Man page - dispatch_semaphore_create(3)

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dispatch_semaphore_creat (3) Library Functions Manual dispatch_semaphore_creat (3)

NAME

dispatch_semaphore_create, dispatch_semaphore_signal, dispatch_semaphore_wait — synchronized counting semaphore

SYNOPSIS

#include <dispatch/dispatch.h>

dispatch_semaphore_t

dispatch_semaphore_create ( long count );

long

dispatch_semaphore_signal ( dispatch_semaphore_t semaphore );

long

dispatch_semaphore_wait ( dispatch_semaphore_t semaphore , dispatch_time_t timeout );

DESCRIPTION

Dispatch semaphores are used to synchronize threads.

The dispatch_semaphore_wait () function decrements the semaphore. If the resulting value is less than zero, it waits for a signal from a thread that increments the semaphore by calling dispatch_semaphore_signal () before returning. The timeout parameter is creatable with the dispatch_time (3) or dispatch_walltime (3) functions. If the timeout is reached without a signal being received, the semaphore is re-incremented before the function returns.

The dispatch_semaphore_signal () function increments the counting semaphore. If the previous value was less than zero, it wakes one of the threads that are waiting in dispatch_semaphore_wait () before returning.

COMPLETION SYNCHRONIZATION

If the count parameter is equal to zero, then the semaphore is useful for synchronizing completion of work. For example:

sema = dispatch_semaphore_create(0);

dispatch_async(queue, ˆ{

foo();

dispatch_semaphore_signal(sema);

});

bar();

dispatch_semaphore_wait(sema, DISPATCH_TIME_FOREVER);

FINITE RESOURCE POOL

If the count parameter is greater than zero, then the semaphore is useful for managing a finite pool of resources. For example, a library that wants to limit Unix descriptor usage:

sema = dispatch_semaphore_create(getdtablesize() / 4);

At each Unix FD allocation:

dispatch_semaphore_wait(sema, DISPATCH_TIME_FOREVER);
fd = open("/etc/services", O_RDONLY);

When each FD is closed:

close(fd);
dispatch_semaphore_signal(sema);

RETURN VALUES

The dispatch_semaphore_create () function returns NULL if no memory is available or if the count parameter is less than zero.

The dispatch_semaphore_signal () function returns non-zero when a thread is woken. Otherwise, zero is returned.

The dispatch_semaphore_wait () function returns zero upon success and non-zero after the timeout expires. If the timeout is DISPATCH_TIME_FOREVER, then dispatch_semaphore_wait () waits forever and always returns zero.

MEMORY MODEL

Dispatch semaphores are retained and released via calls to dispatch_retain () and dispatch_release ().

CAVEATS

Unbalanced dispatch semaphores cannot be released. For a given semaphore, calls to dispatch_semaphore_signal () and dispatch_semaphore_wait () must be balanced before dispatch_release () is called on it.

SEE ALSO

dispatch (3), dispatch_object (3) Darwin May 1, 2009 dispatch_semaphore_create (3)