xref: /freebsd/share/man/man3/pthread.3 (revision 5956d97f4b3204318ceb6aa9c77bd0bc6ea87a41)
1.\" Copyright (c) 1996 John Birrell <jb@cimlogic.com.au>.
2.\" All rights reserved.
3.\"
4.\" Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
5.\" modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
6.\" are met:
7.\" 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
8.\"    notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
9.\" 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
10.\"    notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
11.\"    documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
12.\" 3. All advertising materials mentioning features or use of this software
13.\"    must display the following acknowledgement:
14.\"	This product includes software developed by John Birrell.
15.\" 4. Neither the name of the author nor the names of any co-contributors
16.\"    may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
17.\"    without specific prior written permission.
18.\"
19.\" THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY JOHN BIRRELL AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND
20.\" ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
21.\" IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
22.\" ARE DISCLAIMED.  IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
23.\" FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
24.\" DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS
25.\" OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)
26.\" HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
27.\" LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY
28.\" OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
29.\" SUCH DAMAGE.
30.\"
31.\" $FreeBSD$
32.\"
33.Dd October 12, 2021
34.Dt PTHREAD 3
35.Os
36.Sh NAME
37.Nm pthread
38.Nd POSIX thread functions
39.Sh LIBRARY
40.Lb libpthread
41.Sh SYNOPSIS
42.In pthread.h
43.Sh DESCRIPTION
44POSIX threads are a set of functions that support applications with
45requirements for multiple flows of control, called
46.Em threads ,
47within a process.
48Multithreading is used to improve the performance of a
49program.
50.Pp
51The POSIX thread functions are summarized in this section in the following
52groups:
53.Pp
54.Bl -bullet -offset indent -compact
55.It
56Thread Routines
57.It
58Attribute Object Routines
59.It
60Mutex Routines
61.It
62Condition Variable Routines
63.It
64Read/Write Lock Routines
65.It
66Per-Thread Context Routines
67.It
68Cleanup Routines
69.El
70.Pp
71.Fx
72extensions to the POSIX thread functions are summarized in
73.Xr pthread_np 3 .
74.Ss Thread Routines
75.Bl -tag -width indent
76.It Xo
77.Ft int
78.Fo pthread_create
79.Fa "pthread_t *thread" "const pthread_attr_t *attr"
80.Fa "void *\*[lp]*start_routine\*[rp]\*[lp]void *\*[rp]" "void *arg"
81.Fc
82.Xc
83Creates a new thread of execution.
84.It Xo
85.Ft int
86.Fn pthread_cancel "pthread_t thread"
87.Xc
88Cancels execution of a thread.
89.It Xo
90.Ft int
91.Fn pthread_detach "pthread_t thread"
92.Xc
93Marks a thread for deletion.
94.It Xo
95.Ft int
96.Fn pthread_equal "pthread_t t1" "pthread_t t2"
97.Xc
98Compares two thread IDs.
99.It Xo
100.Ft void
101.Fn pthread_exit "void *value_ptr"
102.Xc
103Terminates the calling thread.
104.It Xo
105.Ft int
106.Fn pthread_join "pthread_t thread" "void **value_ptr"
107.Xc
108Causes the calling thread to wait for the termination of the specified thread.
109.It Xo
110.Ft int
111.Fn pthread_kill "pthread_t thread" "int sig"
112.Xc
113Delivers a signal to a specified thread.
114.It Xo
115.Ft int
116.Fn pthread_once "pthread_once_t *once_control" "void \*[lp]*init_routine\*[rp]\*[lp]void\*[rp]"
117.Xc
118Calls an initialization routine once.
119.It Xo
120.Ft pthread_t
121.Fn pthread_self void
122.Xc
123Returns the thread ID of the calling thread.
124.It Xo
125.Ft int
126.Fn pthread_setcancelstate "int state" "int *oldstate"
127.Xc
128Sets the current thread's cancelability state.
129.It Xo
130.Ft int
131.Fn pthread_setcanceltype "int type" "int *oldtype"
132.Xc
133Sets the current thread's cancelability type.
