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9.1: Creating threads

  • Page ID
    40760
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    The most popular threading standard used with C is POSIX Threads, or Pthreads for short. The POSIX standard defines a thread model and an interface for creating and controlling threads. Most versions of UNIX provide an implementation of Pthreads.

    Using Pthreads is like using most C libraries:

    • You include headers files at the beginning of your program.
    • You write code that calls functions defined by Pthreads.
    • When you compile the program, you link it with the Pthread library.

    For my examples, I include the following headers:

    #include <stdio.h>
    #include <stdlib.h>
    #include <pthread.h>
    #include <semaphore.h>
    

    The first two are standard; the third is for Pthreads and the fourth is for semaphores. To compile with the Pthread library in gcc, you can use the -l option on the command line:

    gcc -g -O2 -o array array.c -lpthread
    

    This compiles a source file named array.c with debugging info and optimization, links with the Pthread library, and generates an executable named array.


    This page titled 9.1: Creating threads is shared under a CC BY-NC license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Allen B. Downey (Green Tea Press) .

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