POSIX Threads Programming

Abstract
In shared memory multiprocessor architectures, threads can be used to implement
parallelism. Historically, hardware vendors have implemented their own proprietary
versions of threads, making portability a concern for software developers. For UNIX
systems, a standardized C language threads programming interface has been specified
by the IEEE POSIX 1003.1c standard. Implementations that adhere to this standard are
referred to as POSIX threads, or Pthreads.
The tutorial begins with an introduction to concepts, motivations, and design
considerations for using Pthreads. Each of the three major classes of routines in the
Pthreads API are then covered: Thread Management, Mutex Variables, and Condition
Variables. Example codes are used throughout to demonstrate how to use most of the
Pthreads routines needed by a new Pthreads programmer. The tutorial concludes with a
discussion of LLNL specifics and how to mix MPI with pthreads. A lab exercise, with
numerous example codes (C Language) is also included.
Level/Prerequisites: This tutorial is ideal for those who are new to parallel programming
with pthreads. A basic understanding of parallel programming in C is required. For those
who are unfamiliar with Parallel Programming in general, the material covered
in EC3500: Introduction to Parallel Computing would be helpful.

Pthreads Overview
What is a Thread?
Technically, a thread is defined as an independent stream of instructions that can be
scheduled to run as such by the operating system. But what does this mean?
To the software developer, the concept of a “procedure” that runs independently from
its main program may best describe a thread.
To go one step further, imagine a program that contains a number of procedures. Then
imagine all of these procedures being able to be scheduled to run simultaneously and/or
independently by the operating system. That would describe a “multi-threaded”
program.
How is this accomplished?
Before understanding a thread, one first needs to understand a UNIX process. A process
is created by the operating system, and requires a fair amount of “overhead”. Processes
contain information about program resources and program execution state, including:

 Identifying information (e.g. process ID and user ID)

 Environment variables
 Working directory
 Program instructions
 CPU state (e.g. registers, fault info)
  Memory allocation (stack and heap)
 File descriptors
 Signal actions
 Shared libraries
 Inter-process communication related information (such as message queues,
pipes, semaphores, or shared memory).

Unix process
Threads within a unix process
Threads use and exist within these process resources, yet are able to be scheduled by
the operating system and run as independent entities. To accomplish this, threads only
hold the bare essential resources that enable them to exist as executable code, such as:

 Stack pointer
 Registers
 Scheduling properties (such as policy or priority)
 Set of pending and blocked signals
 Thread-specific data

So, in summary, in the UNIX environment a thread:

 Exists within a process and uses the process resources

 Has its own independent control flow as long as its parent process exists and the
OS supports it
 Duplicates only the essential resources it needs to be independently schedulable,
making it lightweight
 May share the process resources with other threads

Because threads within the same process share resources:

 Changes made by one thread to shared system resources (such as closing a file)
will be seen by all other threads
 Two pointers having the same value point to the same data
 Reading and writing to the same memory locations is possible, and therefore
requires explicit synchronization by the programmer
What are Pthreads?
Pthreads Overview: What are Pthreads?
Historically, hardware vendors have implemented their own proprietary versions of
threads. These implementations differed substantially from each other making it difficult
for programmers to develop portable threaded applications.
In order to take full advantage of the capabilities provided by threads, a standardized
programming interface was required.

 For UNIX systems, this interface has been specified by the IEEE POSIX 1003.1c
standard (1995).
 Implementations adhering to this standard are referred to as POSIX threads, or
Pthreads.
 Most hardware vendors now offer Pthreads in addition to their proprietary API’s.

The POSIX standard has continued to evolve and undergo revisions, including the
Pthreads specification.
Some useful links:

 standards.ieee.org/findstds/standard/1003.1-2008.html
 www.opengroup.org/austin/papers/posix_faq.html

Pthreads are defined as a set of C language programming types and procedure calls,
implemented with a pthread.h header/include file and a thread library - though this
library may be part of another library, such as libc, in some implementations.

Why Pthreads?
Pthreads Overview: Why Pthreads?

Lightweight:
When compared to processes, threads can be created and managed with much less
overhead from the operating system.
For example, the following table compares timing results for the fork() subroutine and
the pthread_create() subroutine. Timings reflect 50,000 process/thread creations, were
performed with the time utility, and units are in seconds, no optimization flags.
Note: don’t expect the system and user times to add up to real time, because these are
SMP systems with multiple CPUs/cores working on the problem at the same time. At
best, these are approximations run on local machines, past and present.
 fork() pthread_create()
Platform
real use sys real user sys
r

Intel 2.6 GHz Xeon E5-2670 (16 cores/node) 8.1 0.1 2.9 0.9 0.2 0.3

Intel 2.8 GHz Xeon 5660 (12 cores/node) 4.4 0.4 4.3 0.7 0.2 0.5

AMD 2.3 GHz Opteron (16 cores/node) 12.5 1.0 12.5 1.2 0.2 1.3

AMD 2.4 GHz Opteron (8 cores/node) 17.6 2.2 15.7 1.4 0.3 1.3

IBM 4.0 GHz POWER6 (8 cpus/node) 9.5 0.6 8.8 1.6 0.1 0.4

IBM 1.9 GHz POWER5 p5-575 (8 64.2 30.7 27.6 1.7 0.6 1.1
cpus/node)

IBM 1.5 GHz POWER4 (8 cpus/node) 104.5 48.6 47.2 2.1 1.0 1.5

INTEL 2.4 GHz Xeon (2 cpus/node) 54.9 1.5 20.8 1.6 0.7 0.9

INTEL 1.4 GHz Itanium2 (4 cpus/node) 54.5 1.1 22.2 2.0 1.2 0.6

Efficient Communications/Data Exchange:

Pthreads can be used to achieve optimum performance in a high performance
computing environment. In particular, if an application is using MPI for on-node
communications, there is a potential that performance could be improved by using
Pthreads instead.
MPI libraries usually implement on-node task communication via shared memory, which
involves at least one memory copy operation (process to process).
For Pthreads there is no intermediate memory copy required because threads share the
same address space within a single process. There is no data transfer, per se. It can be
as efficient as simply passing a pointer.
In the worst case scenario, Pthreads communications become more of a cache-to-CPU
or memory-to-CPU bandwidth issue. These speeds are much higher than MPI shared
memory communications.