134.It Xo
135.Ft void
136.Fn pthread_testcancel void
137.Xc
138Creates a cancellation point in the calling thread.
139.It Xo
140.Ft void
141.Fn pthread_yield void
142.Xc
143Allows the scheduler to run another thread instead of the current one.
144.El
145.Ss Attribute Object Routines
146.Bl -tag -width indent
147.It Xo
148.Ft int
149.Fn pthread_attr_destroy "pthread_attr_t *attr"
150.Xc
151Destroy a thread attributes object.
152.It Xo
153.Ft int
154.Fo pthread_attr_getinheritsched
155.Fa "const pthread_attr_t *attr" "int *inheritsched"
156.Fc
157.Xc
158Get the inherit scheduling attribute from a thread attributes object.
159.It Xo
160.Ft int
161.Fo pthread_attr_getschedparam
162.Fa "const pthread_attr_t *attr" "struct sched_param *param"
163.Fc
164.Xc
165Get the scheduling parameter attribute from a thread attributes object.
166.It Xo
167.Ft int
168.Fn pthread_attr_getschedpolicy "const pthread_attr_t *attr" "int *policy"
169.Xc
170Get the scheduling policy attribute from a thread attributes object.
171.It Xo
172.Ft int
173.Fn pthread_attr_getscope "const pthread_attr_t *attr" "int *contentionscope"
174.Xc
175Get the contention scope attribute from a thread attributes object.
176.It Xo
177.Ft int
178.Fn pthread_attr_getstacksize "const pthread_attr_t *attr" "size_t *stacksize"
179.Xc
180Get the stack size attribute from a thread attributes object.
181.It Xo
182.Ft int
183.Fn pthread_attr_getstackaddr "const pthread_attr_t *attr" "void **stackaddr"
184.Xc
185Get the stack address attribute from a thread attributes object.
186.It Xo
187.Ft int
188.Fn pthread_attr_getdetachstate "const pthread_attr_t *attr" "int *detachstate"
189.Xc
190Get the detach state attribute from a thread attributes object.
191.It Xo
192.Ft int
193.Fn pthread_attr_init "pthread_attr_t *attr"
194.Xc
195Initialize a thread attributes object with default values.
196.It Xo
197.Ft int
198.Fn pthread_attr_setinheritsched "pthread_attr_t *attr" "int inheritsched"
199.Xc
200Set the inherit scheduling attribute in a thread attributes object.
201.It Xo
202.Ft int
203.Fo pthread_attr_setschedparam
204.Fa "pthread_attr_t *attr" "const struct sched_param *param"
205.Fc
206.Xc
207Set the scheduling parameter attribute in a thread attributes object.
208.It Xo
209.Ft int
210.Fn pthread_attr_setschedpolicy "pthread_attr_t *attr" "int policy"
211.Xc
212Set the scheduling policy attribute in a thread attributes object.
213.It Xo
214.Ft int
215.Fn pthread_attr_setscope "pthread_attr_t *attr" "int contentionscope"
216.Xc
217Set the contention scope attribute in a thread attributes object.
218.It Xo
219.Ft int
220.Fn pthread_attr_setstacksize "pthread_attr_t *attr" "size_t stacksize"
221.Xc
222Set the stack size attribute in a thread attributes object.
223.It Xo
224.Ft int
225.Fn pthread_attr_setstackaddr "pthread_attr_t *attr" "void *stackaddr"
226.Xc
227Set the stack address attribute in a thread attributes object.
228.It Xo
229.Ft int
230.Fn pthread_attr_setdetachstate "pthread_attr_t *attr" "int detachstate"
231.Xc
232Set the detach state in a thread attributes object.
233.El
234.Ss Mutex Routines
235.Bl -tag -width indent
236.It Xo
237.Ft int
238.Fn pthread_mutexattr_destroy "pthread_mutexattr_t *attr"
239.Xc
240Destroy a mutex attributes object.
