Re: [boost] Threads

From: Valentin Bonnard (Bonnard.V_at_[hidden])
Date: 2000-08-04 18:11:11

Dietmar Kuehl wrote:

> apparently you are in an extreme hurry and you want to start doing
> things at some more or less random point: Mutex? Who cares about
> mutexes? What is the point of a mutex?

I understand that ``mutex'' in this discution means ``any tool for 
synchronisation''.

> Whether mutexes are the right tool to deal with the
> problem will be seen once we know at least the problem. 

I think that ``mutex'' have been used to designate any solution 
of the problem.

> - How do we interact with the system's threading support? Again, I can
>   see multiple answers, some of them being (at least to me) plain
>   ridiculous other rather sensible:
>   - We don't interact with the system's thread support but provide the
>     thread support ourself (eg. because we have to anyway?)

That's the road I took in MT++ (the URL is
http://www.eleves.ens.fr:8080/home/bonnard/NewLibs/Para/MultiThread/doc/MT.html
)

>   - There will be a 100% coverage of the system's threading support 

And you know that it's impossible and write warpers for an 
arbitrary and unknown system.

> - What is the goal of our threading library anyway? Here are two
>   radically different answers:
>   - We want a library to be used for the implementation of the Boost
>     components.
>   - We want to give the user a portable approach how to create and
>     maintain threads.

I would prefer to have both.

> - We indeed use a mutex, how do we deal with dead locks?
>   - We don't because there is no such thing like a dead lock (yes, I'm
>     dead serious and I really mean it):
>   - We detect the dead lock and terminate the program.
>   - We detect the dead lock and break the tie in some form.

In many (most ?) cases there are no ways to detect the deadlock.

>   - We prevent that there can a dead lock arise.

You forgot:

   - The programmer ensures that no deadlock arise

-- 
Valentin Bonnard