Re: [LAD] Noob Q: Pthreads the way to go?

From: <fons@email-addr-hidden>
Date: Fri Nov 13 2009 - 14:56:15 EET

On Fri, Nov 13, 2009 at 02:15:27AM +0000, Harry Van Haaren wrote:

> That's the background to this question: Is mutex locking the only way to
> ensure that variables are only
> being accessed by one thread at a time? Is it the "right" way to go about
> it?
>
> I've seen quite some strong opinions around the internet on how RT threading
> should be done,
> however I still am not fully sure if PosixThreads is the way to go, (due to
> windows not supporting it).

It helps to clearly separate two things:

1. How a multithreaded program can be structured
2. A particular implementation of threads, e.g. Posix.

(2) maybe suggests (1), but in fact the two are quite
independent.

For (1) there are several approaches:

A1. Data is shared between threads, access to it is
    contolled by mutexes.

A2. The CSP way: all data used by a thread strictly private
    to that thread. If another thread needs it, it is copied
    via a data channel. Threads can sync on data channels,
    i.e. they can wait for data to arrive.

A3. As (A2) but data maybe transferred by just sending
    a pointer to it. The pointer message transfers ownner-
    ship - even if a thread could still access the data
    after having transmitted it, it will not do so until
    it receives the pointer again. The net result is the
    same as (A2), but it can be more efficient if large
    amounts of data have to be moved.

A related issue is how to control the threads themselves
in an application where threads could be added and removed
dynamically:
   
B1. Threads can be 'killed' by other threads.

B2. Threads can not be terminated externally, but they
    are designed to terminate themselves when necessary
    or on request.

(A1, B1) often go together, as do (A2, A3, B2). This is
logical, as if thread data is private, only the thread
itself can clean up before quitting, so no thread should
ever be 'zapped'.

The choice between these models is independent of the thread
implementation you use. Mixing them in large applications is
usually a recipe for trouble. (A1) is somewhat closer to actual
low-level threads implementations, while (A2, A3) may require
some thin layer on top of them, but such a layer can be made
for whatever thread implementation. It also adds a degree of
abstraction, and hence portability. Another feature of the
CSP inspired models is that they can work on multiprocessor
system where each processor has only private memory, and
data channels between them are supported by hardware.

Coming from a CSP bacground, I certainly do prefer (A2, A3)
except maybe for very simple systems, but that could be a
very personal preference.

Ciao,

-- 
FA
Io lo dico sempre: l'Italia è troppo stretta e lunga.
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Received on Fri Nov 13 16:15:05 2009

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