[boost] Re: Re: Windows MSVC thread exit handler forstaticly linkedBoost.Thread

From: Tony Juricic (tonygeek_at_[hidden])
Date: 2004-07-31 19:53:58

"Aaron W. LaFramboise"  wrote:

>...
> -I think it might be possible for threads to die some other way.  I
> don't think anything makes any guarantee that ExitThread and
> TerminateThread are the only ways a thread may exit.  For example, a
> thread may be caused to exit by some lower-level API (perhaps a direct
> access to NTDLL).
> ...

Yes. ExitProcess, for example, will terminate all misbehaving threads. By
misbehaving I mean something from as dumb as thread procedure like:

while(true)
    ;

to complex thread procedures using locks, mutexes and so on.

I share your opinions about hooking API calls.

To summarize my own understanding (or misunderstanding) let me try classify
the problem issues:

1) TSS slot cleanup.
    1a) intentional leak of a 'hidden' native slot
    1b) cleanup of TSS slots reserved by boost::thread_specific_ptr<class T>

2) cleanup of objects stored in TSS slots.
    semi-sloppy thread procedures that forget reset like:
{
    if (ptr.get() == 0)
        ptr.reset(new Object());
    .... code
    // forgotten ptr.reset();
}

3) Thread (and process/main thread) exit notifications required for cleanup
    3a) semi-sloppy thread procedures will get TSS and objects cleaned up
    3b) misbehaving thread procedures leaking everything, including TSS

Tony