Other Common Reasons:

Threaded applications offer potential performance gains and practical advantages over
non-threaded applications in several other ways:
  Overlapping CPU work with I/O: For example, a program may have sections where
it is performing a long I/O operation. While one thread is waiting for an I/O system
call to complete, CPU intensive work can be performed by other threads.
 Priority/real-time scheduling: tasks which are more important can be scheduled
to supersede or interrupt lower priority tasks.
 Asynchronous event handling: tasks which service events of indeterminate
frequency and duration can be interleaved. For example, a web server can both
transfer data from previous requests and manage the arrival of new requests.

A perfect example is the typical web browser, where many tasks varying in priority
should be happening at the same time, and thus can be interleaved.
Another good example is a modern operating system, which makes extensive use of
threads. A screenshot of the MS Windows OS and applications using threads is shown
below.

Designing Threaded Programs

Pthreads Overview: Designing Threaded Programs

Parallel Programming
On modern, multi-core machines, pthreads are ideally suited for parallel programming,
and whatever applies to parallel programming in general, applies to parallel pthreads
programs.
There are many considerations for designing parallel programs, such as:

 Parallel programming model

 Problem partitioning
 Load balancing
 Communications
 Data dependencies
 Synchronization and race conditions
 Memory issues
 I/O issues
 Program complexity
 Programmer effort/costs/time

Covering these topics is beyond the scope of this tutorial, however interested readers
can obtain a quick overview in the Introduction to Parallel Computing tutorial.
In general though, in order for a program to take advantage of Pthreads, it must be able
to be organized into discrete, independent tasks which can execute concurrently. For
example, if two routines can be interchanged, interleaved and/or overlapped in real
time, they are candidates for threading.

Programs having the following characteristics may be well suited for pthreads:

 Block for potentially long I/O waits

 Use many CPU cycles in some places but not others
 Must respond to asynchronous events
 Some work is more important than other work (priority interrupts)

Several common models for threaded programs exist:

  Manager/worker: a single-threaded manager assigns work to other threads, the
workers. Typically, the manager handles all input and parcels out work to the
other tasks. At least two forms of the manager/worker model are common: static
worker pool and dynamic worker pool.
 Pipeline: a task is broken into a series of suboperations, each of which is
handled in sequence, but concurrently, by a different thread. An automobile
assembly line best describes this model.
 Peer: similar to the manager/worker model, but after the main thread creates
other threads, it participates in the work.

Shared Memory Model

All threads have access to the same global, shared memory, but threads also have their
own private data. Programmers are responsible for synchronizing (and protecting)
access to globally shared data.
Thread-safeness
Thread-safeness, in a nutshell, refers to an application’s ability to execute multiple
threads simultaneously without “clobbering” shared data or creating race conditions.
For example, suppose that your application creates several threads, each of which
makes a call to the same library routine:

 This library routine accesses/modifies a global structure or location in memory.

 As each thread calls this routine it is possible that they may try to modify this
global structure/memory location at the same time.
 If the routine does not employ some sort of synchronization constructs to prevent
data corruption, then it is not thread-safe.

The implication to users of external library routines is that if you aren’t 100% certain the
routine is thread-safe, then you take your chances with problems that could arise.
Recommendation: Be careful if your application uses libraries or other objects that don’t
explicitly guarantee thread-safeness. When in doubt, assume that they are not thread-
safe until proven otherwise. This can be done by “serializing” the calls to the uncertain
routine, etc.

Thread Limits
Although the Pthreads API is an ANSI/IEEE standard, implementations can, and usually
do, vary in ways not specified by the standard. Because of this, a program that runs fine
on one platform, may fail or produce wrong results on another platform. For example,
the maximum number of threads permitted, and the default thread stack size are two
important limits to consider when designing your program.
Several thread limits are discussed in more detail later in this tutorial.

3 The Pthreads API

The Pthreads API
The original Pthreads API was defined in the ANSI/IEEE POSIX 1003.1 - 1995 standard. The
POSIX standard has continued to evolve and undergo revisions, including the Pthreads
specification.
Copies of the standard can be purchased from IEEE or downloaded for free from other sites
online.
The subroutines which comprise the Pthreads API can be informally grouped into four major
groups:

 Thread management: Routines that work directly on threads - creating, detaching,

joining, etc. They also include functions to set/query thread attributes (joinable,
scheduling etc.)
 Mutexes: Routines that deal with the mutex (short for mutual exclusion) synchronization
primitive. Those functions allow creating, destroying, locking and unlocking mutexes.
They are supplemented by attribute functions that set or modify attributes associated
with mutexes.
 Condition variables: Routines that address communications between threads that share
a mutex. Based upon programmer specified conditions. This group includes functions to
create, destroy, wait and signal based upon specified variable values. Functions to
set/query condition variable attributes are also included.
 Synchronization: Routines that manage read/write locks and barriers.

Naming conventions: All identifiers in the threads library begin with pthread_. Some examples
are shown below.

Routine Prefix Functional Group

pthread_ Threads themselves and miscellaneous subroutines

pthread_attr_ Thread attributes objects

pthread_mutex_ Mutexes

pthread_mutexattr
Mutex attributes objects
_

pthread_cond_ Condition variables

pthread_condattr_ Condition attributes objects

pthread_key_ Thread-specific data keys

pthread_rwlock_ Read/write locks

 Routine Prefix Functional Group

pthread_barrier_ Synchronization barriers

The concept of opaque objects pervades the design of the API. The basic calls work to create or
modify opaque objects - the opaque objects can be modified by calls to attribute functions, which
deal with opaque attributes.
The Pthreads API contains around 100 subroutines. This tutorial will focus on a subset of these -
specifically, those which are most likely to be immediately useful to the beginning Pthreads
programmer.
For portability, the pthread.h header file should be included in each source file using the
Pthreads library.
The current POSIX standard is defined only for the C language. Fortran programmers can use
wrappers around C function calls. Some Fortran compilers may provide a Fortran pthreads API.
A number of excellent books about Pthreads are available. Several of these are listed in
the References section of this tutorial.

Compiling Threaded Programs

Compiling Threaded Programs
Several examples of commands used to compile code that uses pthreads are listed in
the table below.

