1 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
3 // Purpose: interface of all thread-related wxWidgets classes
4 // Author: wxWidgets team
6 // Licence: wxWindows license
7 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
10 /** See wxCondition. */
15 wxCOND_TIMEOUT
, //!< WaitTimeout() has timed out
23 wxCondition variables correspond to pthread conditions or to Win32 event objects.
24 They may be used in a multithreaded application to wait until the given condition
25 becomes @true which happens when the condition becomes signaled.
27 For example, if a worker thread is doing some long task and another thread has
28 to wait until it is finished, the latter thread will wait on the condition
29 object and the worker thread will signal it on exit (this example is not
30 perfect because in this particular case it would be much better to just
31 wxThread::Wait for the worker thread, but if there are several worker threads
32 it already makes much more sense).
34 Note that a call to wxCondition::Signal may happen before the other thread calls
35 wxCondition::Wait and, just as with the pthread conditions, the signal is then
36 lost and so if you want to be sure that you don't miss it you must keep the
37 mutex associated with the condition initially locked and lock it again before calling
38 wxCondition::Signal. Of course, this means that this call is going to block
39 until wxCondition::Wait is called by another thread.
41 @section condition_example Example
43 This example shows how a main thread may launch a worker thread which starts
44 running and then waits until the main thread signals it to continue:
47 class MySignallingThread : public wxThread
50 MySignallingThread(wxMutex *mutex, wxCondition *condition)
53 m_condition = condition;
58 virtual ExitCode Entry()
62 // tell the other(s) thread(s) that we're about to terminate: we must
63 // lock the mutex first or we might signal the condition before the
64 // waiting threads start waiting on it!
65 wxMutexLocker lock(*m_mutex);
66 m_condition->Broadcast(); // same as Signal() here -- one waiter only
72 wxCondition *m_condition;
79 wxCondition condition(mutex);
81 // the mutex should be initially locked
84 // create and run the thread but notice that it won't be able to
85 // exit (and signal its exit) before we unlock the mutex below
86 MySignallingThread *thread = new MySignallingThread(&mutex, &condition);
90 // wait for the thread termination: Wait() atomically unlocks the mutex
91 // which allows the thread to continue and starts waiting
99 Of course, here it would be much better to simply use a joinable thread and
100 call wxThread::Wait on it, but this example does illustrate the importance of
101 properly locking the mutex when using wxCondition.
106 @see wxThread, wxMutex
112 Default and only constructor.
113 The @a mutex must be locked by the caller before calling Wait() function.
114 Use IsOk() to check if the object was successfully initialized.
116 wxCondition(wxMutex
& mutex
);
119 Destroys the wxCondition object.
121 The destructor is not virtual so this class should not be used polymorphically.
126 Broadcasts to all waiting threads, waking all of them up.
128 Note that this method may be called whether the mutex associated with
129 this condition is locked or not.
133 wxCondError
Broadcast();
136 Returns @true if the object had been initialized successfully, @false
137 if an error occurred.
142 Signals the object waking up at most one thread.
144 If several threads are waiting on the same condition, the exact thread
145 which is woken up is undefined. If no threads are waiting, the signal is
146 lost and the condition would have to be signalled again to wake up any
147 thread which may start waiting on it later.
149 Note that this method may be called whether the mutex associated with this
150 condition is locked or not.
154 wxCondError
Signal();
157 Waits until the condition is signalled.
159 This method atomically releases the lock on the mutex associated with this
160 condition (this is why it must be locked prior to calling Wait()) and puts the
161 thread to sleep until Signal() or Broadcast() is called.
162 It then locks the mutex again and returns.
164 Note that even if Signal() had been called before Wait() without waking
165 up any thread, the thread would still wait for another one and so it is
166 important to ensure that the condition will be signalled after
167 Wait() or the thread may sleep forever.
169 @return Returns wxCOND_NO_ERROR on success, another value if an error occurred.
176 Waits until the condition is signalled or the timeout has elapsed.
178 This method is identical to Wait() except that it returns, with the
179 return code of @c wxCOND_TIMEOUT as soon as the given timeout expires.
182 Timeout in milliseconds
184 @return Returns wxCOND_NO_ERROR if the condition was signalled,
185 wxCOND_TIMEOUT if the timeout elapsed before this happened or
186 another error code from wxCondError enum.
188 wxCondError
WaitTimeout(unsigned long milliseconds
);
193 @class wxCriticalSectionLocker
195 This is a small helper class to be used with wxCriticalSection objects.
197 A wxCriticalSectionLocker enters the critical section in the constructor and
198 leaves it in the destructor making it much more difficult to forget to leave
199 a critical section (which, in general, will lead to serious and difficult
207 // gs_critSect is some (global) critical section guarding access to the
209 wxCriticalSectionLocker locker(gs_critSect);
226 Without wxCriticalSectionLocker, you would need to remember to manually leave
227 the critical section before each @c return.
232 @see wxCriticalSection, wxMutexLocker
234 class wxCriticalSectionLocker
238 Constructs a wxCriticalSectionLocker object associated with given
239 @a criticalsection and enters it.
241 wxCriticalSectionLocker(wxCriticalSection
& criticalsection
);
244 Destructor leaves the critical section.
246 ~wxCriticalSectionLocker();
252 @class wxThreadHelper
254 The wxThreadHelper class is a mix-in class that manages a single background
255 thread, either detached or joinable (see wxThread for the differences).
256 By deriving from wxThreadHelper, a class can implement the thread
257 code in its own wxThreadHelper::Entry() method and easily share data and
258 synchronization objects between the main thread and the worker thread.
260 Doing this prevents the awkward passing of pointers that is needed when the
261 original object in the main thread needs to synchronize with its worker thread
262 in its own wxThread derived object.
264 For example, wxFrame may need to make some calculations in a background thread
265 and then display the results of those calculations in the main window.
267 Ordinarily, a wxThread derived object would be created with the calculation
268 code implemented in wxThread::Entry. To access the inputs to the calculation,
269 the frame object would often need to pass a pointer to itself to the thread object.
