import less(1)

[unleashed/tickless.git] / share / man / man3c / thr_create.3c

'\" te
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.TH THR_CREATE 3C "Mar 16, 2009"
.SH NAME
thr_create \- create a thread
.SH SYNOPSIS
.LP
.nf
cc -mt [ \fIflag\fR... ] \fIfile\fR...[ \fIlibrary\fR... ]
#include <thread.h>

\fBint\fR \fBthr_create\fR(\fBvoid *\fR\fIstack_base\fR, \fBsize_t\fR \fIstack_size\fR,
     \fBvoid *(*\fR\fIstart_func\fR) (void*), \fBvoid *\fR\fIarg\fR, \fBlong\fR \fIflags\fR,
     \fBthread_t *\fR\fInew_thread_ID\fR);
.fi

.SH DESCRIPTION
.sp
.LP
Thread creation adds a new thread of control to the current process. The
procedure \fBmain()\fR is a single thread of control. Each thread executes
concurrently with all other threads within the calling process and with other
threads from other active processes.
.sp
.LP
Although a newly created thread shares all of the calling process's global data
with the other threads in the process, it has its own set of attributes and
private execution stack.  The new thread inherits the calling thread's signal
mask and scheduling priority. Pending signals for a new thread are not
inherited and will be empty.
.sp
.LP
The call to create a thread takes the address of a user-defined  function,
specified by \fIstart_func\fR, as one of its arguments. This function is the
complete execution routine for the new thread.
.sp
.LP
The lifetime of a thread begins with the successful return from
\fBthr_create()\fR, which calls \fIstart_func\fR(\|) and ends with one of the
following:
.RS +4
.TP
.ie t \(bu
.el o
the normal completion of \fIstart_func\fR(\|),
.RE
.RS +4
.TP
.ie t \(bu
.el o
an explicit call to \fBthr_exit\fR(3C), or
.RE
.RS +4
.TP
.ie t \(bu
.el o
the conclusion of the calling process (see \fBexit\fR(2)).
.RE
.sp
.LP
The new thread performs by calling the function defined by \fIstart_func\fR
with only one argument, \fIarg\fR. If more than one argument needs to be passed
to \fIstart_func\fR, the arguments can be packed into a structure, the address
of which can be passed to \fIarg\fR.
.sp
.LP
If \fIstart_func\fR returns, the thread terminates with the exit status set to
the \fIstart_func\fR return value (see \fBthr_exit\fR(3C)).
.sp
.LP
When the thread from which \fBmain()\fR originated returns, the effect is the
same as if an implicit call to \fBexit()\fR were made using the return value of
\fBmain()\fR as the exit status. This behavior differs from a \fIstart_func\fR
return. If \fBmain()\fR  calls \fBthr_exit\fR(3C), only the \fBmain\fR thread
exits, not the entire process.
.sp
.LP
If the thread creation  fails, a new thread is not created and the contents of
the location referenced by the pointer to the new thread are undefined.
.sp
.LP
The \fIflags\fR argument specifies which attributes are modifiable for the
created thread. The value in \fIflags\fR is determined by the bitwise
inclusive-OR of the following:
.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBTHR_BOUND\fR \fR
.ad
.RS 18n
This flag is obsolete and is maintained for compatibility.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBTHR_DETACHED\fR \fR
.ad
.RS 18n
This flag affects the detachstate attribute of the thread. The new thread is
created detached. The exit status of a detached thread is not accessible to
other threads. Its thread ID and other resources may be re-used as soon as the
thread terminates. \fBthr_join\fR(3C) will not wait for a detached thread.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBTHR_NEW_LWP\fR \fR
.ad
.RS 18n
This flag is obsolete and is maintained for compatibility.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBTHR_SUSPENDED\fR \fR
.ad
.RS 18n
This flag affects the suspended attribute of the thread. The new thread is
created suspended and will not execute \fIstart_func\fR until it is started by
\fBthr_continue()\fR.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBTHR_DAEMON\fR \fR
.ad
.RS 18n
This flag affects the daemon attribute of the thread. In addition to being
created detached (\fBTHR_DAEMON\fR implies \fBTHR_DETACHED\fR), the thread is
marked as a daemon. Daemon threads do not interfere with the exit conditions
for a process. A process will terminate when the last non-daemon thread exits
or the process calls \fBexit\fR(2). Also, a thread that is waiting in
\fBthr_join\fR(3C) for any thread to terminate will return \fBEDEADLK\fR when
all remaining threads in the process are either daemon threads or other threads
waiting in \fBthr_join()\fR. Daemon threads are most useful in libraries that
want to use threads.
.RE

.sp
.LP
Default thread creation:
.sp
.in +2
.nf
thread_t tid;
void *start_func(void *), *arg;
thr_create(NULL, 0, start_func, arg, 0, &tid);
.fi
.in -2

.sp
.LP
Create a detached thread whose thread ID we do not care about:
.sp
.in +2
.nf
thr_create(NULL, 0, start_func, arg, THR_DETACHED, NULL);
.fi
.in -2