Compiler / Platform Compiler Command Description

INTEL icc -pthread C

Linux
icpc -pthread C++

PGI pgcc -lpthread C

Linux
pgCC -lpthread C++

GNU gcc -pthread GNU C

Linux, Blue Gene
g++ -pthread GNU C++

IBM bgxlc_r / bgcc_r C (ANSI / non-ANSI)

Blue Gene
bgxlC_r, bgxlc++_r C++
Thread Management
Creating and Terminating Threads
Thread Management: Creating and Terminating Threads

Routines:
pthread_create(thread, attr, start_routine, arg)
pthread_exit(status)
pthread_cancel(thread)
pthread_attr_init(attr)
pthread_attr_destroy(attr)

Creating Threads:
Initially, your main() program comprises a single, default thread. All other threads must
be explicitly created by the programmer. pthread_create creates a new thread and
makes it executable. This routine can be called any number of times from anywhere
within your code.
pthread_create arguments:

 thread: An opaque, unique identifier for the new thread returned by the
subroutine.
 attr: An opaque attribute object that may be used to set thread attributes. You
can specify a thread attributes object, or NULL for the default values.
 start_routine: the C routine that the thread will execute once it is created.
 arg: A single argument that may be passed to start_routine. It must be passed by
reference as (void *). NULL may be used if no argument is to be passed.

The maximum number of threads that may be created by a process is implementation

dependent. Programs that attempt to exceed the limit can fail or produce wrong results.

Thread limits
The next examples show how to query and set your implementation’s thread limit on
Linux. First we query the default (soft) limits and then set the maximum number of
processes (including threads) to the hard limit. Then we verify that the limit has been
overridden.
bash / ksh / sh example

$ ulimit -a
core file size (blocks, -c) 16
data seg size (kbytes, -d) unlimited
scheduling priority (-e) 0
file size (blocks, -f) unlimited
pending signals (-i) 255956
max locked memory (kbytes, -l) 64
max memory size (kbytes, -m) unlimited
open files (-n) 1024
pipe size (512 bytes, -p) 8
POSIX message queues (bytes, -q) 819200
real-time priority (-r) 0
stack size (kbytes, -s) unlimited
cpu time (seconds, -t) unlimited
max user processes (-u) 1024
virtual memory (kbytes, -v) unlimited
file locks (-x) unlimited

$ ulimit -Hu
7168

$ ulimit -u 7168

$ ulimit -a
core file size (blocks, -c) 16
data seg size (kbytes, -d) unlimited
scheduling priority (-e) 0
file size (blocks, -f) unlimited
pending signals (-i) 255956
max locked memory (kbytes, -l) 64
max memory size (kbytes, -m) unlimited
open files (-n) 1024
pipe size (512 bytes, -p) 8
POSIX message queues (bytes, -q) 819200
real-time priority (-r) 0
stack size (kbytes, -s) unlimited
cpu time (seconds, -t) unlimited
max user processes (-u) 7168
virtual memory (kbytes, -v) unlimited
file locks (-x) unlimited

tcsh/csh example

% limit
cputime unlimited
filesize unlimited
datasize unlimited
stacksize unlimited
coredumpsize 16 kbytes
memoryuse unlimited
vmemoryuse unlimited
descriptors 1024
memorylocked 64 kbytes
maxproc 1024

% limit maxproc unlimited

% limit
cputime unlimited
filesize unlimited
datasize unlimited
stacksize unlimited
coredumpsize 16 kbytes
memoryuse unlimited
vmemoryuse unlimited
descriptors 1024
memorylocked 64 kbytes
maxproc 7168

Once created, threads are peers, and may create other threads. There is no implied
hierarchy or dependency between threads.
Thread Attributes:
By default, a thread is created with certain attributes. Some of these attributes can be
changed by the programmer via the thread attribute object.
pthread_attr_init and pthread_attr_destroy are used to initialize/destroy the thread attribute
object.
Other routines are then used to query/set specific attributes in the thread attribute
object. Attributes include:

 Detached or joinable state

 Scheduling inheritance
 Scheduling policy
 Scheduling parameters
 Scheduling contention scope
 Stack size
 Stack address
 Stack guard (overflow) size
 Some of these attributes will be discussed later.

Thread Binding and Scheduling:

Question: After a thread has been created, how do you know a) when it will be
scheduled to run by the operating system, and b) which processor/core it will run on?

Click for answer

The Pthreads API provides several routines that may be used to specify how threads are
scheduled for execution. For example, threads can be scheduled to run FIFO (first-in
first-out), RR (round-robin) or OTHER (operating system determines). It also provides the
ability to set a thread’s scheduling priority value.
These topics are not covered here, however a good overview of “how things work”
under Linux can be found in the sched_setscheduler man page.
The Pthreads API does not provide routines for binding threads to specific cpus/cores.
However, local implementations may include this functionality - such as providing the
non-standard pthread_setaffinity_np routine. Note that “_np” in the name stands for
“non-portable”.
Also, the local operating system may provide a way to do this. For example, Linux
provides the sched_setaffinity routine.

Terminating Threads & pthread_exit()

There are several ways in which a thread may be terminated:

 The thread returns normally from its starting routine. Its work is done.
 The thread makes a call to the pthread_exit subroutine - whether its work is done
or not.
 The thread is canceled by another thread via the pthread_cancel routine.
 The entire process is terminated due to making a call to either the exec() or exit()
 If main() finishes first, without calling pthread_exit explicitly itself

The pthread_exit() routine allows the programmer to specify an optional termination

status parameter. This optional parameter is typically returned to threads “joining” the
terminated thread (covered later).
In subroutines that execute to completion normally, you can often dispense with
calling pthread_exit() - unless, of course, you want to get the routine’s return value.
Cleanup: the pthread_exit() routine does not close files; any files opened inside the
thread will remain open after the thread is terminated.
Discussion on calling pthread_exit() from main():
 There is a definite problem if main() finishes before the threads it spawned if you
don’t call pthread_exit() explicitly. All of the threads it created will terminate
because main() is done and no longer exists to support the threads.
 By having main() explicitly call pthread_exit() as the last thing it does, main() will
block and be kept alive to support the threads it created until they are done.

Example: Pthread Creation and Termination

This simple example code creates 5 threads with the pthread_create() routine. Each
thread prints a “Hello World!” message. Then, it terminates with a call to pthread_exit().

