Ubuntu Manpage: thread - Extension for script access to Tcl threading

NAME

       thread - Extension for script access to Tcl threading

SYNOPSIS

       package require Tcl  8.4

       package require Thread  ?2.8?

       thread::create ?-joinable? ?-preserved? ?script?

       thread::preserve ?id?

       thread::release ?-wait? ?id?

       thread::id

       thread::errorproc ?procname?

       thread::cancel ?-unwind? id ?result?

       thread::unwind

       thread::exit ?status?

       thread::names

       thread::exists id

       thread::send ?-async? ?-head? id script ?varname?

       thread::broadcast script

       thread::wait

       thread::eval ?-lock mutex? arg ?arg ...?

       thread::join id

       thread::configure id ?option? ?value? ?...?

       thread::transfer id channel

       thread::detach channel

       thread::attach channel

       thread::mutex

       thread::mutex create ?-recursive?

       thread::mutex destroy mutex

       thread::mutex lock mutex

       thread::mutex unlock mutex

       thread::rwmutex

       thread::rwmutex create

       thread::rwmutex destroy mutex

       thread::rwmutex rlock mutex

       thread::rwmutex wlock mutex

       thread::rwmutex unlock mutex

       thread::cond

       thread::cond create

       thread::cond destroy cond

       thread::cond notify cond

       thread::cond wait cond mutex ?ms?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

DESCRIPTION

       The  thread  extension creates threads that contain Tcl interpreters, and it lets you send
       scripts to those threads for evaluation.  Additionaly, it provides script-level access  to
       basic thread synchronization primitives, like mutexes and condition variables.

COMMANDS

This section describes commands for creating and destroying threads and sending scripts to
threads for evaluation.

thread::create ?-joinable? ?-preserved? ?script?
This command creates a thread that contains a Tcl interpreter. The Tcl interpreter
either evaluates the optional script, if specified, or it waits in the event loop
for scripts that arrive via the thread::send command. The result, if any, of the
optional script is never returned to the caller. The result of thread::create is
the ID of the thread. This is the opaque handle which identifies the newly created
thread for all other package commands. The handle of the thread goes out of scope
automatically when thread is marked for exit (see the thread::release command
below).

If the optional script argument contains the thread::wait command the thread will
enter into the event loop. If such command is not found in the script the thread
will run the script to the end and exit. In that case, the handle may be safely
ignored since it refers to a thread which does not exists any more at the time when
the command returns.

Using flag -joinable it is possible to create a joinable thread, i.e. one upon
whose exit can be waited upon by using thread::join command. Note that failure to
join a thread created with -joinable flag results in resource and memory leaks.

Threads created by the thread::create cannot be destroyed forcefully. Consequently,
there is no corresponding thread destroy command. A thread may only be released
using the thread::release and if its internal reference count drops to zero, the
thread is marked for exit. This kicks the thread out of the event loop servicing
and the thread continues to execute commands passed in the script argument,
following the thread::wait command. If this was the last command in the script, as
usualy the case, the thread will exit.

It is possible to create a situation in which it may be impossible to terminate the
thread, for example by putting some endless loop after the thread::wait or entering
the event loop again by doing an vwait-type of command. In such cases, the thread
may never exit. This is considered to be a bad practice and should be avoided if
possible. This is best illustrated by the example below:

# You should never do ...
set tid [thread::create {
package require Http
thread::wait
vwait forever ; # <-- this!
}]

The thread created in the above example will never be able to exit. After it has
been released with the last matching thread::release call, the thread will jump out
of the thread::wait and continue to execute commands following. It will enter vwait
command and wait endlessly for events. There is no way one can terminate such
thread, so you wouldn't want to do this!

Each newly created has its internal reference counter set to 0 (zero), i.e. it is
unreserved. This counter gets incremented by a call to thread::preserve and
decremented by a call to thread::release command. These two commands implement
simple but effective thread reservation system and offer predictable and
controllable thread termination capabilities. It is however possible to create
initialy preserved threads by using flag -preserved of the thread::create command.
Threads created with this flag have the initial value of the reference counter of 1
(one), and are thus initially marked reserved.

thread::preserve ?id?
This command increments the thread reference counter. Each call to this command
increments the reference counter by one (1). Command returns the value of the
reference counter after the increment. If called with the optional thread id, the
command preserves the given thread. Otherwise the current thread is preserved.