270 Similarly, the frame object would hold a pointer to the thread object.
272 Shared data and synchronization objects could be stored in either object
273 though the object without the data would have to access the data through
275 However with wxThreadHelper the frame object and the thread object are
276 treated as the same object. Shared data and synchronization variables are
277 stored in the single object, eliminating a layer of indirection and the
282 wxDECLARE_EVENT(wxEVT_COMMAND_MYTHREAD_UPDATE, wxThreadEvent);
284 class MyFrame : public wxFrame, public wxThreadHelper
290 // it's better to do any thread cleanup in the OnClose()
291 // event handler, rather than in the destructor.
292 // This is because the event loop for a top-level window is not
293 // active anymore when its destructor is called and if the thread
294 // sends events when ending, they won't be processed unless
295 // you ended the thread from OnClose.
296 // See @ref overview_windowdeletion for more info.
300 void DoStartALongTask();
301 void OnThreadUpdate(wxThreadEvent& evt);
302 void OnClose(wxCloseEvent& evt);
306 virtual wxThread::ExitCode Entry();
308 // the output data of the Entry() routine:
310 wxCriticalSection m_dataCS; // protects field above
312 DECLARE_EVENT_TABLE()
315 wxDEFINE_EVENT(wxEVT_COMMAND_MYTHREAD_UPDATE, wxThreadEvent)
316 BEGIN_EVENT_TABLE(MyFrame, wxFrame)
317 EVT_COMMAND(wxID_ANY, wxEVT_COMMAND_MYTHREAD_UPDATE, MyFrame::OnThreadUpdate)
318 EVT_CLOSE(MyFrame::OnClose)
321 void MyFrame::DoStartALongTask()
323 // we want to start a long task, but we don't want our GUI to block
324 // while it's executed, so we use a thread to do it.
325 if (CreateThread(wxTHREAD_JOINABLE) != wxTHREAD_NO_ERROR)
327 wxLogError("Could not create the worker thread!");
332 if (GetThread()->Run() != wxTHREAD_NO_ERROR)
334 wxLogError("Could not run the worker thread!");
339 wxThread::ExitCode MyFrame::Entry()
342 // this function gets executed in the secondary thread context!
346 // here we do our long task, periodically calling TestDestroy():
347 while (!GetThread()->TestDestroy())
349 // since this Entry() is implemented in MyFrame context we don't
350 // need any pointer to access the m_data, m_processedData, m_dataCS
351 // variables... very nice!
353 // this is an example of the generic structure of a download thread:
355 download_chunk(buffer, 1024); // this takes time...
358 // ensure noone reads m_data while we write it
359 wxCriticalSectionLocker lock(m_dataCS);
360 memcpy(m_data+offset, buffer, 1024);
365 // VERY IMPORTANT: do not call any GUI function inside this
366 // function; rather use wxQueueEvent():
367 wxQueueEvent(this, new wxThreadEvent(wxEVT_COMMAND_MYTHREAD_UPDATE));
368 // we used pointer 'this' assuming it's safe; see OnClose()
371 // TestDestroy() returned true (which means the main thread asked us
372 // to terminate as soon as possible) or we ended the long task...
373 return (wxThread::ExitCode)0;
376 void MyFrame::OnClose(wxCloseEvent&)
378 // important: before terminating, we _must_ wait for our joinable
379 // thread to end, if it's running; in fact it uses variables of this
380 // instance and posts events to *this event handler
382 if (GetThread() && // DoStartALongTask() may have not been called
383 GetThread()->IsRunning())
389 void MyFrame::OnThreadUpdate(wxThreadEvent& evt)
391 // ...do something... e.g. m_pGauge->Pulse();
393 // read some parts of m_data just for fun:
394 wxCriticalSectionLocker lock(m_dataCS);
395 wxPrintf("%c", m_data[100]);
402 @see wxThread, wxThreadEvent
408 This constructor simply initializes internal member variables and tells
409 wxThreadHelper which type the thread internally managed should be.
411 wxThreadHelper(wxThreadKind kind
= wxTHREAD_JOINABLE
);
414 The destructor frees the resources associated with the thread, forcing
415 it to terminate (it uses wxThread::Kill function).
417 Because of the wxThread::Kill unsafety, you should always wait
418 (with wxThread::Wait) for joinable threads to end or call wxThread::Delete
419 on detached threads, instead of relying on this destructor for stopping
422 virtual ~wxThreadHelper();
425 This is the entry point of the thread.
427 This function is pure virtual and must be implemented by any derived class.
428 The thread execution will start here.
430 You'll typically want your Entry() to look like:
432 wxThread::ExitCode Entry()
434 while (!GetThread()->TestDestroy())
436 // ... do some work ...
441 if (HappenedStoppingError)
442 return (wxThread::ExitCode)1; // failure
445 return (wxThread::ExitCode)0; // success
449 The returned value is the thread exit code which is only useful for
450 joinable threads and is the value returned by @c "GetThread()->Wait()".
452 This function is called by wxWidgets itself and should never be called
455 virtual ExitCode
Entry() = 0;
459 Use CreateThread() instead.
461 wxThreadError
Create(unsigned int stackSize
= 0);
464 Creates a new thread of the given @a kind.
466 The thread object is created in the suspended state, and you
467 should call @ref wxThread::Run "GetThread()->Run()" to start running it.
469 You may optionally specify the stack size to be allocated to it (ignored
470 on platforms that don't support setting it explicitly, e.g. Unix).
472 @return One of the ::wxThreadError enum values.
474 wxThreadError
CreateThread(wxThreadKind kind
= wxTHREAD_JOINABLE
,
475 unsigned int stackSize
= 0);
478 This is a public function that returns the wxThread object associated with
481 wxThread
* GetThread() const;
484 Returns the last type of thread given to the CreateThread() function
485 or to the constructor.