#include <pthread.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#define NUM_THREADS 5

void *PrintHello(void *threadid)

{
long tid;
 tid = (long)threadid;
printf("Hello World! It's me, thread #%ld!\n", tid);
pthread_exit(NULL);
}

int main (int argc, char *argv[])

{
pthread_t threads[NUM_THREADS];
int rc;
long t;
for(t = 0; t < NUM_THREADS; t++) {
printf("In main: creating thread %ld\n", t);
rc = pthread_create(&threads[t], NULL, PrintHello, (void *)t);
if (rc) {
printf("ERROR; return code from pthread_create() is %d\n", rc);
exit(-1);
}
}

/* Last thing that main() should do */

pthread_exit(NULL);
}

Output:

In main: creating thread 0

In main: creating thread 1
Hello World! It's me, thread #0!
In main: creating thread 2
Hello World! It's me, thread #1!
Hello World! It's me, thread #2!
In main: creating thread 3
In main: creating thread 4
Hello World! It's me, thread #3!
Hello World! It's me, thread #4!

Passing Arguments to Threads

The pthread_create() routine allows the programmer to pass one argument to the thread start
routine. For cases where multiple arguments must be passed, this limitation is easily overcome
by creating a structure containing all of the arguments, then passing a pointer to that structure in
the pthread_create() routine.
All arguments must be passed by reference and cast to (void *).
Question: Given their non-deterministic start-up and scheduling, how can you safely pass data to
newly created threads?
Answer (Click to view.)*Make sure that all passed data is thread safe - that it can not be changed
by other threads. The three examples that follow demonstrate dos and don'ts.*
Example 1 - Thread Argument Passing

This code fragment demonstrates how to pass a simple integer to each thread. The calling thread
uses a unique data structure for each thread, ensuring that each thread’s argument remains intact
throughout the program.

long taskids[NUM_THREADS];

for(t = 0; t < NUM_THREADS; t++)

{
taskids[t] = t;
printf("Creating thread %ld\n", t);
rc = pthread_create(&threads[t], NULL, PrintHello, (void *) taskids[t]);
/* ... */
}

See the source code.

Output:

Creating thread 0
Creating thread 1
Creating thread 2
Creating thread 3
Creating thread 4
Creating thread 5
Creating thread 6
Creating thread 7
Thread 0: English: Hello World!
Thread 1: French: Bonjour, le monde!
Thread 2: Spanish: Hola al mundo
Thread 3: Klingon: Nuq neH!
Thread 4: German: Guten Tag, Welt!
Thread 5: Russian: Zdravstvytye, mir!
Thread 6: Japan: Sekai e konnichiwa!
Thread 7: Latin: Orbis, te saluto!

Example 2 - Thread Argument Passing

This example shows how to setup/pass multiple arguments via a structure. Each thread receives a
unique instance of the structure.

struct thread_data{
int thread_id;
int sum;
char *message;
};

struct thread_data thread_data_array[NUM_THREADS];

void *PrintHello(void *threadarg)

{
struct thread_data *my_data;
...
my_data = (struct thread_data *) threadarg;
taskid = my_data->thread_id;
sum = my_data->sum;
hello_msg = my_data->message;
...
}
int main (int argc, char *argv[])
{
...
thread_data_array[t].thread_id = t;
thread_data_array[t].sum = sum;
thread_data_array[t].message = messages[t];
rc = pthread_create(&threads[t], NULL, PrintHello,
(void *) &thread_data_array[t]);
...
}

See the source code.

Output:

Creating thread 0
Creating thread 1
Creating thread 2
Creating thread 3
Creating thread 4
Creating thread 5
Creating thread 6
Creating thread 7
Thread 0: English: Hello World! Sum=0
Thread 1: French: Bonjour, le monde! Sum=1
Thread 2: Spanish: Hola al mundo Sum=3
Thread 3: Klingon: Nuq neH! Sum=6
Thread 4: German: Guten Tag, Welt! Sum=10
Thread 5: Russian: Zdravstvytye, mir! Sum=15
Thread 6: Japan: Sekai e konnichiwa! Sum=21
Thread 7: Latin: Orbis, te saluto! Sum=28
Example 3 - Thread Argument Passing (Incorrect)

This example performs argument passing incorrectly. It passes the address of variable t, which is
shared memory space and visible to all threads. As the loop iterates, the value of this memory
location changes, possibly before the created threads can access it.

int rc;
long t;

for(t=0; t<NUM_THREADS; t++)

{
printf("Creating thread %ld\n", t);
rc = pthread_create(&threads[t], NULL, PrintHello, (void *) &t);
...
}

See the source code.

Output:

Creating thread 0
Creating thread 1
Creating thread 2
Creating thread 3
Creating thread 4
Creating thread 5
Creating thread 6
Creating thread 7
Hello from thread 140737488348392
Hello from thread 140737488348392
Hello from thread 140737488348392
Hello from thread 140737488348392
Hello from thread 140737488348392
Hello from thread 140737488348392
Hello from thread 140737488348392
Hello from thread 140737488348392
Joining and Detaching Threads
Routines:
pthread_join(thread, status)
pthread_detach(thread)
pthread_attr_setdetachstate(attr, detachstate)
pthread_attr_getdetachstate(attr)

Joining:
“Joining” is one way to accomplish synchronization between threads. For example:

The pthread_join() subroutine blocks the calling thread until the specified thread terminates.
The programmer is able to obtain the target thread’s termination status if it was specified in the
target thread’s call to pthread_exit().
A thread can only be joined once. It is a logical error to attempt multiple joins on the same
thread.
Two other synchronization methods, mutexes and condition variables, will be discussed later.

Joinable or Not?
When a thread is created, one of its attributes defines whether it is joinable or detached. Only
threads that are created as joinable can be joined. If a thread is created as detached, it can never
be joined.
The final draft of the POSIX standard specifies that threads should be created as joinable.
To explicitly create a thread as joinable or detached, the attr argument in
the pthread_create() routine is used. The typical 4-step process is:

 Declare a pthread attribute variable of the pthread_attr_t data type

 Initialize the attribute variable with pthread_attr_init()
  Set the attribute detached status with pthread_attr_setdetachstate()
 When done, free library resources used by the attribute with pthread_attr_destroy()

Detaching
The pthread_detach() routine can be used to explicitly detach a thread even though it was created
as joinable.
There is no converse routine.

Recommendations:
If a thread requires joining, consider explicitly creating it as joinable. This provides portability as
not all implementations may create threads as joinable by default.
If you know in advance that a thread will never need to join with another thread, consider
creating it in a detached state, as this may reduce overhead.

