dispatch_semaphore_create.3   [plain text]

.\" Copyright (c) 2008-2012 Apple Inc. All rights reserved.
.Dd May 1, 2009
.Dt dispatch_semaphore_create 3
.Os Darwin
.Sh NAME
.Nm dispatch_semaphore_create ,
.Nm dispatch_semaphore_signal ,
.Nm dispatch_semaphore_wait
.Nd synchronized counting semaphore
.Sh SYNOPSIS
.Fd #include <dispatch/dispatch.h>
.Ft dispatch_semaphore_t
.Fo dispatch_semaphore_create
.Fa "long count"
.Fc
.Ft long
.Fo dispatch_semaphore_signal
.Fa "dispatch_semaphore_t semaphore"
.Fc
.Ft long
.Fo dispatch_semaphore_wait
.Fa "dispatch_semaphore_t semaphore" "dispatch_time_t timeout"
.Fc
.Sh DESCRIPTION
Dispatch semaphores are used to synchronize threads.
.Pp
The
.Fn dispatch_semaphore_wait
function decrements the semaphore.
If the resulting value is less than zero, it waits for a signal from a thread
that increments the semaphore by calling
.Fn dispatch_semaphore_signal
before returning.
The
.Fa timeout
parameter is creatable with the
.Xr dispatch_time 3
or
.Xr dispatch_walltime 3
functions.
If the timeout is reached without a signal being received, the semaphore is
re-incremented before the function returns.
.Pp
The
.Fn dispatch_semaphore_signal
function increments the counting semaphore.
If the previous value was less than zero, it wakes one of the threads that are
waiting in
.Fn dispatch_semaphore_wait
before returning.
.Sh COMPLETION SYNCHRONIZATION
If the
.Fa count
parameter is equal to zero, then the semaphore is useful for synchronizing
completion of work.
For example:
.Bd -literal -offset indent
sema = dispatch_semaphore_create(0);

dispatch_async(queue, ^{
	foo();
	dispatch_semaphore_signal(sema);
});

bar();

dispatch_semaphore_wait(sema, DISPATCH_TIME_FOREVER);
.Ed
.Sh FINITE RESOURCE POOL
If the
.Fa count
parameter is greater than zero, then the semaphore is useful for managing a
finite pool of resources.
For example, a library that wants to limit Unix descriptor usage:
.Bd -literal -offset indent
sema = dispatch_semaphore_create(getdtablesize() / 4);
.Ed
.Pp
At each Unix FD allocation:
.Bd -literal -offset indent
dispatch_semaphore_wait(sema, DISPATCH_TIME_FOREVER);
fd = open("/etc/services", O_RDONLY);
.Ed
.Pp
When each FD is closed:
.Bd -literal -offset indent
close(fd);
dispatch_semaphore_signal(sema);
.Ed
.Sh RETURN VALUES
The
.Fn dispatch_semaphore_create
function returns NULL if no memory is available or if the
.Fa count
parameter is less than zero.
.Pp
The
.Fn dispatch_semaphore_signal
function returns non-zero when a thread is woken.
Otherwise, zero is returned.
.Pp
The
.Fn dispatch_semaphore_wait
function returns zero upon success and non-zero after the timeout expires.
If the timeout is DISPATCH_TIME_FOREVER, then
.Fn dispatch_semaphore_wait
waits forever and always returns zero.
.Sh MEMORY MODEL
Dispatch semaphores are retained and released via calls to
.Fn dispatch_retain
and
.Fn dispatch_release .
.Sh SEE ALSO
.Xr dispatch 3 ,
.Xr dispatch_object 3
.Sh CAVEATS
Unbalanced dispatch semaphores cannot be released.
For a given semaphore, the count at the time
.Fn dispatch_release
is called must be equal to or larger than the
count the semaphore was created with.
In other words, at the time of releasing the semaphore, there must have been at
least as many
.Fn dispatch_semaphore_signal
calls as there were successful
.Fn dispatch_semaphore_wait
calls that did not timeout.