PROLOG

       This  manual  page  is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual.  The Linux implementation of this interface
       may differ (consult the corresponding Linux manual page for details of Linux behavior), or the  interface
       may not be implemented on Linux.

NAME

       pthread_detach — detach a thread

SYNOPSIS

       #include <pthread.h>

       int pthread_detach(pthread_t thread);

DESCRIPTION

       The pthread_detach() function shall indicate to the implementation that storage for the thread thread can
       be  reclaimed when that thread terminates. If thread has not terminated, pthread_detach() shall not cause
       it to terminate.

       The behavior is undefined if the value specified by the thread  argument  to  pthread_detach()  does  not
       refer to a joinable thread.

RETURN VALUE

       If  the  call  succeeds, pthread_detach() shall return 0; otherwise, an error number shall be returned to
       indicate the error.

ERRORS

       The pthread_detach() function shall not return an error code of [EINTR].

       The following sections are informative.

EXAMPLES

       None.

APPLICATION USAGE

       None.

RATIONALE

       The pthread_join() or pthread_detach() functions should eventually be called for  every  thread  that  is
       created so that storage associated with the thread may be reclaimed.

       It  has  been  suggested  that  a  ``detach''  function is not necessary; the detachstate thread creation
       attribute is sufficient, since a thread need never be dynamically detached. However, need  arises  in  at
       least two cases:

        1. In  a  cancellation  handler  for  a pthread_join() it is nearly essential to have a pthread_detach()
           function in order to detach the thread on which pthread_join() was waiting. Without it, it  would  be
           necessary  to have the handler do another pthread_join() to attempt to detach the thread, which would
           both delay the cancellation  processing  for  an  unbounded  period  and  introduce  a  new  call  to
           pthread_join(),  which might itself need a cancellation handler. A dynamic detach is nearly essential
           in this case.

        2. In order to detach the ``initial thread'' (as may be  desirable  in  processes  that  set  up  server
           threads).

       If an implementation detects that the value specified by the thread argument to pthread_detach() does not
       refer to a joinable thread, it is recommended that the function should fail and report an [EINVAL] error.

       If an implementation detects use of a thread ID after the end of its lifetime, it is recommended that the
       function should fail and report an [ESRCH] error.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

       None.

SEE ALSO

       pthread_join()

       The Base Definitions volume of POSIX.1‐2008, <pthread.h>

COPYRIGHT

       Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2013 Edition,
       Standard  for  Information Technology -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base
       Specifications Issue 7, Copyright (C) 2013 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers,  Inc
       and  The  Open Group.  (This is POSIX.1-2008 with the 2013 Technical Corrigendum 1 applied.) In the event
       of any discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard,  the  original
       IEEE and The Open Group Standard is the referee document. The original Standard can be obtained online at
       http://www.unix.org/online.html .

       Any  typographical  or formatting errors that appear in this page are most likely to have been introduced
       during  the  conversion  of  the  source  files  to  man  page  format.  To  report  such   errors,   see
       https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/reporting_bugs.html .

IEEE/The Open Group                                   2013                                PTHREAD_DETACH(3POSIX)