Pthreads Joining Example

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

#define NUM_THREADS 4

void *BusyWork(void *t)

{
int i;
long tid;
double result = 0.0;
tid = (long)t;
printf("Thread %ld starting...\n",tid);
for (i=0; i<1000000; i++)
{
result = result + sin(i) * tan(i);
}
printf("Thread %ld done. Result = %e\n", tid, result);
pthread_exit((void*) t);
}

int main (int argc, char *argv[])

{
pthread_t thread[NUM_THREADS];
pthread_attr_t attr;
int rc;
long t;
void *status;

/* Initialize and set thread detached attribute */

pthread_attr_init(&attr);
pthread_attr_setdetachstate(&attr, PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE);

for(t = 0; t < NUM_THREADS; t++) {

printf("Main: creating thread %ld\n", t);
rc = pthread_create(&thread[t], &attr, BusyWork, (void *)t);
if (rc) {
printf("ERROR; return code from pthread_create() is %d\n", rc);
exit(-1);
}
}

/* Free attribute and wait for the other threads */

pthread_attr_destroy(&attr);
for(t=0; t<NUM_THREADS; t++) {
rc = pthread_join(thread[t], &status);
if (rc) {
printf("ERROR; return code from pthread_join() is %d\n", rc);
exit(-1);
}
printf("Main: completed join with thread %ld having a status
of %ld\n",t,(long)status);
 }

printf("Main: program completed. Exiting.\n");

pthread_exit(NULL);
}

See the source code here.

Output:

Main: creating thread 0

Main: creating thread 1
Thread 0 starting...
Main: creating thread 2
Thread 1 starting...
Main: creating thread 3
Thread 2 starting...
Thread 3 starting...
Thread 1 done. Result = -3.153838e+06
Thread 0 done. Result = -3.153838e+06
Main: completed join with thread 0 having a status of 0
Main: completed join with thread 1 having a status of 1
Thread 3 done. Result = -3.153838e+06
Thread 2 done. Result = -3.153838e+06
Main: completed join with thread 2 having a status of 2
Main: completed join with thread 3 having a status of 3
Main: program completed. Exiting.

Stack Management
Routines:
pthread_attr_getstacksize(attr, stacksize)

pthread_attr_setstacksize (attr, addr, stacksize)

pthread_attr_getstackaddr(attr, stackaddr)
pthread_attr_setstackaddr(attr, stackaddr)

Preventing Stack Problems:

The POSIX standard does not dictate the size of a thread’s stack. This is implementation
dependent and varies.
Exceeding the default stack limit is often very easy to do, with the usual results:
program termination and/or corrupted data.
Safe and portable programs do not depend upon the default stack limit, but instead,
explicitly allocate enough stack for each thread by using
the pthread_attr_setstacksize routine.
The pthread_attr_getstackaddr and pthread_attr_setstackaddr routines can be used by
applications in an environment where the stack for a thread must be placed in some
particular region of memory.

Some Practical Examples at LC:

Default thread stack size varies greatly. The maximum size that can be obtained also
varies greatly, and may depend upon the number of threads per node.
Both past and present architectures are shown to demonstrate the wide variation in
default thread stack size.

Node #CPUs Memory (GB) Default Size

Architecture (bytes)

Intel Xeon E5-2670 16 32 2,097,152

Intel Xeon 5660 12 24 2,097,152

AMD Opteron 8 16 2,097,152

Intel IA64 4 8 33,554,432

Intel IA32 2 4 2,097,152

IBM Power5 8 32 196,608

IBM Power4 8 16 196,608

IBM Power3 16 16 98,304

Example: Stack Management

This example demonstrates how to query and set a thread’s stack size.

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

#define NTHREADS 4
#define N 1000
#define MEGEXTRA 1000000

pthread_attr_t attr;

void *dowork(void *threadid)

{
double A[N][N];
int i, j;
long tid;
size_t mystacksize;

tid = (long)threadid;
pthread_attr_getstacksize(&attr, &mystacksize);
printf("Thread %ld: stack size = %li bytes \n", tid, mystacksize);
for (i = 0; i < N; i++) {
for (j = 0; j < N; j++) {
A[i][j] = ((i * j) / 3.452) + (N - i);
}
}
pthread_exit(NULL);
}

int main(int argc, char *argv[])

{
pthread_t threads[NTHREADS];
size_t stacksize;
int rc;
long t;
 pthread_attr_init(&attr);
pthread_attr_getstacksize(&attr, &stacksize);
printf("Default stack size = %li\n", stacksize);

stacksize = sizeof(double)*N*N+MEGEXTRA;
printf("Amount of stack needed per thread = %li\n", stacksize);
pthread_attr_setstacksize (&attr, stacksize);

printf("Creating threads with stack size = %li bytes\n", stacksize);

for(t=0; t<NTHREADS; t++){
rc = pthread_create(&threads[t], &attr, dowork, (void *)t);
if (rc){
printf("ERROR; return code from pthread_create() is %d\n", rc);
exit(-1);
}
}
printf("Created %ld threads.\n", t);
pthread_exit(NULL);
}

Miscellaneous Routines
pthread_self()
pthread_equal(thread1, thread2)

pthread_self returns the unique, system assigned thread ID of the calling thread.

pthread_equal compares two thread IDs. If the two IDs are different 0 is returned,
otherwise a non-zero value is returned.
Note that for both of these routines, the thread identifier objects are opaque and can
not be easily inspected. Because thread IDs are opaque objects, the C language
equivalence operator (==) should not be used to compare two thread IDs against each
other, or to compare a single thread ID against another value.
pthread_once(once_control, init_routine)

pthread_once executes the init_routine exactly once in a process. The first call to this
routine by any thread in the process executes the given init_routine, without parameters.
Any subsequent calls will have no effect.
The init_routine routine is typically an initialization routine.
The once_control parameter is a synchronization control structure that requires
initialization prior to calling pthread_once. For example:

pthread_once_t once_control = PTHREAD_ONCE_INIT;`

6 Exercise 1
Overview:

 Login to an LC cluster using your workshop username and OTP token

 Copy the exercise files to your home directory
 Familiarize yourself with LC’s Pthreads environment
 Write a simple “Hello World” Pthreads program
 Successfully compile your program
 Successfully run your program - several different ways
 Review, compile, run and/or debug some related Pthreads programs (provided)

1. Login to the workshop machine

Workshops differ in how this is done. The instructor will go over this beforehand.