241.It Xo
242.Ft int
243.Fn pthread_mutexattr_getprioceiling "const pthread_mutexattr_t *restrict attr" "int *restrict ceiling"
244.Xc
245Obtain priority ceiling attribute of mutex attribute object.
246.It Xo
247.Ft int
248.Fn pthread_mutexattr_getprotocol "const pthread_mutexattr_t *restrict attr" "int *restrict protocol"
249.Xc
250Obtain protocol attribute of mutex attribute object.
251.It Xo
252.Ft int
253.Fn pthread_mutexattr_gettype "const pthread_mutexattr_t *restrict attr" "int *restrict type"
254.Xc
255Obtain the mutex type attribute in the specified mutex attributes object.
256.It Xo
257.Ft int
258.Fn pthread_mutexattr_init "pthread_mutexattr_t *attr"
259.Xc
260Initialize a mutex attributes object with default values.
261.It Xo
262.Ft int
263.Fn pthread_mutexattr_setprioceiling "pthread_mutexattr_t *attr" "int ceiling"
264.Xc
265Set priority ceiling attribute of mutex attribute object.
266.It Xo
267.Ft int
268.Fn pthread_mutexattr_setprotocol "pthread_mutexattr_t *attr" "int protocol"
269.Xc
270Set protocol attribute of mutex attribute object.
271.It Xo
272.Ft int
273.Fn pthread_mutexattr_settype "pthread_mutexattr_t *attr" "int type"
274.Xc
275Set the mutex type attribute that is used when a mutex is created.
276.It Xo
277.Ft int
278.Fn pthread_mutex_destroy "pthread_mutex_t *mutex"
279.Xc
280Destroy a mutex.
281.It Xo
282.Ft int
283.Fo pthread_mutex_init
284.Fa "pthread_mutex_t *mutex" "const pthread_mutexattr_t *attr"
285.Fc
286.Xc
287Initialize a mutex with specified attributes.
288.It Xo
289.Ft int
290.Fn pthread_mutex_lock "pthread_mutex_t *mutex"
291.Xc
292Lock a mutex and block until it becomes available.
293.It Xo
294.Ft int
295.Fo pthread_mutex_timedlock
296.Fa "pthread_mutex_t *mutex" "const struct timespec *abstime"
297.Fc
298.Xc
299Lock a mutex and block until it becomes available or until the timeout expires.
300.It Xo
301.Ft int
302.Fn pthread_mutex_trylock "pthread_mutex_t *mutex"
303.Xc
304Try to lock a mutex, but do not block if the mutex is locked by another thread,
305including the current thread.
306.It Xo
307.Ft int
308.Fn pthread_mutex_unlock "pthread_mutex_t *mutex"
309.Xc
310Unlock a mutex.
311.El
312.Ss Condition Variable Routines
313.Bl -tag -width indent
314.It Xo
315.Ft int
316.Fn pthread_condattr_destroy "pthread_condattr_t *attr"
317.Xc
318Destroy a condition variable attributes object.
319.It Xo
320.Ft int
321.Fn pthread_condattr_init "pthread_condattr_t *attr"
322.Xc
323Initialize a condition variable attributes object with default values.
324.It Xo
325.Ft int
326.Fn pthread_cond_broadcast "pthread_cond_t *cond"
327.Xc
328Unblock all threads currently blocked on the specified condition variable.
329.It Xo
330.Ft int
331.Fn pthread_cond_destroy "pthread_cond_t *cond"
332.Xc
333Destroy a condition variable.
334.It Xo
335.Ft int
336.Fn pthread_cond_init "pthread_cond_t *cond" "const pthread_condattr_t *attr"
337.Xc
338Initialize a condition variable with specified attributes.
339.It Xo
340.Ft int
341.Fn pthread_cond_signal "pthread_cond_t *cond"
342.Xc
343Unblock at least one of the threads blocked on the specified condition variable.
344.It Xo
345.Ft int
346.Fo pthread_cond_timedwait
347.Fa "pthread_cond_t *cond" "pthread_mutex_t *mutex"
348.Fa "const struct timespec *abstime"
349.Fc
350.Xc
351Unlock the specified mutex, wait no longer than the specified time for
352a condition, and then relock the mutex.