487 wxThreadKind
GetThreadKind() const;
491 Possible critical section types
494 enum wxCriticalSectionType
497 /** Recursive critical section under both Windows and Unix */
499 wxCRITSEC_NON_RECURSIVE
500 /** Non-recursive critical section under Unix, recursive under Windows */
504 @class wxCriticalSection
506 A critical section object is used for exactly the same purpose as a wxMutex.
507 The only difference is that under Windows platform critical sections are only
508 visible inside one process, while mutexes may be shared among processes,
509 so using critical sections is slightly more efficient.
511 The terminology is also slightly different: mutex may be locked (or acquired)
512 and unlocked (or released) while critical section is entered and left by the program.
514 Finally, you should try to use wxCriticalSectionLocker class whenever
515 possible instead of directly using wxCriticalSection for the same reasons
516 wxMutexLocker is preferrable to wxMutex - please see wxMutex for an example.
521 @note Critical sections can be used before the wxWidgets library is fully
522 initialized. In particular, it's safe to create global
523 wxCriticalSection instances.
525 @see wxThread, wxCondition, wxCriticalSectionLocker
527 class wxCriticalSection
531 Default constructor initializes critical section object.
532 By default critical sections are recursive under Unix and Windows.
534 wxCriticalSection( wxCriticalSectionType critSecType
= wxCRITSEC_DEFAULT
);
537 Destructor frees the resources.
539 ~wxCriticalSection();
542 Enter the critical section (same as locking a mutex): if another thread
543 has already entered it, this call will block until the other thread
545 There is no error return for this function.
547 After entering the critical section protecting a data variable,
548 the thread running inside the critical section may safely use/modify it.
550 Note that entering the same critical section twice or more from the same
551 thread doesn't result in a deadlock; in this case in fact this function will
557 Leave the critical section allowing other threads use the global data
558 protected by it. There is no error return for this function.
564 The possible thread kinds.
568 /** Detached thread */
571 /** Joinable thread */
576 The possible thread errors.
581 wxTHREAD_NO_ERROR
= 0,
583 /** No resource left to create a new thread. */
584 wxTHREAD_NO_RESOURCE
,
586 /** The thread is already running. */
589 /** The thread isn't running. */
590 wxTHREAD_NOT_RUNNING
,
592 /** Thread we waited for had to be killed. */
595 /** Some other error */
600 Defines the interval of priority
604 WXTHREAD_MIN_PRIORITY
= 0u,
605 WXTHREAD_DEFAULT_PRIORITY
= 50u,
606 WXTHREAD_MAX_PRIORITY
= 100u
613 A thread is basically a path of execution through a program.
614 Threads are sometimes called @e light-weight processes, but the fundamental difference
615 between threads and processes is that memory spaces of different processes are
616 separated while all threads share the same address space.
618 While it makes it much easier to share common data between several threads, it
619 also makes it much easier to shoot oneself in the foot, so careful use of
620 synchronization objects such as mutexes (see wxMutex) or critical sections
621 (see wxCriticalSection) is recommended.
622 In addition, don't create global thread objects because they allocate memory
623 in their constructor, which will cause problems for the memory checking system.
626 @section thread_types Types of wxThreads
628 There are two types of threads in wxWidgets: @e detached and @e joinable,
629 modeled after the the POSIX thread API. This is different from the Win32 API
630 where all threads are joinable.
632 By default wxThreads in wxWidgets use the @b detached behavior.
633 Detached threads delete themselves once they have completed, either by themselves
634 when they complete processing or through a call to Delete(), and thus
635 @b must be created on the heap (through the new operator, for example).
637 Typically you'll want to store the instances of the detached wxThreads you
638 allocate, so that you can call functions on them.
639 Because of their nature however you'll need to always use a critical section
643 // declare a new type of event, to be used by our MyThread class:
644 wxDECLARE_EVENT(wxEVT_COMMAND_MYTHREAD_COMPLETED, wxThreadEvent);
645 wxDECLARE_EVENT(wxEVT_COMMAND_MYTHREAD_UPDATE, wxThreadEvent);
648 class MyThread : public wxThread
651 MyThread(MyFrame *handler)
652 : wxThread(wxTHREAD_DETACHED)
653 { m_pHandler = handler }
657 virtual ExitCode Entry();
661 class MyFrame : public wxFrame
667 // it's better to do any thread cleanup in the OnClose()
668 // event handler, rather than in the destructor.
669 // This is because the event loop for a top-level window is not
670 // active anymore when its destructor is called and if the thread
671 // sends events when ending, they won't be processed unless
672 // you ended the thread from OnClose.
673 // See @ref overview_windowdeletion for more info.
676 void DoStartThread();
677 void DoPauseThread();
679 // a resume routine would be nearly identic to DoPauseThread()
680 void DoResumeThread() { ... }
682 void OnThreadUpdate(wxThreadEvent&);
683 void OnThreadCompletion(wxThreadEvent&);
684 void OnClose(wxCloseEvent&);
688 wxCriticalSection m_pThreadCS; // protects the m_pThread pointer
690 DECLARE_EVENT_TABLE()
693 BEGIN_EVENT_TABLE(MyFrame, wxFrame)
694 EVT_CLOSE(MyFrame::OnClose)
695 EVT_MENU(Minimal_Start, MyFrame::DoStartThread)
696 EVT_COMMAND(wxID_ANY, wxEVT_COMMAND_MYTHREAD_UPDATE, MyFrame::OnThreadUpdate)
697 EVT_COMMAND(wxID_ANY, wxEVT_COMMAND_MYTHREAD_COMPLETED, MyFrame::OnThreadCompletion)
700 wxDEFINE_EVENT(wxEVT_COMMAND_MYTHREAD_COMPLETED, wxThreadEvent)
701 wxDEFINE_EVENT(wxEVT_COMMAND_MYTHREAD_UPDATE, wxThreadEvent)
703 void MyFrame::DoStartThread()
705 m_pThread = new MyThread(this);
707 if ( m_pThread->Create() != wxTHREAD_NO_ERROR )
709 wxLogError("Can't create the thread!");
715 if (m_pThread->Run() != wxTHREAD_NO_ERROR )
717 wxLogError("Can't create the thread!");
722 // after the call to wxThread::Run(), the m_pThread pointer is "unsafe":
723 // at any moment the thread may cease to exist (because it completes its work).