With reference counting, one can implement controlled access to a shared Tcl
thread. By incrementing the reference counter, the caller signalizes that he/she
wishes to use the thread for a longer period of time. By decrementing the counter,
caller signalizes that he/she has finished using the thread.

thread::release ?-wait? ?id?
This command decrements the thread reference counter. Each call to this command
decrements the reference counter by one (1). If called with the optional thread
id, the command releases the given thread. Otherwise, the current thread is
released. Command returns the value of the reference counter after the decrement.
When the reference counter reaches zero (0), the target thread is marked for
termination. You should not reference the thread after the thread::release command
returns zero or negative integer. The handle of the thread goes out of scope and
should not be used any more. Any following reference to the same thread handle will
result in Tcl error.

Optional flag -wait instructs the caller thread to wait for the target thread to
exit, if the effect of the command would result in termination of the target
thread, i.e. if the return result would be zero (0). Without the flag, the caller
thread does not wait for the target thread to exit. Care must be taken when using
the -wait, since this may block the caller thread indefinitely. This option has
been implemented for some special uses of the extension and is deprecated for
regular use. Regular users should create joinable threads by using the -joinable
option of the thread::create command and the thread::join to wait for thread to
exit.

thread::id
This command returns the ID of the current thread.

thread::errorproc ?procname?
This command sets a handler for errors that occur in scripts sent asynchronously,
using the -async flag of the thread::send command, to other threads. If no handler
is specified, the current handler is returned. The empty string resets the handler
to default (unspecified) value. An uncaught error in a thread causes an error
message to be sent to the standard error channel. This default reporting scheme can
be changed by registering a procedure which is called to report the error. The
procname is called in the interpreter that invoked the thread::errorproc command.
The procname is called like this:

myerrorproc thread_id errorInfo

thread::cancel ?-unwind? id ?result?
This command requires Tcl version 8.6 or higher.

Cancels the script being evaluated in the thread given by the id parameter. Without
the -unwind switch the evaluation stack for the interpreter is unwound until an
enclosing catch command is found or there are no further invocations of the
interpreter left on the call stack. With the -unwind switch the evaluation stack
for the interpreter is unwound without regard to any intervening catch command
until there are no further invocations of the interpreter left on the call stack.
If result is present, it will be used as the error message string; otherwise, a
default error message string will be used.

thread::unwind
Use of this command is deprecated in favour of more advanced thread reservation
system implemented with thread::preserve and thread::release commands. Support for
thread::unwind command will dissapear in some future major release of the
extension.

This command stops a prior thread::wait command. Execution of the script passed to
newly created thread will continue from the thread::wait command. If thread::wait
was the last command in the script, the thread will exit. The command returns empty
result but may trigger Tcl error with the message "target thread died" in some
situations.

thread::exit ?status?
Use of this command is deprecated in favour of more advanced thread reservation
system implemented with thread::preserve and thread::release commands. Support for
thread::exit command will dissapear in some future major release of the extension.

This command forces a thread stuck in the thread::wait command to unconditionaly
exit. The thread's exit status defaults to 666 and can be specified using the
optional status argument. The execution of thread::exit command is guaranteed to
leave the program memory in the unconsistent state, produce memory leaks and
otherwise affect other subsytem(s) of the Tcl application in an unpredictable
manner. The command returns empty result but may trigger Tcl error with the message
"target thread died" in some situations.

thread::names
This command returns a list of thread IDs. These are only for threads that have
been created via thread::create command. If your application creates other threads
at the C level, they are not reported by this command.

thread::exists id
Returns true (1) if thread given by the id parameter exists, false (0) otherwise.
This applies only for threads that have been created via thread::create command.

thread::send ?-async? ?-head? id script ?varname?
This command passes a script to another thread and, optionally, waits for the
result. If the -async flag is specified, the command does not wait for the result
and it returns empty string. The target thread must enter it's event loop in order
to receive scripts sent via this command. This is done by default for threads
created without a startup script. Threads can enter the event loop explicitly by
calling thread::wait or any other relevant Tcl/Tk command, like update, vwait, etc.

Optional varname specifies name of the variable to store the result of the script.
Without the -async flag, the command returns the evaluation code, similarily to the
standard Tcl catch command. If, however, the -async flag is specified, the command
returns immediately and caller can later vwait on ?varname? to get the result of
the passed script

set t1 [thread::create]
set t2 [thread::create]
thread::send -async $t1 "set a 1" result
thread::send -async $t2 "set b 2" result
for {set i 0} {$i < 2} {incr i} {
vwait result
}

In the above example, two threads were fed work and both of them were instructed to
signalize the same variable "result" in the calling thread. The caller entered the
event loop twice to get both results. Note, however, that the order of the received
results may vary, depending on the current system load, type of work done, etc,
etc.

