pthread_key_create(3) Library Functions Manual pthread_key_create(3)
NAME
pthread_key_create, pthread_key_delete, pthread_setspecific,
pthread_getspecific - management of thread-specific data
SYNOPSIS
#include <pthread.h>
int pthread_key_create(pthread_key_t *key,
void (*destr_function) (void *));
int pthread_key_delete(pthread_key_t key);
int pthread_setspecific(pthread_key_t key, const void *pointer);
void * pthread_getspecific(pthread_key_t key);
DESCRIPTION
Programs often need global or static variables that have different val-
ues in different threads. Since threads share one memory space, this
cannot be achieved with regular variables. Thread-specific data is the
POSIX threads answer to this need.
Each thread possesses a private memory block, the thread-specific data
area, or TSD area for short. This area is indexed by TSD keys. The TSD
area associates values of type void * to TSD keys. TSD keys are common
to all threads, but the value associated with a given TSD key can be
different in each thread.
For concreteness, the TSD areas can be viewed as arrays of void * point-
ers, TSD keys as integer indices into these arrays, and the value of a
TSD key as the value of the corresponding array element in the calling
thread.
When a thread is created, its TSD area initially associates NULL with
all keys.
pthread_key_create allocates a new TSD key. The key is stored in the
location pointed to by key. There is a limit of PTHREAD_KEYS_MAX on the
number of keys allocated at a given time. The value initially associ-
ated with the returned key is NULL in all currently executing threads.
The destr_function argument, if not NULL, specifies a destructor func-
tion associated with the key. When a thread terminates via pthread_exit
or by cancelation, destr_function is called with arguments the value as-
sociated with the key in that thread. The destr_function is not called
if that value is NULL. The order in which destructor functions are
called at thread termination time is unspecified.
Before the destructor function is called, the NULL value is associated
with the key in the current thread. A destructor function might, how-
ever, re-associate non-NULL values to that key or some other key. To
deal with this, if after all the destructors have been called for all
non-NULL values, there are still some non-NULL values with associated
destructors, then the process is repeated. The glibc implementation
stops the process after PTHREAD_DESTRUCTOR_ITERATIONS iterations, even
if some non-NULL values with associated descriptors remain. Other im-
plementations may loop indefinitely.
pthread_key_delete deallocates a TSD key. It does not check whether
non-NULL values are associated with that key in the currently executing
threads, nor call the destructor function associated with the key.
pthread_setspecific changes the value associated with key in the calling
thread, storing the given pointer instead.
pthread_getspecific returns the value currently associated with key in
the calling thread.
RETURN VALUE
pthread_key_create, pthread_key_delete, and pthread_setspecific return 0
on success and a non-zero error code on failure. If successful,
pthread_key_create stores the newly allocated key in the location
pointed to by its key argument.
pthread_getspecific returns the value associated with key on success,
and NULL on error.
ERRORS
pthread_key_create returns the following error code on error:
EAGAIN PTHREAD_KEYS_MAX keys are already allocated.
pthread_key_delete and pthread_setspecific return the following error
code on error:
EINVAL key is not a valid, allocated TSD key.
pthread_getspecific returns NULL if key is not a valid, allocated TSD
key.
SEE ALSO
pthread_create(3), pthread_exit(3), pthread_testcancel(3).
EXAMPLE
The following code fragment allocates a thread-specific array of 100
characters, with automatic reclamation at thread exit:
/* Key for the thread-specific buffer */
static pthread_key_t buffer_key;
/* Once-only initialisation of the key */
static pthread_once_t buffer_key_once = PTHREAD_ONCE_INIT;
/* Allocate the thread-specific buffer */
void buffer_alloc(void)
{
pthread_once(&buffer_key_once, buffer_key_alloc);
pthread_setspecific(buffer_key, malloc(100));
}
/* Return the thread-specific buffer */
char * get_buffer(void)
{
return (char *) pthread_getspecific(buffer_key);
}
/* Allocate the key */
static void buffer_key_alloc()
{
pthread_key_create(&buffer_key, buffer_destroy);
}
/* Free the thread-specific buffer */
static void buffer_destroy(void * buf)
{
free(buf);
}
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