724 // To avoid dangling pointers OnThreadExit() will set m_pThread
725 // to NULL when the thread dies.
729 wxThread::ExitCode MyThread::Entry()
731 while (!TestDestroy())
733 // ... do a bit of work...
735 wxQueueEvent(m_pHandler, new wxThreadEvent(wxEVT_COMMAND_MYTHREAD_UPDATE));
738 // signal the event handler that this thread is going to be destroyed
739 // NOTE: here we assume that using the m_pHandler pointer is safe,
740 // (in this case this is assured by the MyFrame destructor)
741 wxQueueEvent(m_pHandler, new wxThreadEvent(wxEVT_COMMAND_MYTHREAD_COMPLETED));
743 return (wxThread::ExitCode)0; // success
746 MyThread::~MyThread()
748 wxCriticalSectionLocker enter(m_pHandler->m_pThreadCS);
750 // the thread is being destroyed; make sure not to leave dangling pointers around
751 m_pHandler->m_pThread = NULL;
754 void MyFrame::OnThreadCompletion(wxThreadEvent&)
756 wxMessageOutputDebug().Printf("MYFRAME: MyThread exited!\n");
759 void MyFrame::OnThreadUpdate(wxThreadEvent&)
761 wxMessageOutputDebug().Printf("MYFRAME: MyThread update...\n");
764 void MyFrame::DoPauseThread()
766 // anytime we access the m_pThread pointer we must ensure that it won't
767 // be modified in the meanwhile; since only a single thread may be
768 // inside a given critical section at a given time, the following code
770 wxCriticalSectionLocker enter(m_pThreadCS);
772 if (m_pThread) // does the thread still exist?
774 // without a critical section, once reached this point it may happen
775 // that the OS scheduler gives control to the MyThread::Entry() function,
776 // which in turn may return (because it completes its work) making
777 // invalid the m_pThread pointer
779 if (m_pThread->Pause() != wxTHREAD_NO_ERROR )
780 wxLogError("Can't pause the thread!");
784 void MyFrame::OnClose(wxCloseEvent&)
787 wxCriticalSectionLocker enter(m_pThreadCS);
789 if (m_pThread) // does the thread still exist?
791 m_out.Printf("MYFRAME: deleting thread");
793 if (m_pThread->Delete() != wxTHREAD_NO_ERROR )
794 wxLogError("Can't delete the thread!");
796 } // exit from the critical section to give the thread
797 // the possibility to enter its destructor
798 // (which is guarded with m_pThreadCS critical section!)
802 { // was the ~MyThread() function executed?
803 wxCriticalSectionLocker enter(m_pThreadCS);
804 if (!m_pThread) break;
807 // wait for thread completion
808 wxThread::This()->Sleep(1);
815 For a more detailed and comprehensive example, see @sample{thread}.
816 For a simpler way to share data and synchronization objects between
817 the main and the secondary thread see wxThreadHelper.
819 Conversely, @b joinable threads do not delete themselves when they are done
820 processing and as such are safe to create on the stack. Joinable threads
821 also provide the ability for one to get value it returned from Entry()
823 You shouldn't hurry to create all the threads joinable, however, because this
824 has a disadvantage as well: you @b must Wait() for a joinable thread or the
825 system resources used by it will never be freed, and you also must delete the
826 corresponding wxThread object yourself if you did not create it on the stack.
827 In contrast, detached threads are of the "fire-and-forget" kind: you only have
828 to start a detached thread and it will terminate and destroy itself.
831 @section thread_deletion wxThread Deletion
833 Regardless of whether it has terminated or not, you should call Wait() on a
834 @b joinable thread to release its memory, as outlined in @ref thread_types.
835 If you created a joinable thread on the heap, remember to delete it manually
836 with the @c delete operator or similar means as only detached threads handle
837 this type of memory management.
839 Since @b detached threads delete themselves when they are finished processing,
840 you should take care when calling a routine on one. If you are certain the
841 thread is still running and would like to end it, you may call Delete()
842 to gracefully end it (which implies that the thread will be deleted after
843 that call to Delete()). It should be implied that you should @b never attempt
844 to delete a detached thread with the @c delete operator or similar means.
846 As mentioned, Wait() or Delete() functions attempt to gracefully terminate a
847 joinable and a detached thread, respectively. They do this by waiting until
848 the thread in question calls TestDestroy() or ends processing (i.e. returns
849 from wxThread::Entry).
851 Obviously, if the thread does call TestDestroy() and does not end, the
852 thread which called Wait() or Delete() will come to halt.
853 This is why it's important to call TestDestroy() in the Entry() routine of
854 your threads as often as possible and immediately exit when it returns @true.
856 As a last resort you can end the thread immediately through Kill(). It is
857 strongly recommended that you do not do this, however, as it does not free
858 the resources associated with the object (although the wxThread object of
859 detached threads will still be deleted) and could leave the C runtime
860 library in an undefined state.
863 @section thread_secondary wxWidgets Calls in Secondary Threads
865 All threads other than the "main application thread" (the one running
866 wxApp::OnInit() or the one your main function runs in, for example) are
867 considered "secondary threads". These include all threads created by Create()
868 or the corresponding constructors.
870 GUI calls, such as those to a wxWindow or wxBitmap are explicitly not safe
871 at all in secondary threads and could end your application prematurely.
872 This is due to several reasons, including the underlying native API and
873 the fact that wxThread does not run a GUI event loop similar to other APIs
876 A workaround for some wxWidgets ports is calling wxMutexGUIEnter()
877 before any GUI calls and then calling wxMutexGUILeave() afterwords.