Many threads can simultaneously send scripts to the target thread for execution.
All of them are entered into the event queue of the target thread and executed on
the FIFO basis, intermingled with optional other events pending in the event queue
of the target thread. Using the optional ?-head? switch, scripts posted to the
thread's event queue can be placed on the head, instead on the tail of the queue,
thus being executed in the LIFO fashion.

thread::broadcast script
This command passes a script to all threads created by the package for execution.
It does not wait for response from any of the threads.

thread::wait
This enters the event loop so a thread can receive messages from the thread::send
command. This command should only be used within the script passed to the
thread::create. It should be the very last command in the script. If this is not
the case, the exiting thread will continue executing the script lines past the
thread::wait which is usually not what you want and/or expect.

set t1 [thread::create {
#
# Do some initialization work here
#
thread::wait ; # Enter the event loop
}]

thread::eval ?-lock mutex? arg ?arg ...?
This command concatenates passed arguments and evaluates the resulting script under
the mutex protection. If no mutex is specified by using the ?-lock mutex? optional
argument, the internal static mutex is used.

thread::join id
This command waits for the thread with ID id to exit and then returns it's exit
code. Errors will be returned for threads which are not joinable or already waited
upon by another thread. Upon the join the handle of the thread has gone out of
scope and should not be used any more.

thread::configure id ?option? ?value? ?...?
This command configures various low-level aspects of the thread with ID id in the
similar way as the standard Tcl command fconfigure configures some Tcl channel
options. Options currently supported are: -eventmark and -unwindonerror.

The -eventmark option, when set, limits the number of asynchronously posted scripts
to the thread event loop. The thread::send -async command will block until the
number of pending scripts in the event loop does not drop below the value
configured with -eventmark. Default value for the -eventmark is 0 (zero) which
effectively disables the checking, i.e. allows for unlimited number of posted
scripts.

The -unwindonerror option, when set, causes the target thread to unwind if the
result of the script processing resulted in error. Default value for the
-unwindonerror is 0 (false), i.e. thread continues to process scripts after one of
the posted scripts fails.

thread::transfer id channel
This moves the specified channel from the current thread and interpreter to the
main interpreter of the thread with the given id. After the move the current
interpreter has no access to the channel any more, but the main interpreter of the
target thread will be able to use it from now on. The command waits until the
other thread has incorporated the channel. Because of this it is possible to
deadlock the participating threads by commanding the other through a synchronous
thread::send to transfer a channel to us. This easily extends into longer loops of
threads waiting for each other. Other restrictions: the channel in question must
not be shared among multiple interpreters running in the sending thread. This
automatically excludes the special channels for standard input, output and error.

Due to the internal Tcl core implementation and the restriction on transferring
shared channels, one has to take extra measures when transferring socket channels
created by accepting the connection out of the socket commands callback procedures:

socket -server _Accept 2200
proc _Accept {s ipaddr port} {
after idle [list Accept $s $ipaddr $port]
}
proc Accept {s ipaddr port} {
set tid [thread::create]
thread::transfer $tid $s
}

thread::detach channel
This detaches the specified channel from the current thread and interpreter. After
that, the current interpreter has no access to the channel any more. The channel is
in the parked state until some other (or the same) thread attaches the channel
again with thread::attach. Restrictions: same as for transferring shared channels
with the thread::transfer command.

thread::attach channel
This attaches the previously detached channel in the current thread/interpreter.
For already existing channels, the command does nothing, i.e. it is not an error to
attach the same channel more than once. The first operation will actualy perform
the operation, while all subsequent operation will just do nothing. Command throws
error if the channel cannot be found in the list of detached channels and/or in the
current interpreter.

thread::mutex
Mutexes are most common thread synchronization primitives. They are used to
synchronize access from two or more threads to one or more shared resources. This
command provides script-level access to exclusive and/or recursive mutexes.
Exclusive mutexes can be locked only once by one thread, while recursive mutexes
can be locked many times by the same thread. For recursive mutexes, number of lock
and unlock operations must match, otherwise, the mutex will never be released,
which would lead to various deadlock situations.

Care has to be taken when using mutexes in an multithreading program. Improper use
of mutexes may lead to various deadlock situations, especially when using exclusive
mutexes.

