\section{\class{wxMutex}}\label{wxmutex}
-A wxMutex controls mutual exclusion, to prevent two or more threads accessing
-the same piece of code.
+A mutex object is a synchronization object whose state is set to signaled when
+it is not owned by any thread, and nonsignaled when it is owned. Its name comes
+from its usefulness in coordinating mutually-exclusive access to a shared
+resource as only one thread at a time can own a mutex object.
+
+Mutexes may be recursive in the sense that a thread can lock a mutex which it
+had already locked before (instead of dead locking the entire process in this
+situation by starting to wait on a mutex which will never be released while the
+thread is waiting) but using them is not recommended and they are {\bf not}
+recursive by default. The reason for this is that recursive mutexes are not
+supported by all Unix flavours and, worse, they cannot be used with
+\helpref{wxCondition}{wxcondition}.
+
+For example, when several thread use the data stored in the linked list,
+modifications to the list should be only allowed to one thread at a time
+because during a new node addition the list integrity is temporarily broken
+(this is also called {\it program invariant}).
+
+\wxheading{Example}
+
+{\small%
+\begin{verbatim}
+ // this variable has an "s_" prefix because it is static: seeing an "s_" in
+ // a multithreaded program is in general a good sign that you should use a
+ // mutex (or a critical section)
+ static wxMutex *s_mutexProtectingTheGlobalData;
+
+ // we store some numbers in this global array which is presumably used by
+ // several threads simultaneously
+ wxArrayInt s_data;
+
+ void MyThread::AddNewNode(int num)
+ {
+ // ensure that no other thread accesses the list
+ s_mutexProtectingTheGlobalList->Lock();
+
+ s_data.Add(num);
+
+ s_mutexProtectingTheGlobalList->Unlock();
+ }
+
+ // return true the given number is greater than all array elements
+ bool MyThread::IsGreater(int num)
+ {
+ // before using the list we must acquire the mutex
+ wxMutexLocker lock(s_mutexProtectingTheGlobalData);
+
+ size_t count = s_data.Count();
+ for ( size_t n = 0; n < count; n++ )
+ {
+ if ( s_data[n] > num )
+ return false;
+ }
+
+ return true;
+ }
+\end{verbatim}
+}
+
+Notice how wxMutexLocker was used in the second function to ensure that the
+mutex is unlocked in any case: whether the function returns true or false
+(because the destructor of the local object {\it lock} is always called). Using
+this class instead of directly using wxMutex is, in general safer and is even
+more so if your program uses C++ exceptions.
+
+\wxheading{Constants}
+
+\begin{verbatim}
+enum wxMutexType
+{
+ // normal mutex: try to always use this one
+ wxMUTEX_DEFAULT,
+
+ // recursive mutex: don't use these ones with wxCondition
+ wxMUTEX_RECURSIVE
+};
+\end{verbatim}
\wxheading{Derived from}
None.
+\wxheading{Include files}
+
+<wx/thread.h>
+
\wxheading{See also}
-\helpref{wxThread}{wxthread}, \helpref{wxCondition}{wxcondition}
+\helpref{wxThread}{wxthread}, \helpref{wxCondition}{wxcondition},
+\helpref{wxMutexLocker}{wxmutexlocker}, \helpref{wxCriticalSection}{wxcriticalsection}
\latexignore{\rtfignore{\wxheading{Members}}}
\membersection{wxMutex::wxMutex}\label{wxmutexconstr}
-\func{}{wxMutex}{\void}
+\func{}{wxMutex}{\param{wxMutexType }{type = {\tt wxMUTEX\_DEFAULT}}}
Default constructor.
Destroys the wxMutex object.
-\membersection{wxMutex::IsLocked}\label{wxmutexislocked}
-
-\constfunc{bool}{IsLocked}{\void}
-
-Returns TRUE if the mutex is locked, FALSE otherwise.
-
\membersection{wxMutex::Lock}\label{wxmutexlock}
\func{wxMutexError}{Lock}{\void}
\twocolwidtha{7cm}
\begin{twocollist}\itemsep=0pt
-\twocolitem{{\bf MUTEX\_NO\_ERROR}}{There was no error.}
-\twocolitem{{\bf MUTEX\_DEAD\_LOCK}}{A deadlock situation was detected.}
-\twocolitem{{\bf MUTEX\_BUSY}}{The mutex is already locked by another thread.}
+\twocolitem{{\bf wxMUTEX\_NO\_ERROR}}{There was no error.}
+\twocolitem{{\bf wxMUTEX\_DEAD\_LOCK}}{A deadlock situation was detected.}
+\twocolitem{{\bf wxMUTEX\_BUSY}}{The mutex is already locked by another thread.}
\end{twocollist}
\membersection{wxMutex::TryLock}\label{wxmutextrylock}
\twocolwidtha{7cm}
\begin{twocollist}\itemsep=0pt
-\twocolitem{{\bf MUTEX\_NO\_ERROR}}{There was no error.}
-\twocolitem{{\bf MUTEX\_DEAD\_LOCK}}{A deadlock situation was detected.}
-\twocolitem{{\bf MUTEX\_BUSY}}{The mutex is already locked by another thread.}
+\twocolitem{{\bf wxMUTEX\_NO\_ERROR}}{There was no error.}
+\twocolitem{{\bf wxMUTEX\_DEAD\_LOCK}}{A deadlock situation was detected.}
+\twocolitem{{\bf wxMUTEX\_BUSY}}{The mutex is already locked by another thread.}
\end{twocollist}
\membersection{wxMutex::Unlock}\label{wxmutexunlock}
\twocolwidtha{7cm}
\begin{twocollist}\itemsep=0pt
-\twocolitem{{\bf MUTEX\_NO\_ERROR}}{There was no error.}
-\twocolitem{{\bf MUTEX\_DEAD\_LOCK}}{A deadlock situation was detected.}
-\twocolitem{{\bf MUTEX\_BUSY}}{The mutex is already locked by another thread.}
-\twocolitem{{\bf MUTEX\_UNLOCKED}}{The calling thread tries to unlock an unlocked mutex.}
+\twocolitem{{\bf wxMUTEX\_NO\_ERROR}}{There was no error.}
+\twocolitem{{\bf wxMUTEX\_DEAD\_LOCK}}{A deadlock situation was detected.}
+\twocolitem{{\bf wxMUTEX\_BUSY}}{The mutex is already locked by another thread.}
+\twocolitem{{\bf wxMUTEX\_UNLOCKED}}{The calling thread tries to unlock an unlocked mutex.}
\end{twocollist}
-
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