2. Copy the example files

In your home directory, create a pthreads subdirectory for the example codes, copy the
example codes and then cd into your pthreads subdirectory:

mkdir pthreads
cp /usr/global/docs/training/blaise/pthreads/* ~/pthreads
cd pthreads

3. List the contents of your pthreads subdirectory

You should notice a number of files as shown in the tables below.

File Name</span> Description</span>

arrayloops.c Data decomposition by loop distribution. Fortran example only works under IBM AIX:
arrayloops.f

condvar.c Condition variable example file. Similar to what was shown in the tutorial
 File Name</span> Description</span>

detached.c Demonstrates how to explicitly create pthreads in a detached state.

dotprod_mutex.c Mutex variable example using a dot product program. Both a serial and pthreads versi
dotprod_serial.c

hello.c Simple "Hello World" example

hello32.c "Hello World" pthreads program demonstrating thread scheduling behavior.

hello_arg1.c One correct way of passing the pthread_create() argument.

hello_arg2.c Another correct method of passing the pthread_create() argument, this time using a s

join.c Demonstrates how to explicitly create pthreads in a joinable state for portability purpo
parameter.

mpithreads_serial.c A "series" of programs which demonstrate the progression for a serial dot product cod
mpithreads_threads.c serial version, pthreads version, MPI version, hybrid version and a makefile.
mpithreads_mpi.c
mpithreads_both.c
mpithreads.makefile

4. Compilers - What’s Available?

 Visit the Compilers Currently Installed on LC Platforms webpage.
 Click on the name of the workshop Linux cluster (sierra) in the summary table
near the top of the page. This will take you to a table of available compilers.
 You can also view the available compilers in the Compilers section of the Linux
Clusters Overview tutorial.
 Now, in your cluster login window, try the use -l compilers command to display
available compilers. You should see GNU, Intel and PGI compilers - several
versions of each.
o Question: Which version is the default version?
o Answer: Use the dpkg-defaults command and look for the asterisk.
5. Create, compile and run a Pthreads “Hello world” program
 Using your favorite text editor (vi/vim, emacs, nedit, gedit, nano…) open a new
file - call it whatever you’d like.
 Create a simple Pthreads program that does the following:
o Includes the pthread.h header file
o Main program creates several threads, each of which executes a “print
hello” thread routine. The argument passed to that routine is their thread
ID.
o The thread’s “print hello” routine accepts the thread ID argument and
prints “hello world from thread #”. Then it calls pthread_exit to finish.
o Main program calls pthread_exit as the last thing it does If you need help,
see the provided hello.c file.
 Using your choice of compiler (see above section 4), compile your hello world
Pthreads program. This may take several attempts if there are any code errors.
For example:
 icc -pthread -o hello myhello.c
 pgcc -lpthread -o hello myhello.c
 gcc -pthread -o hello myhello.c

When you get a clean compile, proceed.

 Run your hello executable and notice its output. Is it what you expected? As a
comparison, you can compile and run the provided hello.c example program.
 Notes:
o For the remainder of this exercise, you can use the compiler command of
your choice unless indicated otherwise.
o Compilers will differ in which warnings they issue, but all can be ignored
for this exercise. Errors are different, of course.

6. Thread Scheduling
 Review the example code hello32.c. Note that it will create 32 threads.
A sleep(); statement has been introduced to help insure that all threads will be in
existence at the same time. Also, each thread performs actual work to
demonstrate how the OS scheduler behavior determines the order of thread
completion.
 Compile and run the program. Notice the order in which thread output is
displayed. Is it ever in the same order? How is this explained?

7. Argument Passing
 Review the hello_arg1.c and hello_arg2.c example codes. Notice how the single
argument is passed and how to pass multiple arguments through a structure.
 Compile and run both programs, and observe output.
 Now review, compile and run the bug3.c program. What’s wrong? How would you
fix it? See the explanation in the bug programs table above.
8. Thread Exiting
 Review, compile (for gcc include the -lm flag) and run the bug5.c program.
 What happens? Why? How would you fix it?
 See the explanation in the bug programs table above.

9. Thread Joining
 Review, compile (for gcc include the -lm flag) and run the join.c program.
 Modify the program so that threads send back a different return code - you pick.
Compile and run. Did it work?
 For comparison, review, compile (for gcc include the -lm flag) and run
the detached.c example code.
 Observe the behavior and note there is no “join” in this example.

10. Stack Management

 Review, compile and run the bug2.c program.
 What happens? Why? How would you fix it?
 See the explanation in the bug programs table above. Also review and try
out bug2fix.c program.

Mutex Variables
Mutex Variables Overview
Mutex is an abbreviation for “mutual exclusion”. Mutex variables are one of the primary
means of implementing thread synchronization and for protecting shared data when
multiple writes occur.
A mutex variable acts like a “lock” protecting access to a shared data resource. The
basic concept of a mutex as used in Pthreads is that only one thread can lock (or own) a
mutex variable at any given time. Thus, even if several threads try to lock a mutex only
one thread will be successful. No other thread can own that mutex until the owning
thread unlocks that mutex. Threads must “take turns” accessing protected data.
Mutexes can be used to prevent “race” conditions. An example of a race condition
involving a bank transaction is shown below:

Thread 1 Thread 2 Balance

Read balance: $1000 $1000

Read balance: $1000 $1000

Deposit $200 $1000

Deposit $200 $1000

 Thread 1 Thread 2 Balance

Update balance $1000+ $1200

$200

Update balance $1000+ $1200

$200
In the above example, a mutex should be used to lock the “Balance” while a thread is
using this shared data resource.
Mutex are usually used when updating global variables. This is a safe way to ensure
that when several threads update the same variable, the final value is the same as what
it would be if only one thread performed the update. The variables being updated
belong to a critical section.
A typical sequence in the use of a mutex is as follows:

 Create and initialize a mutex variable

 Several threads attempt to lock the mutex
 Only one succeeds and that thread owns the mutex
 The owner thread performs some set of actions
 The owner unlocks the mutex
 Another thread acquires the mutex and repeats the process
 Finally the mutex is destroyed

When several threads compete for a mutex, the losers block at that call - a non-blocking
call is available with “trylock” instead of the “lock” call.
When protecting shared data, it is the programmer’s responsibility to make sure every
thread that needs to use a mutex does so. For example, if 4 threads are updating the
same data, but only one uses a mutex, the data can still be corrupted.

