return Values

Getting the Scope of a Condition Variable

pthread_condattr_getpshared Syntax

pthread_condattr_getpshared Return Values

Setting the Clock Selection Condition Variable

pthread_condattr_setclock Syntax

pthread_condattr_setclock Returns

Getting the Clock Selection Condition Variable

pthread_condattr_getclock Syntax

pthread_condattr_getclock Returns

Using Condition Variables

Initializing a Condition Variable

pthread_cond_init Syntax

pthread_cond_init Return Values

Blocking on a Condition Variable

pthread_cond_wait Syntax

pthread_cond_wait Return Values

Unblocking One Thread

pthread_cond_signal Syntax

pthread_cond_signal Return Values

Blocking Until a Specified Time

pthread_cond_timedwait Syntax

pthread_cond_timedwait Return Values

Blocking For a Specified Interval

pthread_cond_reltimedwait_np Syntax

pthread_cond_reltimedwait_np Return Values

Unblocking All Threads

pthread_cond_broadcast Syntax

pthread_cond_broadcast Return Values

Destroying the Condition Variable State

pthread_cond_destroy Syntax

pthread_cond_destroy Return Values

Lost Wake-Up Problem

Producer and Consumer Problem

Synchronization With Semaphores

Named and Unnamed Semaphores

Counting Semaphores Overview

Initializing a Semaphore

sem_init Syntax

Initializing Semaphores With Intraprocess Scope

Initializing Semaphores With Interprocess Scope

sem_init Return Values

Incrementing a Semaphore

sem_post Syntax

sem_post Return Values

Blocking on a Semaphore Count

sem_wait Syntax

sem_wait Return Values

Decrementing a Semaphore Count

sem_trywait Syntax

sem_trywait Return Values

Destroying the Semaphore State

sem_destroy Syntax

sem_destroy Return Values

Producer and Consumer Problem Using Semaphores

Read-Write Lock Attributes

Initializing a Read-Write Lock Attribute

pthread_rwlockattr_init Syntax

pthread_rwlockattr_init Return Values

Destroying a Read-Write Lock Attribute

pthread_rwlockattr_destroy Syntax

pthread_rwlockattr_destroy Return Values

Setting a Read-Write Lock Attribute

pthread_rwlockattr_setpshared Syntax

pthread_rwlockattr_setpshared Return Values

Getting a Read-Write Lock Attribute

pthread_rwlockattr_getpshared Syntax

pthread_rwlockattr_getpshared Return Values

Using Read-Write Locks

Initializing a Read-Write Lock

pthread_rwlock_init Syntax

pthread_rwlock_init Return Values

Acquiring the Read Lock on Read-Write Lock

pthread_rwlock_rdlock Syntax

pthread_rwlock_rdlock Return Values

Acquiring a Read Lock on a Read-Write Lock Before a Specified Absolute Time

pthread_rwlock_timedrdlock Syntax

pthread_rwlock_timedrdlock Return Values

Acquiring a Non-Blocking Read Lock on a Read-Write Lock

pthread_rwlock_tryrdlock Syntax

pthread_rwlock_tryrdlock Return Values

Acquiring the Write Lock on a Read-Write Lock

pthread_rwlock_wrlock Syntax

pthread_rwlock_wrlock Return Values

Acquiring a Non-blocking Write Lock on a Read-Write Lock

pthread_rwlock_trywrlock Syntax

pthread_rwlock_trywrlock Return Values

Acquiring a Write Lock on a Read-Write Lock Before a Specified Absolute Time

pthread_rwlock_timedwrlock Syntax

pthread_rwlock_timedwrlock Returns

Unlocking a Read-Write Lock

pthread_rwlock_unlock Syntax

pthread_rwlock_unlock Return Values

Destroying a Read-Write Lock

pthread_rwlock_destroy Syntax

pthread_rwlock_destroy Return Values

Using Barrier Synchronization

Initializing a Synchronization Barrier

pthread_barrier_init() Syntax

pthread_barrier_init() Return Values

Waiting for Threads to Synchronize at a Barrier

pthread_barrier_wait() Syntax

pthread_barrier_wait() Return Values

Destroying a Synchronization Barrier

pthread_barrier_destroy Syntax

pthread_barrier_destroy Return Values

Initializing a Barrier Attributes Object

pthread_barrierattr_init() Syntax

pthread_barrierattr_init() Return Values

Setting a Barrier Process-Shared Attribute

pthread_barrierattr_setpshared() Syntax

pthread_barrierattr_setpshared() Return Values

Getting a Barrier Process-Shared Attribute

pthread_barrierattr_getpshared() Syntax

pthread_barrierattr_getpshared() Return Values

Destroying a Barrier Attributes Object

pthread_barrierattr_destroy() Syntax

pthread_barrierattr_destroy() Return Values