353.It Xo
354.Ft int
355.Fn pthread_cond_wait "pthread_cond_t *" "pthread_mutex_t *mutex"
356.Xc
357Unlock the specified mutex, wait for a condition, and relock the mutex.
358.El
359.Ss Read/Write Lock Routines
360.Bl -tag -width indent
361.It Xo
362.Ft int
363.Fn pthread_rwlock_destroy "pthread_rwlock_t *lock"
364.Xc
365Destroy a read/write lock object.
366.It Xo
367.Ft int
368.Fo pthread_rwlock_init
369.Fa "pthread_rwlock_t *lock" "const pthread_rwlockattr_t *attr"
370.Fc
371.Xc
372Initialize a read/write lock object.
373.It Xo
374.Ft int
375.Fn pthread_rwlock_rdlock "pthread_rwlock_t *lock"
376.Xc
377Lock a read/write lock for reading, blocking until the lock can be
378acquired.
379.It Xo
380.Ft int
381.Fn pthread_rwlock_tryrdlock "pthread_rwlock_t *lock"
382.Xc
383Attempt to lock a read/write lock for reading, without blocking if the
384lock is unavailable.
385.It Xo
386.Ft int
387.Fn pthread_rwlock_trywrlock "pthread_rwlock_t *lock"
388.Xc
389Attempt to lock a read/write lock for writing, without blocking if the
390lock is unavailable.
391.It Xo
392.Ft int
393.Fn pthread_rwlock_unlock "pthread_rwlock_t *lock"
394.Xc
395Unlock a read/write lock.
396.It Xo
397.Ft int
398.Fn pthread_rwlock_wrlock "pthread_rwlock_t *lock"
399.Xc
400Lock a read/write lock for writing, blocking until the lock can be
401acquired.
402.It Xo
403.Ft int
404.Fn pthread_rwlockattr_destroy "pthread_rwlockattr_t *attr"
405.Xc
406Destroy a read/write lock attribute object.
407.It Xo
408.Ft int
409.Fo pthread_rwlockattr_getpshared
410.Fa "const pthread_rwlockattr_t *attr" "int *pshared"
411.Fc
412.Xc
413Retrieve the process shared setting for the read/write lock attribute
414object.
415.It Xo
416.Ft int
417.Fn pthread_rwlockattr_init "pthread_rwlockattr_t *attr"
418.Xc
419Initialize a read/write lock attribute object.
420.It Xo
421.Ft int
422.Fn pthread_rwlockattr_setpshared "pthread_rwlockattr_t *attr" "int pshared"
423.Xc
424Set the process shared setting for the read/write lock attribute object.
425.El
426.Ss Per-Thread Context Routines
427.Bl -tag -width indent
428.It Xo
429.Ft int
430.Fn pthread_key_create "pthread_key_t *key" "void \*[lp]*routine\*[rp]\*[lp]void *\*[rp]"
431.Xc
432Create a thread-specific data key.
433.It Xo
434.Ft int
435.Fn pthread_key_delete "pthread_key_t key"
436.Xc
437Delete a thread-specific data key.
438.It Xo
439.Ft "void *"
440.Fn pthread_getspecific "pthread_key_t key"
441.Xc
442Get the thread-specific value for the specified key.
443.It Xo
444.Ft int
445.Fn pthread_setspecific "pthread_key_t key" "const void *value_ptr"
446.Xc
447Set the thread-specific value for the specified key.
448.El
449.Ss Cleanup Routines
450.Bl -tag -width indent
451.It Xo
452.Ft int
453.Fo pthread_atfork
454.Fa "void \*[lp]*prepare\*[rp]\*[lp]void\*[rp]"
455.Fa "void \*[lp]*parent\*[rp]\*[lp]void\*[rp]"
456.Fa "void \*[lp]*child\*[rp]\*[lp]void\*[rp]"
457.Fc
458.Xc
459Register fork handlers.
