CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c++pthreadsmutex
Jonathon Hill
Jonathon Hill

Reputation: 1057

When to use pthread_mutex_t?

Can someone please explain in what scenarios it would be beneficial to use std::mutex vs. pthread_mutex_t. I don't understand why we would ever use pthread_mutex_t.

Upvotes: 12

Views: 14038

Answers (4)

xaxxon
xaxxon

Reputation: 19761

std::mutex is just a thin wrapper around pthread_mutex on systems supporting pthreads.

In general, the operations on the std:: thread primitives are quite limited vs the native versions (pthreads or windows threads). If you don't need those features, you should always use the std:: versions, but if you do need the advanced features, then you have no choice but to use the native version.

native handle() method exists for exactly this reason.

Upvotes: 10

breakpoint
breakpoint

Reputation: 976

See pthread_mutexattr for an idea of the other flavors of POSIX mutexes available besides the default. Though one of the main ones-- recursive vs. nonrecursive-- is available with std::recursive_mutex, this is not true for things like BSD priority ceilings, etc.

Upvotes: 0

Smeeheey
Smeeheey

Reputation: 10316

The pthread_mutex_t is a POSIX solution (available for linux and other UNIX systems) that existed before c++11 introduced synchronisation primitives into the c++ library. You should use std::mutex now, amongst other things it is more cross-platform (can be used under Windows also).

Upvotes: 16

marcinj
marcinj

Reputation: 49976

std::mutex is from standard library, so if you use it your code will compile also on platforms where pthreads are not provided. For example under windows std::mutex uses native WinAPI mutex implementation.

Its best to always use std::mutex.

Upvotes: 1

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