.\" Portions Copyright (c) 2001 Apple Computer, Inc. All Rights Reserved. .\" Copyright (c) 1996 John Birrell <jb@cimlogic.com.au>. .\" All rights reserved. .\" .\" Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without .\" modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions .\" are met: .\" 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright .\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. .\" 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright .\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the .\" documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution. .\" 3. All advertising materials mentioning features or use of this software .\" must display the following acknowledgement: .\" This product includes software developed by John Birrell. .\" 4. Neither the name of the author nor the names of any co-contributors .\" may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software .\" without specific prior written permission. .\" .\" THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY JOHN BIRRELL AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND .\" ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE .\" IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE .\" ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE .\" FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL .\" DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS .\" OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) .\" HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT .\" LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY .\" OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF .\" SUCH DAMAGE. .\" .\" $FreeBSD$ .\" .Dd August 12, 2014 .Dt PTHREAD 3 .Os Darwin .Sh NAME .Nm pthread .Nd POSIX thread functions .Sh SYNOPSIS .In pthread.h .Sh DESCRIPTION POSIX threads are a set of functions that support applications with requirements for multiple flows of control, called .Em threads , within a process. Multithreading is used to improve the performance of a program. .Pp The POSIX thread functions are summarized in this section in the following groups: .Pp .Bl -bullet -offset indent -compact .It Thread Routines .It Attribute Object Routines .It Mutex Routines .It Condition Variable Routines .It Read/Write Lock Routines .It Per-Thread Context Routines .It Cleanup Routines .El .Ss Thread Routines .Bl -tag -width indent .It Xo .Ft int .Fo pthread_create .Fa "pthread_t *thread" "const pthread_attr_t *attr" .Fa "void *\*[lp]*start_routine\*[rp]\*[lp]void *\*[rp]" "void *arg" .Fc .Xc Creates a new thread of execution. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_cancel "pthread_t thread" .Xc Cancels execution of a thread. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_detach "pthread_t thread" .Xc Marks a thread for deletion. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_equal "pthread_t t1" "pthread_t t2" .Xc Compares two thread IDs. .It Xo .Ft void .Fn pthread_exit "void *value_ptr" .Xc Terminates the calling thread. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_join "pthread_t thread" "void **value_ptr" .Xc Causes the calling thread to wait for the termination of the specified thread. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_kill "pthread_t thread" "int sig" .Xc Delivers a signal to a specified thread. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_once "pthread_once_t *once_control" "void \*[lp]*init_routine\*[rp]\*[lp]void\*[rp]" .Xc Calls an initialization routine once. .It Xo .Ft pthread_t .Fn pthread_self void .Xc Returns the thread ID of the calling thread. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_setcancelstate "int state" "int *oldstate" .Xc Sets the current thread's cancelability state. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_setcanceltype "int type" "int *oldtype" .Xc Sets the current thread's cancelability type. .It Xo .Ft void .Fn pthread_testcancel void .Xc Creates a cancellation point in the calling thread. .El .Ss Attribute Object Routines .Bl -tag -width indent .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_attr_destroy "pthread_attr_t *attr" .Xc Destroy a thread attributes object. .It Xo .Ft int .Fo pthread_attr_getinheritsched .Fa "const pthread_attr_t *attr" "int *inheritsched" .Fc .Xc Get the inherit scheduling attribute from a thread attributes object. .It Xo .Ft int .Fo pthread_attr_getschedparam .Fa "const pthread_attr_t *attr" "struct sched_param *param" .Fc .Xc Get the scheduling parameter attribute from a thread attributes object. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_attr_getschedpolicy "const pthread_attr_t *attr" "int *policy" .Xc Get the scheduling policy attribute from a thread attributes object. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_attr_getscope "const pthread_attr_t *attr" "int *contentionscope" .Xc Get the contention scope attribute from a thread attributes object. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_attr_getstacksize "const pthread_attr_t *attr" "size_t *stacksize" .Xc Get the stack size attribute from a thread attributes object. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_attr_getstackaddr "const pthread_attr_t *attr" "void **stackaddr" .Xc Get the stack address attribute from a thread attributes object. