[boost] Re: Boost.Threads: Do we need all those mutexes?

From: Michael Glassford (glassfordm_at_[hidden])
Date: 2004-06-28 09:18:10

Batov, Vladimir wrote:

> Do we need all three separate concepts -- mutex, try_mutex and
> timed_mutex? 

I think the idea was that it would be possible to implement the mutex 
types that supported fewer operations more efficiently. Whether this 
actually turned out to be true is another question.

 > I'd expect the mutex concept to remain unchanged and "try"
> and "timed" refinements to be related solely to the ways I try locking
> that only mutex. That is, I always have one mutex and under different
> circumstances lock it unconditionally (scoped_lock) or try locking it
> and check if that attempt succeeds (scoped_try_lock) or try locking
> within a certain time period (scoped_timed_lock).

If you want this, just use a timed_mutex and scoped_timed_lock. In the 
current release it supports lock() and timed_lock() operations; in the 
next release it will support try_lock() as well.

Mike