Creating and Destroying Mutexes

Routines:
pthread_mutex_init(mutex, attr)
pthread_mutex_destroy(mutex)
pthread_mutexattr_init(attr)
pthread_mutexattr_destroy(attr)

Usage:
Mutex variables must be declared with type pthread_mutex_t, and must be initialized
before they can be used. There are two ways to initialize a mutex variable:
1. Statically, when it is declared. For example:
pthread_mutex_t mymutex = PTHREAD_MUTEX_INITIALIZER;
 2. Dinamically, using pthread_mutex_init(). For example:
3. pthread_mutex_t mymutex;
4. pthread_mutex_init(&mymutex, NULL);

The mutex is initially unlocked.

The attr object is used to establish properties for the mutex object, and must be of type
pthread_mutexattr_t if used (may be specified as NULL to accept defaults). The Pthreads
standard defines three optional mutex attributes:

 Protocol: Specifies the protocol used to prevent priority inversions for a mutex.
 Prioceiling: Specifies the priority ceiling of a mutex.
 Process-shared: Specifies the process sharing of a mutex.

Note that not all implementations may provide the three optional mutex attributes.
The pthread_mutexattr_init() and pthread_mutexattr_destroy() routines are used to create
and destroy mutex attribute objects respectively.
pthread_mutex_destroy() should be used to free a mutex object which is no longer
needed.

Locking and Unlocking Mutexes

Routines:
pthread_mutex_lock(mutex)
pthread_mutex_trylock(mutex)
pthread_mutex_unlock(mutex)

Usage:
The pthread_mutex_lock() routine is used by a thread to acquire a lock on the specified mutex
variable. If the mutex is already locked by another thread, this call will block the calling thread
until the mutex is unlocked.
pthread_mutex_trylock() will attempt to lock a mutex. However, if the mutex is already locked,
the routine will return immediately with a “busy” error code. This routine may be useful in
preventing deadlock conditions, as in a priority-inversion situation.
pthread_mutex_unlock() will unlock a mutex if called by the owning thread. Calling this routine
is required after a thread has completed its use of protected data if other threads are to acquire the
mutex for their work with the protected data. An error will be returned if:

 If the mutex was already unlocked

 If the mutex is owned by another thread
There is nothing “magical” about mutexes…in fact they are akin to a “gentlemen’s agreement”
between participating threads. It is up to the programmer to ensure that all threads make lock and
unlock mutexes appropriately. The following scenario demonstrates a logical error:

Thread 1 Thread 2 Thread 3

Lock Lock
A=2 A = A+1 A = A*B
Unlock Unlock

Question: When more than one thread is waiting for a locked mutex, which thread will be
granted the lock first after it is released?
Click for answer.

Example: Using Mutexes

 This example program illustrates the use of mutex variables in a Pthreads
program that performs a dot product.
 The main data is made available to all threads through a globally accessible
structure.
 Each thread works on a different part of the data.
 The main thread waits for all the threads to complete their computations, and
then it prints the resulting sum.

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

/* The following structure contains the necessary information

* to allow the function "dotprod" to access its input data and
* place its output into the structure.
*/

typedef struct
{
double *a;
double *b;
double sum;
int veclen;
} DOTDATA;
/* Define globally accessible variables and a mutex */

#define NUMTHRDS 4
#define VECLEN 100

DOTDATA dotstr;
pthread_t callThd[NUMTHRDS];
pthread_mutex_t mutexsum;

/* The function dotprod is activated when the thread is created.

* All input to this routine is obtained from a structure
* of type DOTDATA and all output from this function is written into
* this structure. The benefit of this approach is apparent for the
* multi-threaded program: when a thread is created we pass a single
* argument to the activated function - typically this argument
* is a thread number. All the other information required by the
* function is accessed from the globally accessible structure.
*/

void *dotprod(void *arg)

{

/* Define and use local variables for convenience */

int i, start, end, len;

long offset;
double mysum, *x, *y;
offset = (long)arg;

len = dotstr.veclen;
start = offset * len;
end = start + len;
x = dotstr.a;
 y = dotstr.b;

/*
Perform the dot product and assign result
to the appropriate variable in the structure.
*/

mysum = 0;
for (i = start; i < end ; i++) {
mysum += (x[i] * y[i]);
}

/*
Lock a mutex prior to updating the value in the shared
structure, and unlock it upon updating.
*/
pthread_mutex_lock(&mutexsum);
dotstr.sum += mysum;
pthread_mutex_unlock(&mutexsum);

pthread_exit((void*) 0);
}

/* The main program creates threads which do all the work and then
* print out result upon completion. Before creating the threads,
* the input data is created. Since all threads update a shared structure,
* we need a mutex for mutual exclusion. The main thread needs to wait for
* all threads to complete, it waits for each one of the threads. We specify
* a thread attribute value that allow the main thread to join with the
* threads it creates. Note also that we free up handles when they are
* no longer needed.
*/
int main (int argc, char *argv[])
{
long i;
double *a, *b;
void *status;
pthread_attr_t attr;

/* Assign storage and initialize values */

a = (double*) malloc (NUMTHRDS * VECLEN * sizeof(double));
b = (double*) malloc (NUMTHRDS * VECLEN * sizeof(double));

for (i = 0; i < VECLEN * NUMTHRDS; i++) {

a[i] = 1.0;
b[i] = a[i];
}

dotstr.veclen = VECLEN;
dotstr.a = a;
dotstr.b = b;
dotstr.sum = 0;

pthread_mutex_init(&mutexsum, NULL);

/* Create threads to perform the dot product */

pthread_attr_init(&attr);
pthread_attr_setdetachstate(&attr, PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE);

for(i = 0; i < NUMTHRDS; i++) {

/* Each thread works on a different set of data. The offset is specified
* by 'i'. The size of the data for each thread is indicated by VECLEN.
*/
pthread_create(&callThd[i], &attr, dotprod, (void *)i);
}
 pthread_attr_destroy(&attr);

