Re: [boost] Re: Boost.Threads - thread_desc concept

From: Matt Austern (austern_at_[hidden])
Date: 2001-06-28 16:50:53

John Max Skaller wrote:
> 
>         Exactly! We must have core language support.
> I've been saying this all along. Whether or not there
> is a Standard 'thread' library for C++ is of secondary
> importance. Updating the abstract machine so that
> it is possible to resolve these issues in the core
> language is primary. The resolution may well be
> 'implementation defined' or 'undefined behaviour',
> but without a resolution to various issues,
> all threaded programs are beyond the scope of the
> Standard (and of course a Standard thread library is
> impossible).

I recommend looking at http://www.codesourcery.com/cxx-abi/,
a multivendor ABI for C++ on IA-64 Unix platforms.  (It
has been extended to other architectures, but I don't 
think that the non-IA-64 part is well documented.)

The ABI covers some issues that are outside the scope of
the standard, like threads and shared libraries, because
leaving those issues out would have killed cross-platform
compatibility.  It specifically addresses whether thread
cancelation triggers stack unwinding, for example.

                        --Matt