878 However, the recommended way is to simply process the GUI calls in the main
879 thread through an event that is posted by wxQueueEvent().
880 This does not imply that calls to these classes are thread-safe, however,
881 as most wxWidgets classes are not thread-safe, including wxString.
884 @section thread_poll Don't Poll a wxThread
886 A common problem users experience with wxThread is that in their main thread
887 they will check the thread every now and then to see if it has ended through
888 IsRunning(), only to find that their application has run into problems
889 because the thread is using the default behavior (i.e. it's @b detached) and
890 has already deleted itself.
891 Naturally, they instead attempt to use joinable threads in place of the previous
892 behavior. However, polling a wxThread for when it has ended is in general a
893 bad idea - in fact calling a routine on any running wxThread should be avoided
894 if possible. Instead, find a way to notify yourself when the thread has ended.
896 Usually you only need to notify the main thread, in which case you can
897 post an event to it via wxQueueEvent().
898 In the case of secondary threads you can call a routine of another class
899 when the thread is about to complete processing and/or set the value of
900 a variable, possibly using mutexes (see wxMutex) and/or other synchronization
906 @see wxThreadHelper, wxMutex, wxCondition, wxCriticalSection,
913 The return type for the thread functions.
915 typedef void* ExitCode
;
918 This constructor creates a new detached (default) or joinable C++
919 thread object. It does not create or start execution of the real thread -
920 for this you should use the Create() and Run() methods.
922 The possible values for @a kind parameters are:
923 - @b wxTHREAD_DETACHED - Creates a detached thread.
924 - @b wxTHREAD_JOINABLE - Creates a joinable thread.
926 wxThread(wxThreadKind kind
= wxTHREAD_DETACHED
);
929 The destructor frees the resources associated with the thread.
930 Notice that you should never delete a detached thread -- you may only call
931 Delete() on it or wait until it terminates (and auto destructs) itself.
933 Because the detached threads delete themselves, they can only be allocated on the heap.
934 Joinable threads should be deleted explicitly. The Delete() and Kill() functions
935 will not delete the C++ thread object. It is also safe to allocate them on stack.
940 Creates a new thread.
942 The thread object is created in the suspended state, and you should call Run()
943 to start running it. You may optionally specify the stack size to be allocated
944 to it (Ignored on platforms that don't support setting it explicitly,
945 eg. Unix system without @c pthread_attr_setstacksize).
947 If you do not specify the stack size,the system's default value is used.
950 It is a good idea to explicitly specify a value as systems'
951 default values vary from just a couple of KB on some systems (BSD and
952 OS/2 systems) to one or several MB (Windows, Solaris, Linux).
953 So, if you have a thread that requires more than just a few KB of memory, you
954 will have mysterious problems on some platforms but not on the common ones.
955 On the other hand, just indicating a large stack size by default will give you
956 performance issues on those systems with small default stack since those
957 typically use fully committed memory for the stack.
958 On the contrary, if you use a lot of threads (say several hundred),
959 virtual adress space can get tight unless you explicitly specify a
960 smaller amount of thread stack space for each thread.
963 - @b wxTHREAD_NO_ERROR - No error.
964 - @b wxTHREAD_NO_RESOURCE - There were insufficient resources to create the thread.
965 - @b wxTHREAD_NO_RUNNING - The thread is already running
967 wxThreadError
Create(unsigned int stackSize
= 0);
970 Calling Delete() gracefully terminates a @b detached thread, either when
971 the thread calls TestDestroy() or when it finishes processing.
974 This function works on a joinable thread but in that case makes
975 the TestDestroy() function of the thread return @true and then
976 waits for its completion (i.e. it differs from Wait() because
977 it asks the thread to terminate before waiting).
979 See @ref thread_deletion for a broader explanation of this routine.
981 wxThreadError
Delete(void** rc
= NULL
);
984 Returns the number of system CPUs or -1 if the value is unknown.
986 For multi-core systems the returned value is typically the total number
987 of @e cores, since the OS usually abstract a single N-core CPU
988 as N different cores.
990 @see SetConcurrency()
992 static int GetCPUCount();
995 Returns the platform specific thread ID of the current thread as a long.
997 This can be used to uniquely identify threads, even if they are not wxThreads.
1001 static wxThreadIdType
GetCurrentId();
1004 Gets the thread identifier: this is a platform dependent number that uniquely
1005 identifies the thread throughout the system during its existence
1006 (i.e. the thread identifiers may be reused).
1008 wxThreadIdType
GetId() const;
1011 Returns the thread kind as it was given in the ctor.
1015 wxThreadKind
GetKind() const;
1018 Returns the thread ID of the main thread.
1024 static wxThreadIdType
GetMainId();
1027 Gets the priority of the thread, between zero and 100.
1029 The following priorities are defined:
1030 - @b WXTHREAD_MIN_PRIORITY: 0
1031 - @b WXTHREAD_DEFAULT_PRIORITY: 50
1032 - @b WXTHREAD_MAX_PRIORITY: 100
1034 unsigned int GetPriority() const;
1037 Returns @true if the thread is alive (i.e. started and not terminating).
1039 Note that this function can only safely be used with joinable threads, not
1040 detached ones as the latter delete themselves and so when the real thread is
1041 no longer alive, it is not possible to call this function because
1042 the wxThread object no longer exists.
1044 bool IsAlive() const;
1047 Returns @true if the thread is of the detached kind, @false if it is a
1050 bool IsDetached() const;
1053 Returns @true if the calling thread is the main application thread.
1055 Main thread in the context of wxWidgets is the one which initialized
1058 @see GetMainId(), GetCurrentId()
1060 static bool IsMain();
1063 Returns @true if the thread is paused.
1065 bool IsPaused() const;
1068 Returns @true if the thread is running.
1070 This method may only be safely used for joinable threads, see the remark in
1073 bool IsRunning() const;
1076 Immediately terminates the target thread.
1078 @b "This function is dangerous and should be used with extreme care"
1079 (and not used at all whenever possible)! The resources allocated to the
1080 thread will not be freed and the state of the C runtime library may become
1081 inconsistent. Use Delete() for detached threads or Wait() for joinable
1084 For detached threads Kill() will also delete the associated C++ object.
1085 However this will not happen for joinable threads and this means that you will
1086 still have to delete the wxThread object yourself to avoid memory leaks.
