Difference between revisions of "Pthread"
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Revision as of 08:22, 18 December 2022
Contents
Using pthreads
Single thread example
The example below shows the syntax of pthreads. The thread doesn't do anything useful.
- compile with: gcc pt1.c -o pt -pthread
 
 1 #include <stdio.h>
 2 #include <pthread.h>
 3 
 4 long counter;
 5 void * adder(void * data) {
 6         for (int i=0; i < 1000000; i++)
 7                 counter++;
 8 }
 9 
10 int main(void) {
11         int i;
12         pthread_t pt;
13 
14         counter=0;
15         pthread_create(&pt, NULL, adder, NULL);
16         pthread_join(pt, NULL);
17         printf("Value of counter is %ld\n", counter);
18         return(0);
19 }
When creating a pthread with pthread_create() resources are allocated in the running process for the thread. pthread_join() waits for the thread to finish and releases its resources.
Using multiple threads
Using multiple threads simultaneously can give race conditions as the code below shows when running.
 1 #include <stdio.h>
 2 #include <pthread.h>
 3 
 4 #define THREADS 2
 5 
 6 long counter;
 7 void * adder(void * data) {
 8         for (int i=0; i < 1000000; i++)
 9                 counter++;
10 }
11 
12 int main(void) {
13         int i;
14         pthread_t pt[THREADS];
15 
16         counter=0;
17 
18         for (i=0; i < THREADS; i++) {
19                 pthread_create(&pt[i], NULL, adder, NULL);
20                 printf("Created thread %d\n",i+1);
21         }
22 
23         for (i=0; i < THREADS; i++) {
24                 pthread_join(pt[i], NULL);
25                 printf("Joined thread %d\n",i+1);
26         }
27 
28         printf("Value of counter is %ld\n", counter);
29         return(0);
30 }
Running the code two times gave this output as example:
- Note: The two wrong counter values.
 
heth@emb3:~/bin$ pt2
Created thread 1
Created thread 2
Joined thread 1
Joined thread 2
Value of counter is 1032119
heth@emb3:~/bin$ pt2
Created thread 1
Created thread 2
Joined thread 1
Joined thread 2
Value of counter is 1081391
Using mutexes
A Mutex or Mutual exclusion is a lock that can be owned by only thread at a time. When unlocked another thread can lock it.
#include <stdio.h>
#include <pthread.h>
#define THREADS 2
long counter;
pthread_mutex_t mutex;
void * adder(void * data) {
        for (int i=0; i < 1000000; i++) {
                pthread_mutex_lock(&mutex) ;
                counter++;
                pthread_mutex_unlock(&mutex);
        }
}
int main(void) {
        int i;
        pthread_t pt[THREADS];
        counter=0;
        if (pthread_mutex_init(&mutex, NULL) != 0)
                printf("Mutex init failed\n");
        for (i=0; i < THREADS; i++) {
                pthread_create(&pt[i], NULL, adder, NULL);
                printf("Created thread %d\n",i+1);
        }
        for (i=0; i < THREADS; i++) {
                pthread_join(pt[i], NULL);
                printf("Joined thread %d\n",i+1);
        }
        printf("Value of counter is %ld\n", counter);
        return(0);
}
The output from this example is accurate:
heth@emb3:~/bin$ pt1_mutex
Created thread 1
Created thread 2 
Joined thread 1
Joined thread 2
Value of counter is 2000000
Releasing resources used by a pthread
To release the resources - memory for stack and householding - it is necessary to call either pthread_detach or pthread_join. The resources are not released when the pthread exits without one of these calls.
- pthread_join is called by the process or another thread.
 - pthread_detach is typically called by the thread itself to release the resources when the thread terminates