Synchronization Across Process Boundaries

Producer and Consumer Problem Example

Comparing Primitives

5.  Programming With the Oracle Solaris Software

6.  Programming With Oracle Solaris Threads

7.  Safe and Unsafe Interfaces

8.  Compiling and Debugging

9.  Programming Guidelines

A.  Extended Example: A Thread Pool Implementation

Index

Condition Variable Attributes

Use condition variables to atomically block threads until a particular condition is true. Always use condition variables together with a mutex lock.

With a condition variable, a thread can atomically block until a condition is satisfied. The condition is tested under the protection of a mutual exclusion lock (mutex).

When the condition is false, a thread usually blocks on a condition variable and atomically releases the mutex waiting for the condition to change. When another thread changes the condition, that thread can signal the associated condition variable to cause one or more waiting threads to perform the following actions:

Condition variables can be used to synchronize threads among processes in the following situations:

The scheduling policy determines how blocking threads are awakened. The default scheduling policy, SCHED_OTHER, does not specify the order in which threads are awakened. Under the SCHED_FIFO and SCHED_RR real-time scheduling policies, threads are awakened in priority order.

The attributes for condition variables must be set and initialized before the condition variables can be used. The functions that manipulate condition variable attributes are listed in Table 4-4.

Table 4-4 Condition Variable Attributes

Operation
Function Description
Initialize a condition variable attribute
Remove a condition variable attribute
Set the scope of a condition variable
Get the scope of a condition variable
Get the clock selection condition variable attribute
Set the clock selection condition variable attribute

Initializing a Condition Variable Attribute

Use pthread_condattr_init(3C) to initialize attributes that are associated with this object to their default values. Storage for each attribute object is allocated by the threads system during execution.

pthread_condattr_init Syntax

int pthread_condattr_init(pthread_condattr_t *cattr);
#include <pthread.h>
pthread_condattr_t cattr;
int ret;

/* initialize an attribute to default value */
ret = pthread_condattr_init(&cattr); 

The default value of the pshared attribute when this function is called is PTHREAD_PROCESS_PRIVATE. This value of pshared means that the initialized condition variable can be used within a process.

cattr is an opaque data type that contains a system-allocated attribute object. The possible values of cattr's scope are PTHREAD_PROCESS_PRIVATE and PTHREAD_PROCESS_SHARED . PTHREAD_PROCESS_PRIVATE is the default value.

Before a condition variable attribute can be reused, the attribute must first be reinitialized by pthread_condattr_destroy(3C). The pthread_condattr_init() call returns a pointer to an opaque object. If the object is not destroyed, a memory leak results.

pthread_condattr_init Return Values

pthread_condattr_init() returns zero after completing successfully. Any other return value indicates that an error occurred. When either of the following conditions occurs, the function fails and returns the corresponding value.

ENOMEM

Description: Insufficient memory allocated to initialize the thread attributes object.

EINVAL

Description: The value specified by cattr is invalid.

Removing a Condition Variable Attribute

Use pthread_condattr_destroy(3C) to remove storage and render the attribute object invalid.

pthread_condattr_destroy Syntax

int pthread_condattr_destroy(pthread_condattr_t *cattr);
#include <pthread.h>
pthread_condattr_t cattr;
int ret;

/* destroy an attribute */
ret
 = pthread_condattr_destroy(&cattr); 

pthread_condattr_destroy Return Values

pthread_condattr_destroy() returns zero after completing successfully. Any other return value indicates that an error occurred. If the following condition occurs, the function fails and returns the corresponding value.

EINVAL

Description: The value specified by cattr is invalid.