1088 In neither case OnExit() of the dying thread will be called, so no
1089 thread-specific cleanup will be performed.
1090 This function can only be called from another thread context, i.e. a thread
1093 It is also an error to call this function for a thread which is not running or
1094 paused (in the latter case, the thread will be resumed first) -- if you do it,
1095 a @b wxTHREAD_NOT_RUNNING error will be returned.
1097 wxThreadError
Kill();
1100 Suspends the thread.
1102 Under some implementations (Win32), the thread is suspended immediately,
1103 under others it will only be suspended when it calls TestDestroy() for
1104 the next time (hence, if the thread doesn't call it at all, it won't be
1107 This function can only be called from another thread context.
1109 wxThreadError
Pause();
1112 Resumes a thread suspended by the call to Pause().
1114 This function can only be called from another thread context.
1116 wxThreadError
Resume();
1119 Starts the thread execution. Should be called after Create().
1121 Note that once you Run() a @b detached thread, @e any function call you do
1122 on the thread pointer (you must allocate it on the heap) is @e "unsafe";
1123 i.e. the thread may have terminated at any moment after Run() and your pointer
1124 may be dangling. See @ref thread_types for an example of safe manipulation
1125 of detached threads.
1127 This function can only be called from another thread context.
1129 wxThreadError
Run();
1132 Sets the thread concurrency level for this process.
1134 This is, roughly, the number of threads that the system tries to schedule
1136 The value of 0 for @a level may be used to set the default one.
1138 @return @true on success or @false otherwise (for example, if this function is
1139 not implemented for this platform -- currently everything except Solaris).
1141 static bool SetConcurrency(size_t level
);
1144 Sets the priority of the thread, between 0 and 100.
1145 It can only be set after calling Create() but before calling Run().
1147 The following priorities are defined:
1148 - @b WXTHREAD_MIN_PRIORITY: 0
1149 - @b WXTHREAD_DEFAULT_PRIORITY: 50
1150 - @b WXTHREAD_MAX_PRIORITY: 100
1152 void SetPriority(unsigned int priority
);
1155 Pauses the thread execution for the given amount of time.
1157 This is the same as wxMilliSleep().
1159 static void Sleep(unsigned long milliseconds
);
1162 This function should be called periodically by the thread to ensure that
1163 calls to Pause() and Delete() will work.
1165 If it returns @true, the thread should exit as soon as possible.
1166 Notice that under some platforms (POSIX), implementation of Pause() also
1167 relies on this function being called, so not calling it would prevent
1168 both stopping and suspending thread from working.
1170 virtual bool TestDestroy();
1173 Return the thread object for the calling thread.
1175 @NULL is returned if the calling thread is the main (GUI) thread, but
1176 IsMain() should be used to test whether the thread is really the main one
1177 because @NULL may also be returned for the thread not created with wxThread
1178 class. Generally speaking, the return value for such a thread is undefined.
1180 static wxThread
* This();
1183 Waits for a @b joinable thread to terminate and returns the value the thread
1184 returned from Entry() or @c "(ExitCode)-1" on error. Notice that, unlike
1185 Delete(), this function doesn't cancel the thread in any way so the caller
1186 waits for as long as it takes to the thread to exit.
1188 You can only Wait() for @b joinable (not detached) threads.
1190 This function can only be called from another thread context.
1192 See @ref thread_deletion for a broader explanation of this routine.
1197 Give the rest of the thread's time-slice to the system allowing the other
1200 Note that using this function is @b strongly discouraged, since in
1201 many cases it indicates a design weakness of your threading model
1202 (as does using Sleep() functions).
1204 Threads should use the CPU in an efficient manner, i.e. they should
1205 do their current work efficiently, then as soon as the work is done block
1206 on a wakeup event (wxCondition, wxMutex, select(), poll(), ...) which will
1207 get signalled e.g. by other threads or a user device once further thread
1209 Using Yield() or Sleep() indicates polling-type behaviour, since we're
1210 fuzzily giving up our timeslice and wait until sometime later we'll get
1211 reactivated, at which time we realize that there isn't really much to do
1212 and Yield() again...
1214 The most critical characteristic of Yield() is that it's operating system
1215 specific: there may be scheduler changes which cause your thread to not
1216 wake up relatively soon again, but instead many seconds later,
1217 causing huge performance issues for your application.
1220 With a well-behaving, CPU-efficient thread the operating system is likely
1221 to properly care for its reactivation the moment it needs it, whereas with
1222 non-deterministic, Yield-using threads all bets are off and the system
1223 scheduler is free to penalize them drastically</strong>, and this effect
1224 gets worse with increasing system load due to less free CPU resources available.
1225 You may refer to various Linux kernel @c sched_yield discussions for more
1230 static void Yield();
1235 This is the entry point of the thread.
1237 This function is pure virtual and must be implemented by any derived class.
1238 The thread execution will start here.
1240 The returned value is the thread exit code which is only useful for
1241 joinable threads and is the value returned by Wait().
1242 This function is called by wxWidgets itself and should never be called
1245 virtual ExitCode
Entry() = 0;
1248 This is a protected function of the wxThread class and thus can only be called
1249 from a derived class. It also can only be called in the context of this
1250 thread, i.e. a thread can only exit from itself, not from another thread.
1252 This function will terminate the OS thread (i.e. stop the associated path of
1253 execution) and also delete the associated C++ object for detached threads.
1254 OnExit() will be called just before exiting.
1256 void Exit(ExitCode exitcode
= 0);
1261 Called when the thread exits.
1263 This function is called in the context of the thread associated with the
1264 wxThread object, not in the context of the main thread.