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_attr_getdetachstate "const pthread_attr_t *attr" "int *detachstate" .Xc Get the detach state attribute from a thread attributes object. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_attr_init "pthread_attr_t *attr" .Xc Initialize a thread attributes object with default values. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_attr_setinheritsched "pthread_attr_t *attr" "int inheritsched" .Xc Set the inherit scheduling attribute in a thread attributes object. .It Xo .Ft int .Fo pthread_attr_setschedparam .Fa "pthread_attr_t *attr" "const struct sched_param *param" .Fc .Xc Set the scheduling parameter attribute in a thread attributes object. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_attr_setschedpolicy "pthread_attr_t *attr" "int policy" .Xc Set the scheduling policy attribute in a thread attributes object. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_attr_setscope "pthread_attr_t *attr" "int contentionscope" .Xc Set the contention scope attribute in a thread attributes object. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_attr_setstacksize "pthread_attr_t *attr" "size_t stacksize" .Xc Set the stack size attribute in a thread attributes object. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_attr_setstackaddr "pthread_attr_t *attr" "void *stackaddr" .Xc Set the stack address attribute in a thread attributes object. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_attr_setdetachstate "pthread_attr_t *attr" "int detachstate" .Xc Set the detach state in a thread attributes object. .El .Ss Mutex Routines .Bl -tag -width indent .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_mutexattr_destroy "pthread_mutexattr_t *attr" .Xc Destroy a mutex attributes object. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_mutexattr_getprioceiling "pthread_mutexattr_t *attr" "int *ceiling" .Xc Obtain priority ceiling attribute of mutex attribute object. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_mutexattr_getprotocol "pthread_mutexattr_t *attr" "int *protocol" .Xc Obtain protocol attribute of mutex attribute object. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_mutexattr_gettype "pthread_mutexattr_t *attr" "int *type" .Xc Obtain the mutex type attribute in the specified mutex attributes object. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_mutexattr_init "pthread_mutexattr_t *attr" .Xc Initialize a mutex attributes object with default values. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_mutexattr_setprioceiling "pthread_mutexattr_t *attr" "int ceiling" .Xc Set priority ceiling attribute of mutex attribute object. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_mutexattr_setprotocol "pthread_mutexattr_t *attr" "int protocol" .Xc Set protocol attribute of mutex attribute object. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_mutexattr_settype "pthread_mutexattr_t *attr" "int type" .Xc Set the mutex type attribute that is used when a mutex is created. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_mutex_destroy "pthread_mutex_t *mutex" .Xc Destroy a mutex. .It Xo .Ft int .Fo pthread_mutex_init .Fa "pthread_mutex_t *mutex" "const pthread_mutexattr_t *attr" .Fc .Xc Initialize a mutex with specified attributes. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_mutex_lock "pthread_mutex_t *mutex" .Xc Lock a mutex and block until it becomes available. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_mutex_trylock "pthread_mutex_t *mutex" .Xc Try to lock a mutex, but do not block if the mutex is locked by another thread, including the current thread. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_mutex_unlock "pthread_mutex_t *mutex" .Xc Unlock a mutex. .El .Ss Condition Variable Routines .Bl -tag -width indent .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_condattr_destroy "pthread_condattr_t *attr" .Xc Destroy a condition variable attributes object. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_condattr_init "pthread_condattr_t *attr" .Xc Initialize a condition variable attributes object with default values. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_cond_broadcast "pthread_cond_t *cond" .Xc Unblock all threads currently blocked on the specified condition variable. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_cond_destroy "pthread_cond_t *cond" .Xc Destroy a condition variable. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_cond_init "pthread_cond_t *cond" "const pthread_condattr_t *attr" .Xc Initialize a condition variable with specified attributes. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_cond_signal "pthread_cond_t *cond" .Xc Unblock at least one of the threads blocked on the specified condition variable. .It Xo .Ft int .Fo pthread_cond_timedwait .Fa "pthread_cond_t *cond" "pthread_mutex_t *mutex" .Fa "const struct timespec *abstime" .Fc .Xc Unlock the specified mutex, wait no longer than the specified time for a condition, and then relock the mutex. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_cond_wait "pthread_cond_t *" "pthread_mutex_t *mutex" .Xc Unlock the specified mutex, wait for a condition, and relock the mutex. .El .Ss Read/Write Lock Routines .Bl -tag -width indent .