[boost] Re: Re: Re: Lock Classes: Does anyone care.

From: Edward Diener (eddielee_at_[hidden])
Date: 2003-02-19 18:20:00

"Kevin Atkinson" <kevin_at_[hidden]> wrote in message
news:Pine.LNX.4.44.0302191120000.890-100000_at_kevin-pc.atkinson.dhs.org...
> On Wed, 19 Feb 2003, Edward Diener wrote:
>
> > I think the question that needs to be answered is if locking mechanisms
have
> > any use outside of threading models.
>
> Yes they do.  For example when accessing memory shared between separate
> process.  Also, locks can also be used when accessing files.  In fact I
> believe Win32 always uses read/write locks when opening files, on POSIX
> systems the locks are completely optional but still there.  Basically
locks
> can be used when ever accessing a shared resource.

I think you have made a good case for a separate library for locking
mechanisms. Whether that will be your library in some form or some other one
or some mix of implementations, is for the general Boost community to
decide. But I believe, given your argument above, that a locking library
should not be only folded into the threading implementation which already
exists. Of course the implementor of the threading library may feel that his
own internal locking mechanisms are sufficient for what he wants to do in
his library, but that shouldn't inhibit a separate locking library if the
functionality is found useful for other Boost programmers.