1265 This function will not be called if the thread was @ref Kill() killed.
1267 This function should never be called directly.
1269 virtual void OnExit();
1273 /** See wxSemaphore. */
1276 wxSEMA_NO_ERROR
= 0,
1277 wxSEMA_INVALID
, //!< semaphore hasn't been initialized successfully
1278 wxSEMA_BUSY
, //!< returned by TryWait() if Wait() would block
1279 wxSEMA_TIMEOUT
, //!< returned by WaitTimeout()
1280 wxSEMA_OVERFLOW
, //!< Post() would increase counter past the max
1287 wxSemaphore is a counter limiting the number of threads concurrently accessing
1288 a shared resource. This counter is always between 0 and the maximum value
1289 specified during the semaphore creation. When the counter is strictly greater
1290 than 0, a call to wxSemaphore::Wait() returns immediately and decrements the
1291 counter. As soon as it reaches 0, any subsequent calls to wxSemaphore::Wait
1292 block and only return when the semaphore counter becomes strictly positive
1293 again as the result of calling wxSemaphore::Post which increments the counter.
1295 In general, semaphores are useful to restrict access to a shared resource
1296 which can only be accessed by some fixed number of clients at the same time.
1297 For example, when modeling a hotel reservation system a semaphore with the counter
1298 equal to the total number of available rooms could be created. Each time a room
1299 is reserved, the semaphore should be acquired by calling wxSemaphore::Wait
1300 and each time a room is freed it should be released by calling wxSemaphore::Post.
1303 @category{threading}
1309 Specifying a @a maxcount of 0 actually makes wxSemaphore behave as if
1310 there is no upper limit. If @a maxcount is 1, the semaphore behaves almost as a
1311 mutex (but unlike a mutex it can be released by a thread different from the one
1314 @a initialcount is the initial value of the semaphore which must be between
1315 0 and @a maxcount (if it is not set to 0).
1317 wxSemaphore(int initialcount
= 0, int maxcount
= 0);
1320 Destructor is not virtual, don't use this class polymorphically.
1325 Increments the semaphore count and signals one of the waiting
1326 threads in an atomic way. Returns @e wxSEMA_OVERFLOW if the count
1327 would increase the counter past the maximum.
1330 - wxSEMA_NO_ERROR: There was no error.
1331 - wxSEMA_INVALID : Semaphore hasn't been initialized successfully.
1332 - wxSEMA_OVERFLOW: Post() would increase counter past the max.
1333 - wxSEMA_MISC_ERROR: Miscellaneous error.
1338 Same as Wait(), but returns immediately.
1341 - wxSEMA_NO_ERROR: There was no error.
1342 - wxSEMA_INVALID: Semaphore hasn't been initialized successfully.
1343 - wxSEMA_BUSY: Returned by TryWait() if Wait() would block, i.e. the count is zero.
1344 - wxSEMA_MISC_ERROR: Miscellaneous error.
1346 wxSemaError
TryWait();
1349 Wait indefinitely until the semaphore count becomes strictly positive
1350 and then decrement it and return.
1353 - wxSEMA_NO_ERROR: There was no error.
1354 - wxSEMA_INVALID: Semaphore hasn't been initialized successfully.
1355 - wxSEMA_MISC_ERROR: Miscellaneous error.
1360 Same as Wait(), but with a timeout limit.
1363 - wxSEMA_NO_ERROR: There was no error.
1364 - wxSEMA_INVALID: Semaphore hasn't been initialized successfully.
1365 - wxSEMA_TIMEOUT: Timeout occurred without receiving semaphore.
1366 - wxSEMA_MISC_ERROR: Miscellaneous error.
1368 wxSemaError
WaitTimeout(unsigned long timeout_millis
);
1374 @class wxMutexLocker
1376 This is a small helper class to be used with wxMutex objects.
1378 A wxMutexLocker acquires a mutex lock in the constructor and releases
1379 (or unlocks) the mutex in the destructor making it much more difficult to
1380 forget to release a mutex (which, in general, will promptly lead to serious
1381 problems). See wxMutex for an example of wxMutexLocker usage.
1384 @category{threading}
1386 @see wxMutex, wxCriticalSectionLocker
1392 Constructs a wxMutexLocker object associated with mutex and locks it.
1393 Call IsOk() to check if the mutex was successfully locked.
1395 wxMutexLocker(wxMutex
& mutex
);
1398 Destructor releases the mutex if it was successfully acquired in the ctor.
1403 Returns @true if mutex was acquired in the constructor, @false otherwise.
1410 The possible wxMutex kinds.
1414 /** Normal non-recursive mutex: try to always use this one. */
1417 /** Recursive mutex: don't use these ones with wxCondition. */
1423 The possible wxMutex errors.
1427 /** The operation completed successfully. */
1428 wxMUTEX_NO_ERROR
= 0,
1430 /** The mutex hasn't been initialized. */
1433 /** The mutex is already locked by the calling thread. */
1436 /** The mutex is already locked by another thread. */
1439 /** An attempt to unlock a mutex which is not locked. */
1442 /** wxMutex::LockTimeout() has timed out. */
1445 /** Any other error */
1453 A mutex object is a synchronization object whose state is set to signaled when
1454 it is not owned by any thread, and nonsignaled when it is owned. Its name comes
1455 from its usefulness in coordinating mutually-exclusive access to a shared
1456 resource as only one thread at a time can own a mutex object.
1458 Mutexes may be recursive in the sense that a thread can lock a mutex which it
1459 had already locked before (instead of dead locking the entire process in this
1460 situation by starting to wait on a mutex which will never be released while the
1461 thread is waiting) but using them is not recommended under Unix and they are
1462 @b not recursive by default. The reason for this is that recursive
1463 mutexes are not supported by all Unix flavours and, worse, they cannot be used
1466 For example, when several threads use the data stored in the linked list,
1467 modifications to the list should only be allowed to one thread at a time
1468 because during a new node addition the list integrity is temporarily broken
1469 (this is also called @e program @e invariant).