460.It Xo
461.Ft void
462.Fn pthread_cleanup_pop "int execute"
463.Xc
464Remove the routine at the top of the calling thread's cancellation cleanup
465stack and optionally invoke it.
466.It Xo
467.Ft void
468.Fn pthread_cleanup_push "void \*[lp]*routine\*[rp]\*[lp]void *\*[rp]" "void *routine_arg"
469.Xc
470Push the specified cancellation cleanup handler onto the calling thread's
471cancellation stack.
472.El
473.Sh IMPLEMENTATION NOTES
474The current
475.Fx
476POSIX thread implementation is built into the
477.Lb libthr
478library.
479It contains thread-safe versions of
480.Lb libc
481functions and the thread functions.
482Threaded applications are linked with this library.
483.Sh SEE ALSO
484.Xr libthr 3 ,
485.Xr pthread_atfork 3 ,
486.Xr pthread_attr 3 ,
487.Xr pthread_cancel 3 ,
488.Xr pthread_cleanup_pop 3 ,
489.Xr pthread_cleanup_push 3 ,
490.Xr pthread_cond_broadcast 3 ,
491.Xr pthread_cond_destroy 3 ,
492.Xr pthread_cond_init 3 ,
493.Xr pthread_cond_signal 3 ,
494.Xr pthread_cond_timedwait 3 ,
495.Xr pthread_cond_wait 3 ,
496.Xr pthread_condattr_destroy 3 ,
497.Xr pthread_condattr_init 3 ,
498.Xr pthread_create 3 ,
499.Xr pthread_detach 3 ,
500.Xr pthread_equal 3 ,
501.Xr pthread_exit 3 ,
502.Xr pthread_getspecific 3 ,
503.Xr pthread_join 3 ,
504.Xr pthread_key_delete 3 ,
505.Xr pthread_kill 3 ,
506.Xr pthread_mutex_destroy 3 ,
507.Xr pthread_mutex_init 3 ,
508.Xr pthread_mutex_lock 3 ,
509.Xr pthread_mutex_trylock 3 ,
510.Xr pthread_mutex_unlock 3 ,
511.Xr pthread_mutexattr_destroy 3 ,
512.Xr pthread_mutexattr_getprioceiling 3 ,
513.Xr pthread_mutexattr_getprotocol 3 ,
514.Xr pthread_mutexattr_gettype 3 ,
515.Xr pthread_mutexattr_init 3 ,
516.Xr pthread_mutexattr_setprioceiling 3 ,
517.Xr pthread_mutexattr_setprotocol 3 ,
518.Xr pthread_mutexattr_settype 3 ,
519.Xr pthread_np 3 ,
520.Xr pthread_once 3 ,
521.Xr pthread_rwlock_destroy 3 ,
522.Xr pthread_rwlock_init 3 ,
523.Xr pthread_rwlock_rdlock 3 ,
524.Xr pthread_rwlock_unlock 3 ,
525.Xr pthread_rwlock_wrlock 3 ,
526.Xr pthread_rwlockattr_destroy 3 ,
527.Xr pthread_rwlockattr_getpshared 3 ,
528.Xr pthread_rwlockattr_init 3 ,
529.Xr pthread_rwlockattr_setpshared 3 ,
530.Xr pthread_self 3 ,
531.Xr pthread_setcancelstate 3 ,
532.Xr pthread_setcanceltype 3 ,
533.Xr pthread_setspecific 3 ,
534.Xr pthread_testcancel 3
535.Sh STANDARDS
536The functions with the
537.Nm pthread_
538prefix and not
539.Nm _np
540suffix or
541.Nm pthread_rwlock
542prefix conform to
543.St -p1003.1-96 .
544.Pp
545The functions with the
546.Nm pthread_
547prefix and
548.Nm _np
549suffix are non-portable extensions to POSIX threads.
550.Pp
551The functions with the
552.Nm pthread_rwlock
553prefix are extensions created by The Open Group as part of the
554.St -susv2 .
555