pthread_detach(3p) — Linux manual page

PTHREAD_DETACH(3P)      POSIX Programmer's Manual     PTHREAD_DETACH(3P)

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(3p)

       The Base Definitions volume of POSIX.1‐2017, pthread.h(0p)

COPYRIGHT

       Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic
       form from IEEE Std 1003.1-2017, Standard for Information
       Technology -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The
       Open Group Base Specifications Issue 7, 2018 Edition, Copyright
       (C) 2018 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
       Engineers, Inc and The Open Group.  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.opengroup.org/unix/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               2017                PTHREAD_DETACH(3P)

Pages that refer to this page: pthread.h(0p)

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