.sp
.LP
If \fIstack_base\fR is not \fINULL\fR, the new thread uses the stack beginning
at the address specified by \fIstack_base\fR and continuing for
\fIstack_size\fR bytes, where \fIstack_size\fR must be greater than or equal to
\fBTHR_MIN_STACK\fR. If \fIstack_base\fR is \fINULL\fR, \fBthr_create()\fR
allocates a stack for the new thread with at least \fIstack_size\fR bytes. If
\fIstack_size\fR is 0, a default size is used. If \fIstack_size\fR is not 0, it
must be greater than or equal to \fBTHR_MIN_STACK\fR. See  \fBNOTES\fR.
.sp
.LP
When  \fInew_thread_ID\fR is not \fINULL\fR, it points to a location where the
\fBID\fR of the new thread is stored if \fBthr_create()\fR is successful. The
\fBID\fR is only valid within the calling process.
.SH RETURN VALUES
.sp
.LP
If successful, the \fBthr_create()\fR function returns \fB0\fR. Otherwise,  an
error value is returned to indicate the error.
.SH ERRORS
.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBEAGAIN\fR \fR
.ad
.RS 11n
A resource control limit on the total number of threads in a process, task,
project, or zone has been exceeded or some system resource has been exceeded.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBEINVAL\fR \fR
.ad
.RS 11n
The \fIstack_base\fR argument is not \fINULL\fR and \fIstack_size\fR is less
than \fBTHR_MIN_STACK\fR, or the \fIstack_base\fR argument is \fINULL\fR and
\fIstack_size\fR is not \fB0\fR and is less than \fBTHR_MIN_STACK\fR.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBENOMEM\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 11n
The system cannot allocate stack for the thread.
.RE

.sp
.LP
The \fBthr_create()\fR function may use \fBmmap()\fR to  allocate thread stacks
from \fBMAP_PRIVATE\fR, \fBMAP_NORESERVE\fR, and \fBMAP_ANON\fR memory mappings
if \fIstack_base\fR is \fINULL\fR, and consequently may return upon failure the
relevant error values returned by \fBmmap()\fR. See the \fBmmap\fR(2) manual
page for these error values.
.SH EXAMPLES
.sp
.LP
The following is an example of concurrency with multithreading. Since POSIX
threads and Solaris threads are fully compatible  even within the same process,
this example uses \fBpthread_create()\fR if you execute \fBa.out 0\fR, or
\fBthr_create()\fR if you execute \fBa.out 1\fR.
.sp
.LP
Five threads are created that simultaneously perform a time-consuming function,
\fBsleep(\fR10\fB)\fR. If the execution of this process is timed, the results
will show  that all five individual calls to sleep for ten-seconds completed
in about ten seconds, even on a uniprocessor. If a single-threaded process
calls \fBsleep(\fR10\fB)\fR five times, the execution time will be about
50-seconds.
.sp
.LP
The command-line to time this process is:
.sp
.LP
\fB/usr/bin/time\fR \fBa.out\fR \fB0\fR \fB(for\fR \fBPOSIX\fR \fBthreading)\fR
.sp
.LP
or
.sp
.LP
\fB/usr/bin/time\fR \fBa.out\fR \fB1\fR \fB(for\fR \fBSolaris\fR
\fBthreading)\fR
.LP
\fBExample 1 \fRAn example of concurrency with multithreading.
.sp
.in +2
.nf
#include <pthread.h>
#include <thread.h>
#define NUM_THREADS 5
#define SLEEP_TIME 10

void *sleeping(void *);   /* thread routine */
int i;
thread_t tid[NUM_THREADS];      /* array of thread IDs */

int
main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
    if (argc == 1)  {
        printf("use 0 as arg1 to use pthread_create(\|)\en");
        printf("or use 1 as arg1 to use thr_create(\|)\en");
        return (1);
    }

    switch (*argv[1])  {
    case '0':  /* POSIX */
        for ( i = 0; i < NUM_THREADS; i++)
                pthread_create(&tid[i], NULL, sleeping,
                    (void *)SLEEP_TIME);
        for ( i = 0; i < NUM_THREADS; i++)
                    pthread_join(tid[i], NULL);
        break;

    case '1':  /* Solaris */
        for ( i = 0; i < NUM_THREADS; i++)
            thr_create(NULL, 0, sleeping, (void *)SLEEP_TIME, 0,
                &tid[i]);
        while (thr_join(0, NULL, NULL) == 0)
                continue;
        break;
    }  /* switch */
    printf("main(\|) reporting that all %d threads have
        terminated\en", i);
    return (0);
}  /* main */

void *
sleeping(void *arg)
{
    int sleep_time = (int)arg;
    printf("thread %d sleeping %d seconds ...\en", thr_self(\|),
        sleep_time);
    sleep(sleep_time);
    printf("\enthread %d awakening\en", thr_self(\|));
    return (NULL);
}
.fi
.in -2

.sp
.LP
Had \fBmain()\fR not waited for the completion of the other threads (using
\fBpthread_join\fR(3C) or \fBthr_join\fR(3C)), it would have continued to
process concurrently until it reached the end of its routine and the entire
process would have exited prematurely (see \fBexit\fR(2)).