Setting the Scope of a Condition Variable

pthread_condattr_setpshared(3C) sets the scope of a condition variable to either process private (intraprocess) or system wide (interprocess).

pthread_condattr_setpshared Syntax

int pthread_condattr_setpshared(pthread_condattr_t *cattr, int pshared);
#include <pthread.h> 
pthread_condattr_t cattr; 
int ret; 

/* all processes */ 
ret = pthread_condattr_setpshared(&cattr, PTHREAD_PROCESS_SHARED); 

/* within a process */ 
ret = pthread_condattr_setpshared(&cattr, PTHREAD_PROCESS_PRIVATE);

A condition variable created with the pshared attribute set in shared memory to PTHREAD_PROCESS_SHARED, can be shared among threads from more than one process.

If the mutex pshared attribute is set to PTHREAD_PROCESS_PRIVATE, only those threads created by the same process can operate on the mutex. PTHREAD_PROCESS_PRIVATE is the default value. PTHREAD_PROCESS_PRIVATE behaves like a local condition variable. The behavior of PTHREAD_PROCESS_SHARED is equivalent to a global condition variable.

pthread_condattr_setpshared Return Values

pthread_condattr_setpshared() returns zero after completing successfully. Any other return value indicates that an error occurred. If the following condition occurs, the function fails and returns the corresponding value.

EINVAL

Description: The value of cattr is invalid, or the pshared value is invalid.

Getting the Scope of a Condition Variable

pthread_condattr_getpshared(3C) gets the current value of pshared for the attribute object cattr.

pthread_condattr_getpshared Syntax

int pthread_condattr_getpshared(const pthread_condattr_t *restrict cattr,
          int *restrict pshared);
#include <pthread.h> 

pthread_condattr_t cattr; 
int pshared; 
int ret; 

/* get pshared value of condition variable */ 
ret = pthread_condattr_getpshared(&cattr, &pshared); 

The value of the attribute object is either PTHREAD_PROCESS_SHARED or PTHREAD_PROCESS_PRIVATE.

pthread_condattr_getpshared Return Values

pthread_condattr_getpshared() returns zero after completing successfully. Any other return value indicates that an error occurred. When the following condition occurs, the function fails and returns the corresponding value.

EINVAL

Description: The value of cattr is invalid.

Setting the Clock Selection Condition Variable

Use the pthread_condattr_setclock(3C) function to set the clock attribute in an initialized attributes object referenced by attr. If pthread_condattr_setclock() is called with a clock_id argument that refers to a CPU-time clock, the call fails. The clock attribute is the clock ID of the clock that is used to measure the timeout service of pthread_cond_timedwait(). The default value of the clock attribute refers to the system clock, CLOCK_REALTIME. At this time, the only other possible value for the clock attribute is CLOCK_MONOTONIC.

pthread_condattr_setclock Syntax

int pthread_condattr_setclock(pthread_condattr_t attr, 
          clockid_t clock_id);
#include <pthread.h>

pthread_condattr_t attr
clockid_t clock_id
int ret


ret = pthread_condattr_setclock(&attr &clock_id

pthread_condattr_setclock Returns

pthread_condattr_setclock() returns zero after completing successfully. Any other return value indicates that an error occurred. When the following condition occurs, the function fails and returns the corresponding value.

EINVAL

Description: The value specified by clock_id does not refer to a known clock, or is a CPU-time clock.

Getting the Clock Selection Condition Variable

Use the pthread_condattr_getclock(3C) function to obtain the value of the clock attribute from the attributes object referenced by attr. The clock attribute is the clock ID of the clock that is used to measure the timeout service of pthread_cond_timedwait().

pthread_condattr_getclock Syntax

int pthread_condattr_getclock(const pthread_condattr_t *restrict attr,
          clockid_t *restrict clock_id);
#include <pthread.h>

pthread_condattr_t attr
clockid_t clock_id
int ret


ret = pthread_condattr_getclock(&attr &clock_id

pthread_condattr_getclock Returns

pthread_condattr_getclock() returns zero after completing successfully and stores the value of the clock attribute of attr into the object referenced by the clock_id argument. Any other return value indicates that an error occurred. When the following condition occurs, the function fails and returns the corresponding value.

EINVAL

Description: The value of attr is invalid.