An Easy-to-Use and Header-Only Thread C++ Class Library
Sample Code:
#include <stdio.h>
#include <time.h>
#include "EzThread.hpp" /* This library */
#define VBOOL_t volatile bool
/*----------------------------*/
/* thread function #1 */
/*----------------------------*/
void threadfunc1(VBOOL_t *pReady) /* the memory pointed by pReady is shared with main() */
{
printf("<< Start Thread1 >>\n");
time_t t = clock();
while(*pReady == true) {
/* do something... */
if (clock() > t+(CLOCKS_PER_SEC>>2)) {
printf("|"); fflush(stdout);
t=clock();
}
}
printf("<< End Thread1 >>\n");
}
/*----------------------------*/
/* thread function #2 */
/*----------------------------*/
void threadfunc2(VBOOL_t *pReady)
{
printf("<< Start Thread2 >>\n");
time_t t = clock();
while(*pReady == true) {
/* do something... */
if (clock() > t+CLOCKS_PER_SEC) {
printf("-"); fflush(stdout);
t=clock();
}
}
printf("<< End Thread2 >>\n");
}
/*----------------------------*/
/* main */
/*----------------------------*/
int main(void)
{
VBOOL_t ready = true;
EzThread<VBOOL_t *> obj1(&threadfunc1, &ready); /* begin thread #1 */
EzThread<VBOOL_t *> obj2(&threadfunc2, &ready); /* begin thread #2 */
getchar(); /* Enter key to stop */
ready = false;
return 0;
}Output:
<< Start Thread1 >>
<< Start Thread2 >>
|||-||||-||||-||||-||||-||||-||||-|
<< End Thread1 >>
<< End Thread2 >>
- Thread management is encapsulated and hidden.
- Header only library
- Platform independent (It would be ...)
- Legacy C++ compilers such as Borland, Digital Mars and Open Watcom are supported.
- [ Class EzThreadBase ] Abstract class to produce a runnable object on a thread. (see example1.cpp)
- [ Class EzThread ] Class template for any function to be runnable on a thread in a simple manner. (see example2.cpp)
- C++ compiler (g++, Visual C++, Borland C++, Digital Mars C++ and Open Watcom C++ are tested)
Copy the EzThread.hpp file in the same directory as the source files.
Include the EzThread.hpp in your C++ source file and write a code. Please see sample files for details.
On compilation you may need some option switch. Examples are shown below.
| Compiler | Commandline |
|---|---|
| GNU g++ | g++ main.cpp -pthread |
| Microsoft VC++ | cl /MT main.cpp |
| Borland C++ 5.5 | bcc32 -WM main.cpp |
| Embarcadero | bcc32c -tCM main.cpp |
| Digital Mars C++ | dmc main.cpp -D_MT=1 |
| Open Watcom | wcl386 -bm main.cpp |
There are three classes defined in this library.
- EzThread<TYPE>
- EzThreadBase
- EzMutex
EzThread<TYPE> enables any function to run on a thread.
TYPE must be the same as the argument type of the thread function.
--> See example2.cpp , example3.cpp , example4.cpp
| Member | Description |
|---|---|
| EzThread() | A constructor. It generates an empty object. User can run a thread function by run() method. |
| EzThread(func, arg) | A constructor. It generates an object and starts the function func(arg) on a thread immediately. |
| int run(func, arg) | Start the function func(arg) on a thread |
| int rerun() | Rerun the function which status() is EZTH_JOINED (8) |
| int wait() | Wait until the thread finishes. wait() is automatically called at the object deletion. Also user can call wait() anywhere to join the thread. ret=0:success, -1:error |
| int status() | Get thread status ret=0:unexecuted, 1:creating, 2:running, 4:finished, 8:joined |
EzThreadBase is an abstract class which has thread management functions. You can flexibly implement your own thread class derived from it without thread management.
--> See example1.cpp
| Member | Description |
|---|---|
| void app() | User function that runs on a thread. The EzThreadBase::app() is a pure virtual function so that user should override it in the derived class. |
| int run() | Create and start a thread. Overriding run() method is prohibitted. ret=0:success, -1:error |
| int join() | Wait until the thread finishes. The join() is not called automatically at object deletion so that user should confirm the thread is done. Overriding join() method is prohibitted. ret=0:success, -1:error |
| int status() | Get thread status ret=0:unexecuted, 1:creating, 2:running, 4:finished, 8:joined |
| HANDLE get_win_thread_handle() | (Windows only) A handle returned by _beginthredex() |
| pthread_t get_posix_thread_handle() | (POSIX only) A handle returned by pthread_create() |
EzMutex is a companion class which provides a mutual exclusion mechanism.
| Member | Description |
|---|---|
| void lock() | Acquire a mutex of this instance. This method blocks (pauses) until the mutex can be acquired. |
| bool try_lock() | Try to acquire a mutex of this instance. This method returns immediately regardless of whether the mutex can be acquired or not. true is returned if the mutex was sucessfully acquired, otherwise false is returned. |
| void unlock() | Release a mutex of this instance. |
EzMutex also provides two sleep utilities.
| Member | Description |
|---|---|
| EzMutex::Wait() | Yield the execution priority to other threads and sleep for a minimal period. |
| EzMutex::millisleep(unsigned long msec) | Sleep for msec milliseconds. Note: On Windows platforms, due to Windows timer limitations, the resolution of the sleep interval is typically about 16 ms. |
This library is experimental and not guaranteed.
If your compiler is C++11 compliant, you should use std::thread instead.
EzThread.hpp is under MIT license.
Copyright (c) 2022, 2023 Kitanokitsune
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