pthread.md

pthread.h - POSIX Threads

The pthread.h header defines the interface for creating and managing threads.

Facilities Overview

Facility Category	Key Symbols	Description
Thread Management	pthread_create, pthread_join, pthread_detach	Lifecycle of concurrent execution units.
Mutexes	pthread_mutex_lock, pthread_mutex_unlock	Mutual exclusion for protecting shared resources.
Condition Variables	pthread_cond_wait, pthread_cond_signal	Signaling between threads.
Attributes	pthread_attr_init, pthread_attr_destroy	Configuring thread behavior.

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Types & Variables

pthread_t

An opaque type representing a thread.

pthread_mutex_t

An opaque type used for mutual exclusion.

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Functions

Thread Management

pthread_create

int pthread_create(pthread_t *thread, const pthread_attr_t *attr, void *(*start_routine)(void *), void *arg)

Example:

#include <pthread.h>

void *run(void *arg) { return NULL; }

int main(void) {
    pthread_t thread;
    pthread_create(&thread, NULL, run, NULL);
    pthread_join(thread, NULL);
    return 0;
}

pthread_join

int pthread_join(pthread_t thread, void **retval)

Mutexes (Mutual Exclusion)

pthread_mutex_lock

int pthread_mutex_lock(pthread_mutex_t *mutex)

pthread_mutex_unlock

int pthread_mutex_unlock(pthread_mutex_t *mutex)