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_rwlock_destroy "pthread_rwlock_t *lock" .Xc Destroy a read/write lock object. .It Xo .Ft int .Fo pthread_rwlock_init .Fa "pthread_rwlock_t *lock" "const pthread_rwlockattr_t *attr" .Fc .Xc Initialize a read/write lock object. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_rwlock_rdlock "pthread_rwlock_t *lock" .Xc Lock a read/write lock for reading, blocking until the lock can be acquired. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_rwlock_tryrdlock "pthread_rwlock_t *lock" .Xc Attempt to lock a read/write lock for reading, without blocking if the lock is unavailable. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_rwlock_trywrlock "pthread_rwlock_t *lock" .Xc Attempt to lock a read/write lock for writing, without blocking if the lock is unavailable. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_rwlock_unlock "pthread_rwlock_t *lock" .Xc Unlock a read/write lock. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_rwlock_wrlock "pthread_rwlock_t *lock" .Xc Lock a read/write lock for writing, blocking until the lock can be acquired. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_rwlockattr_destroy "pthread_rwlockattr_t *attr" .Xc Destroy a read/write lock attribute object. .It Xo .Ft int .Fo pthread_rwlockattr_getpshared .Fa "const pthread_rwlockattr_t *attr" "int *pshared" .Fc .Xc Retrieve the process shared setting for the read/write lock attribute object. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_rwlockattr_init "pthread_rwlockattr_t *attr" .Xc Initialize a read/write lock attribute object. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_rwlockattr_setpshared "pthread_rwlockattr_t *attr" "int pshared" .Xc Set the process shared setting for the read/write lock attribute object. .El .Ss Per-Thread Context Routines .Bl -tag -width indent .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_key_create "pthread_key_t *key" "void \*[lp]*routine\*[rp]\*[lp]void *\*[rp]" .Xc Create a thread-specific data key. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_key_delete "pthread_key_t key" .Xc Delete a thread-specific data key. .It Xo .Ft "void *" .Fn pthread_getspecific "pthread_key_t key" .Xc Get the thread-specific value for the specified key. .It Xo .Ft int .Fn pthread_setspecific "pthread_key_t key" "const void *value_ptr" .Xc Set the thread-specific value for the specified key. .El .Ss Cleanup Routines .Bl -tag -width indent .It Xo .Ft int .Fo pthread_atfork .Fa "void \*[lp]*prepare\*[rp]\*[lp]void\*[rp]" .Fa "void \*[lp]*parent\*[rp]\*[lp]void\*[rp]" .Fa "void \*[lp]*child\*[rp]\*[lp]void\*[rp]" .Fc .Xc Register fork handlers. .It Xo .Ft void .Fn pthread_cleanup_pop "int execute" .Xc Remove the routine at the top of the calling thread's cancellation cleanup stack and optionally invoke it. .It Xo .Ft void .Fn pthread_cleanup_push "void \*[lp]*routine\*[rp]\*[lp]void *\*[rp]" "void *routine_arg" .Xc Push the specified cancellation cleanup handler onto the calling thread's cancellation stack. .El .Sh INSTALLATION The default system libraries include .Nm pthread functions. No additional libraries or CFLAGS are necessary to use these interfaces. .Sh SEE ALSO .Xr pthread_atfork 3 , .Xr pthread_attr 3 , .Xr pthread_cancel 3 , .Xr pthread_cleanup_pop 3 , .Xr pthread_cleanup_push 3 , .Xr pthread_cond_broadcast 3 , .Xr pthread_cond_destroy 3 , .Xr pthread_cond_init 3 , .Xr pthread_cond_signal 3 , .Xr pthread_cond_timedwait 3 , .Xr pthread_cond_wait 3 , .Xr pthread_condattr 3 , .Xr pthread_condattr_destroy 3 , .Xr pthread_condattr_init 3 , .Xr pthread_create 3 , .Xr pthread_detach 3 , .Xr pthread_equal 3 , .Xr pthread_exit 3 , .Xr pthread_getschedparam 3 , .Xr pthread_getspecific 3 , .Xr pthread_join 3 , .Xr pthread_key_create 3 , .Xr pthread_key_delete 3 , .Xr pthread_kill 3 , .Xr pthread_mutex_destroy 3 , .Xr pthread_mutex_init 3 , .Xr pthread_mutex_lock 3 , .Xr pthread_mutex_trylock 3 , .Xr pthread_mutex_unlock 3 , .Xr pthread_mutexattr 3 , .Xr pthread_mutexattr_destroy 3 , .Xr pthread_mutexattr_getprioceiling 3 , .Xr pthread_mutexattr_getprotocol 3 , .Xr pthread_mutexattr_gettype 3 , .Xr pthread_mutexattr_init 3 , .Xr pthread_mutexattr_setprioceiling 3 , .Xr pthread_mutexattr_setprotocol 3 , .Xr pthread_mutexattr_settype 3 , .Xr pthread_once 3 , .Xr pthread_rwlock_destroy 3 , .Xr pthread_rwlock_init 3 , .Xr pthread_rwlock_rdlock 3 , .Xr pthread_rwlock_tryrdlock 3 , .Xr pthread_rwlock_trywrlock 3 , .Xr pthread_rwlock_unlock 3 , .Xr pthread_rwlock_wrlock 3 , .Xr pthread_rwlockattr_destroy 3 , .Xr pthread_rwlockattr_getpshared 3 , .Xr pthread_rwlockattr_init 3 , .Xr pthread_rwlockattr_setpshared 3 , .Xr pthread_self 3 , .Xr pthread_setcancelstate 3 , .Xr pthread_setcanceltype 3 , .Xr pthread_setspecific 3 , .Xr pthread_testcancel 3 .Sh STANDARDS The functions with the .Nm pthread_ prefix and not .Nm _np suffix or .Nm pthread_rwlock prefix conform to .St -p1003.1-96 . .Pp The functions with the .Nm pthread_ prefix and .Nm _np suffix are non-portable extensions to POSIX threads. .Pp The functions with the .Nm pthread_rwlock prefix are extensions created by The Open Group as part of the .St -susv2 .