.LP
\fBExample 2 \fRCreating a default thread with a new signal mask.
.sp
.LP
The following example demonstrates how to create a default thread with a new
signal mask. The \fInew_mask\fR argument is assumed to have a value different
from the creator's signal mask (\fIorig_mask\fR).   The \fInew_mask\fR argument
is set to block all signals except for \fBSIGINT\fR. The creator's signal mask
is changed so that the new thread inherits a different mask, and is restored to
its original value after \fBthr_create()\fR returns.

.sp
.LP
This example assumes that \fBSIGINT\fR is also unmasked in the creator.   If it
is masked by the creator, then unmasking the signal opens the creator to this
signal.   The other alternative is to have the new thread set its own signal
mask in its start routine.

.sp
.in +2
.nf
thread_t tid;
sigset_t new_mask, orig_mask;
int error;

(void)sigfillset(&new_mask);
(void)sigdelset(&new_mask, SIGINT);
(void)thr_sigsetmask(SIG_SETMASK, &new_mask, &orig_mask);
error = thr_create(NULL, 0, do_func, NULL, 0, &tid);
(void)thr_sigsetmask(SIG_SETMASK, &orig_mask, NULL);
.fi
.in -2

.SH ATTRIBUTES
.sp
.LP
See \fBattributes\fR(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:
.sp

.sp
.TS
box;
c | c
l | l .
ATTRIBUTE TYPE  ATTRIBUTE VALUE
_
MT-Level        MT-Safe
.TE

.SH SEE ALSO
.sp
.LP
\fBexit\fR(2), \fBgetrlimit\fR(2), \fBmmap\fR(2), \fBexit\fR(3C),
\fBsleep\fR(3C), \fBthr_exit\fR(3C), \fBthr_join\fR(3C),
\fBthr_min_stack\fR(3C), \fBthr_setconcurrency\fR(3C), \fBthr_suspend\fR(3C),
\fBattributes\fR(5), \fBstandards\fR(5), \fBthreads\fR(5)
.SH NOTES
.sp
.LP
Since multithreaded-application threads execute independently of each other,
their relative behavior is unpredictable. It is therefore possible for the
thread executing \fBmain()\fR to finish before all other user-application
threads.
.sp
.LP
Using \fBthr_join\fR(3C) in the following syntax,
.sp
.in +2
.nf
while (thr_join(0, NULL, NULL) == 0)
    continue;
.fi
.in -2

.sp
.LP
will cause the invoking thread (which may be \fBmain()\fR) to wait for the
termination of all non-daemon threads, excluding threads that are themselves
waiting in \fBthr_join()\fR; however, the second and third arguments to
\fBthr_join()\fR need not necessarily be \fINULL\fR.
.sp
.LP
A thread has not terminated until \fBthr_exit()\fR has finished.  The only way
to determine this is by \fBthr_join()\fR. When \fBthr_join()\fR returns a
departed thread, it means that this thread has terminated and its resources are
reclaimable. For instance, if a user specified a stack to \fBthr_create()\fR,
this stack can only be reclaimed after  \fBthr_join()\fR has reported this
thread as a departed thread.   It is not possible to determine when a
\fIdetached\fR thread has terminated.   A detached thread disappears without
leaving a trace.
.sp
.LP
Typically, thread stacks allocated by \fBthr_create()\fR begin on page
boundaries and any specified (a red-zone) size is rounded up to the next page
boundary. A page with no access permission is appended to the top of the stack
so that most stack overflows will result in a \fBSIGSEGV\fR signal being sent
to the offending thread. Thread stacks allocated by the caller are used as is.
.sp
.LP
Using a default stack size for the new thread, instead of passing a
user-specified stack size, results in much better \fBthr_create()\fR
performance. The default stack size for a user-thread  is 1 megabyte in a
32-bit process and 2 megabyte in a 64-bit process.
.sp
.LP
A user-specified stack size must be greater than or equal to
\fBTHR_MIN_STACK\fR. A minimum stack size may not accommodate the stack frame
for  the user thread function \fIstart_func\fR. If a stack size is specified,
it must accommodate \fIstart_func\fR requirements and the functions that it may
call in turn,  in addition to the minimum requirement.
.sp
.LP
It is usually very difficult to determine the runtime stack  requirements for a
thread. \fBTHR_MIN_STACK\fR specifies how much stack storage is required to
execute a trivial \fIstart_func\fR. The total runtime requirements for stack
storage are dependent on the storage required to do runtime linking, the amount
of storage required by library runtimes (like \fBprintf()\fR) that your thread
calls. Since these storage parameters are not known before the program runs, it
is best to use default stacks. If you know your runtime requirements or decide
to use stacks that are larger than the default, then it makes sense to  specify
your own stacks.