1472 // this variable has an "s_" prefix because it is static: seeing an "s_" in
1473 // a multithreaded program is in general a good sign that you should use a
1474 // mutex (or a critical section)
1475 static wxMutex *s_mutexProtectingTheGlobalData;
1477 // we store some numbers in this global array which is presumably used by
1478 // several threads simultaneously
1481 void MyThread::AddNewNode(int num)
1483 // ensure that no other thread accesses the list
1484 s_mutexProtectingTheGlobalList->Lock();
1488 s_mutexProtectingTheGlobalList->Unlock();
1491 // return true if the given number is greater than all array elements
1492 bool MyThread::IsGreater(int num)
1494 // before using the list we must acquire the mutex
1495 wxMutexLocker lock(s_mutexProtectingTheGlobalData);
1497 size_t count = s_data.Count();
1498 for ( size_t n = 0; n < count; n++ )
1500 if ( s_data[n] > num )
1508 Notice how wxMutexLocker was used in the second function to ensure that the
1509 mutex is unlocked in any case: whether the function returns true or false
1510 (because the destructor of the local object @e lock is always called).
1511 Using this class instead of directly using wxMutex is, in general, safer
1512 and is even more so if your program uses C++ exceptions.
1515 @category{threading}
1517 @see wxThread, wxCondition, wxMutexLocker, wxCriticalSection
1523 Default constructor.
1525 wxMutex(wxMutexType type
= wxMUTEX_DEFAULT
);
1528 Destroys the wxMutex object.
1533 Locks the mutex object.
1534 This is equivalent to LockTimeout() with infinite timeout.
1536 Note that if this mutex is already locked by the caller thread,
1537 this function doesn't block but rather immediately returns.
1539 @return One of: @c wxMUTEX_NO_ERROR, @c wxMUTEX_DEAD_LOCK.
1541 wxMutexError
Lock();
1544 Try to lock the mutex object during the specified time interval.
1546 @return One of: @c wxMUTEX_NO_ERROR, @c wxMUTEX_DEAD_LOCK, @c wxMUTEX_TIMEOUT.
1548 wxMutexError
LockTimeout(unsigned long msec
);
1551 Tries to lock the mutex object. If it can't, returns immediately with an error.
1553 @return One of: @c wxMUTEX_NO_ERROR, @c wxMUTEX_BUSY.
1555 wxMutexError
TryLock();
1558 Unlocks the mutex object.
1560 @return One of: @c wxMUTEX_NO_ERROR, @c wxMUTEX_UNLOCKED.
1562 wxMutexError
Unlock();
1567 // ============================================================================
1568 // Global functions/macros
1569 // ============================================================================
1571 /** @addtogroup group_funcmacro_thread */
1575 This macro declares a (static) critical section object named @a cs if
1576 @c wxUSE_THREADS is 1 and does nothing if it is 0.
1578 @header{wx/thread.h}
1580 #define wxCRIT_SECT_DECLARE(cs)
1583 This macro declares a critical section object named @a cs if
1584 @c wxUSE_THREADS is 1 and does nothing if it is 0. As it doesn't include
1585 the @c static keyword (unlike wxCRIT_SECT_DECLARE()), it can be used to
1586 declare a class or struct member which explains its name.
1588 @header{wx/thread.h}
1590 #define wxCRIT_SECT_DECLARE_MEMBER(cs)
1593 This macro creates a wxCriticalSectionLocker named @a name and associated
1594 with the critical section @a cs if @c wxUSE_THREADS is 1 and does nothing
1597 @header{wx/thread.h}
1599 #define wxCRIT_SECT_LOCKER(name, cs)
1602 This macro combines wxCRIT_SECT_DECLARE() and wxCRIT_SECT_LOCKER(): it
1603 creates a static critical section object and also the lock object
1604 associated with it. Because of this, it can be only used inside a function,
1605 not at global scope. For example:
1610 static int s_counter = 0;
1612 wxCRITICAL_SECTION(counter);
1618 Note that this example assumes that the function is called the first time
1619 from the main thread so that the critical section object is initialized
1620 correctly by the time other threads start calling it, if this is not the
1621 case this approach can @b not be used and the critical section must be made
1624 @header{wx/thread.h}
1626 #define wxCRITICAL_SECTION(name)
1629 This macro is equivalent to
1630 @ref wxCriticalSection::Leave "critical_section.Leave()" if
1631 @c wxUSE_THREADS is 1 and does nothing if it is 0.
1633 @header{wx/thread.h}
1635 #define wxLEAVE_CRIT_SECT(critical_section)
1638 This macro is equivalent to
1639 @ref wxCriticalSection::Enter "critical_section.Enter()" if
1640 @c wxUSE_THREADS is 1 and does nothing if it is 0.
1642 @header{wx/thread.h}
1644 #define wxENTER_CRIT_SECT(critical_section)
1647 Returns @true if this thread is the main one. Always returns @true if
1648 @c wxUSE_THREADS is 0.
1650 @header{wx/thread.h}
1652 bool wxIsMainThread();
1657 This function must be called when any thread other than the main GUI thread
1658 wants to get access to the GUI library. This function will block the
1659 execution of the calling thread until the main thread (or any other thread
1660 holding the main GUI lock) leaves the GUI library and no other thread will
1661 enter the GUI library until the calling thread calls wxMutexGuiLeave().
1663 Typically, these functions are used like this:
1666 void MyThread::Foo(void)
1668 // before doing any GUI calls we must ensure that
1669 // this thread is the only one doing it!
1674 my_window->DrawSomething();
1680 This function is only defined on platforms which support preemptive
1681 threads and only works under some ports (wxMSW currently).
1683 @note Under GTK, no creation of top-level windows is allowed in any thread
1686 @header{wx/thread.h}
1688 void wxMutexGuiEnter();
1691 This function is only defined on platforms which support preemptive
1694 @see wxMutexGuiEnter()
1696 @header{wx/thread.h}
1698 void wxMutexGuiLeave();