The thread::mutex command supports following subcommands and options:

thread::mutex create ?-recursive?
Creates the mutex and returns it's opaque handle. This handle should be used
for any future reference to the newly created mutex. If no optional
?-recursive? argument was specified, the command creates the exclusive
mutex. With the ?-recursive? argument, the command creates a recursive
mutex.

thread::mutex destroy mutex
Destroys the mutex. Mutex should be in unlocked state before the destroy
attempt. If the mutex is locked, the command will throw Tcl error.

thread::mutex lock mutex
Locks the mutex. Locking the exclusive mutex may throw Tcl error if on
attempt to lock the same mutex twice from the same thread. If your program
logic forces you to lock the same mutex twice or more from the same thread
(this may happen in recursive procedure invocations) you should consider
using the recursive mutexes.

thread::mutex unlock mutex
Unlocks the mutex so some other thread may lock it again. Attempt to unlock
the already unlocked mutex will throw Tcl error.

thread::rwmutex
This command creates many-readers/single-writer mutexes. Reader/writer mutexes
allow you to serialize access to a shared resource more optimally. In situations
where a shared resource gets mostly read and seldom modified, you might gain some
performace by using reader/writer mutexes instead of exclusive or recursive
mutexes.

For reading the resource, thread should obtain a read lock on the resource. Read
lock is non-exclusive, meaning that more than one thread can obtain a read lock to
the same resource, without waiting on other readers. For changing the resource,
however, a thread must obtain a exclusive write lock. This lock effectively blocks
all threads from gaining the read-lock while the resource is been modified by the
writer thread. Only after the write lock has been released, the resource may be
read-locked again.

The thread::rwmutex command supports following subcommands and options:

thread::rwmutex create
Creates the reader/writer mutex and returns it's opaque handle. This handle
should be used for any future reference to the newly created mutex.

thread::rwmutex destroy mutex
Destroys the reader/writer mutex. If the mutex is already locked, attempt to
destroy it will throw Tcl error.

thread::rwmutex rlock mutex
Locks the mutex for reading. More than one thread may read-lock the same
mutex at the same time.

thread::rwmutex wlock mutex
Locks the mutex for writing. Only one thread may write-lock the same mutex
at the same time. Attempt to write-lock same mutex twice from the same
thread will throw Tcl error.

thread::rwmutex unlock mutex
Unlocks the mutex so some other thread may lock it again. Attempt to unlock
already unlocked mutex will throw Tcl error.

thread::cond
This command provides script-level access to condition variables. A condition
variable creates a safe environment for the program to test some condition, sleep
on it when false and be awakened when it might have become true. A condition
variable is always used in the conjuction with an exclusive mutex. If you attempt
to use other type of mutex in conjuction with the condition variable, a Tcl error
will be thrown.

The command supports following subcommands and options:

thread::cond create
Creates the condition variable and returns it's opaque handle. This handle
should be used for any future reference to newly created condition variable.

thread::cond destroy cond
Destroys condition variable cond. Extreme care has to be taken that nobody
is using (i.e. waiting on) the condition variable, otherwise unexpected
errors may happen.

thread::cond notify cond
Wakes up all threads waiting on the condition variable cond.

thread::cond wait cond mutex ?ms?
This command is used to suspend program execution until the condition
variable cond has been signalled or the optional timer has expired. The
exclusive mutex must be locked by the calling thread on entrance to this
command. If the mutex is not locked, Tcl error is thrown. While waiting on
the cond, the command releases mutex. Before returning to the calling
thread, the command re-acquires the mutex again. Unlocking the mutex and
waiting on the condition variable cond is done atomically.

The ms command option, if given, must be an integer specifying time interval
in milliseconds the command waits to be signalled. Otherwise the command
waits on condition notify forever.

In multithreading programs, there are many situations where a thread has to
wait for some event to happen until it is allowed to proceed. This is
usually accomplished by repeatedly testing a condition under the mutex
protection and waiting on the condition variable until the condition
evaluates to true:

set mutex [thread::mutex create]
set cond [thread::cond create]

thread::mutex lock $mutex
while {<some_condition_is_true>} {
thread::cond wait $cond $mutex
}
# Do some work under mutex protection
thread::mutex unlock $mutex

Repeated testing of the condition is needed since the condition variable may
get signalled without the condition being actually changed (spurious thread
wake-ups, for example).

DISCUSSION

       The fundamental threading model in Tcl is that there can be one or more  Tcl  interpreters
       per  thread, but each Tcl interpreter should only be used by a single thread which created
       it.  A "shared memory" abstraction  is  awkward  to  provide  in  Tcl  because  Tcl  makes
       assumptions  about variable and data ownership. Therefore this extension supports a simple
       form of threading where the  main  thread  can  manage  several  background,  or  "worker"
       threads.   For  example,  an  event-driven server can pass requests to worker threads, and
       then await responses from worker threads or new client requests. Everything  goes  through
       the  common Tcl event loop, so message passing between threads works naturally with event-
       driven I/O, vwait on variables, and so forth. For the transfer of bulk information  it  is
       possible to move channels between the threads.

       For  advanced  multithreading  scripts,  script-level  access to two basic synchronization
       primitives, mutex and condition variables, is also supported.

KEYWORDS