/* Wait on the other threads */

for(i = 0; i < NUMTHRDS; i++) {
pthread_join(callThd[i], &status);
}

/* After joining, print out the results and cleanup */

printf("Sum = %f\n", dotstr.sum);
free(a);
free(b);
pthread_mutex_destroy(&mutexsum);
pthread_exit(NULL);
}

Serial version: source

Parallel version: source

Condition Variables
Condition Variables Overview
Condition variables provide yet another way for threads to synchronize. While mutexes
implement synchronization by controlling thread access to data, condition variables allow
threads to synchronize based upon the actual value of data.
Without condition variables, the programmer would need to have threads continually polling
(possibly in a critical section), to check if the condition is met. This can be very resource
consuming since the thread would be continuously busy in this activity. A condition variable is a
way to achieve the same goal without polling.
A condition variable is always used in conjunction with a mutex lock.
A representative sequence for using condition variables is shown below.
Main Thread
Declare and initialize global data/variables which require
synchronization (such as "count")
Declare and initialize a condition variable object
Declare and initialize an associated mutex
Create threads A and B to do work

Thread A Thread B
Do work up to the point where a certain condition must occur (such as Do work
"count" must reach a specified value) Lock associated mutex
Lock associated mutex and check value of a global variable Change the value of the
Call pthread_cond_wait() to perform a blocking wait for signal from global variable that
Thread-B. Note that a call to pthread_cond_wait()automatically and Thread-A is waiting upon.
atomically unlocks the associated mutex variable so that it can be Check value of the global
used by Thread-B. Thread-A wait variable. If
When signalled, wake up. Mutex is automatically and atomically it fulfills the desired
locked. condition, signal Thread-
Explicitly unlock mutex A.
Continue Unlock mutex.
Continue

Main Thread
Join / Continue

Creating and Destroying Condition

Variables
Routines:
pthread_cond_init(condition, attr)
pthread_cond_destroy(condition)
pthread_condattr_init(attr)
pthread_condattr_destroy(attr)

Usage:
Condition variables must be declared with type pthread_cond_t, and must be initialized before
they can be used. There are two ways to initialize a condition variable:
1. Statically, when it is declared. For example: pthread_cond_t myconvar =
PTHREAD_COND_INITIALIZER;
2. Dynamically, with the pthread_cond_init() routine.
The ID of the created condition variable is returned to the calling thread through the
condition parameter. This method permits setting condition variable object attributes
(attr).
The optional attr object is used to set condition variable attributes. There is only one attribute
defined for condition variables: process-shared, which allows the condition variable to be seen
by threads in other processes. The attribute object, if used, must be of
type pthread_condattr_t (may be specified as NULL to accept defaults). Note that not all
implementations may provide the process-shared attribute.
The pthread_condattr_init() and pthread_condattr_destroy() routines are used to create and
destroy condition variable attribute objects.
pthread_cond_destroy() should be used to free a condition variable that is no longer needed.

Waiting and Signaling on Condition

Variables
Routines:
pthread_cond_wait(condition,mutex)
pthread_cond_signal(condition)
pthread_cond_broadcast(condition)

Usage:

 pthread_cond_wait() blocks the calling thread until the specified condition is

signalled. This routine should be called while mutex is locked, and it will
automatically release the mutex while it waits. After signal is received and thread
is awakened, mutex will be automatically locked for use by the thread. The
programmer is then responsible for unlocking mutex when the thread is finished
with it.
 Recommendation: Using a WHILE loop instead of an IF statement (see
watch_count routine in example below) to check the waited for condition can
help deal with several potential problems, such as:
o If several threads are waiting for the same wake up signal, they will take
turns acquiring the mutex, and any one of them can then modify the
condition they all waited for.
o If the thread received the signal in error due to a program bug
o The Pthreads library is permitted to issue spurious wake ups to a waiting
thread without violating the standard.
 The pthread_cond_signal() routine is used to signal (or wake up) another thread
which is waiting on the condition variable. It should be called after mutex is
locked, and must unlock mutex in order for pthread_cond_wait() routine to
complete.
 The pthread_cond_broadcast() routine should be used instead
of pthread_cond_signal() if more than one thread is in a blocking wait state.
 It is a logical error to call pthread_cond_signal() before calling pthread_cond_wait().
 Proper locking and unlocking of the associated mutex variable is essential when
using these routines. For example:
 o Failing to lock the mutex before calling pthread_cond_wait() may cause it
NOT to block.
o Failing to unlock the mutex after calling pthread_cond_signal() may not allow
a matching pthread_cond_wait() routine to complete (it will remain blocked).

Example: Using Condition Variables

 This simple example code demonstrates the use of several Pthread condition
variable routines.
 The main routine creates three threads.
 Two of the threads perform work and update a “count” variable.
 The third thread waits until the count variable reaches a specified value.

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

#define NUM_THREADS 3
#define TCOUNT 10
#define COUNT_LIMIT 12

int count = 0;
pthread_mutex_t count_mutex;
pthread_cond_t count_threshold_cv;

void *inc_count(void *t)

{
int i;
long my_id = (long)t;

for (i = 0; i < TCOUNT; i++) {

pthread_mutex_lock(&count_mutex);
count++;

/* Check the value of count and signal waiting thread when condition is
* reached. Note that this occurs while mutex is locked.
 */
if (count == COUNT_LIMIT) {
printf("inc_count(): thread %ld, count = %d -- threshold reached.",
my_id, count);
pthread_cond_signal(&count_threshold_cv);
printf("Just sent signal.\n");
}
printf("inc_count(): thread %ld, count = %d -- unlocking mutex\n",
my_id, count);
pthread_mutex_unlock(&count_mutex);

/* Do some work so threads can alternate on mutex lock */

sleep(1);
}
pthread_exit(NULL);
}

void *watch_count(void *t)

{
long my_id = (long)t;

printf("Starting watch_count(): thread %ld\n", my_id);

/* Lock mutex and wait for signal. Note that the pthread_cond_wait routine
* will automatically and atomically unlock mutex while it waits.
* Also, note that if COUNT_LIMIT is reached before this routine is run by
* the waiting thread, the loop will be skipped to prevent pthread_cond_wait
* from never returning.
*/
pthread_mutex_lock(&count_mutex);
while (count < COUNT_LIMIT) {
printf("watch_count(): thread %ld Count= %d. Going into wait...\n", my_id,count);
pthread_cond_wait(&count_threshold_cv, &count_mutex);
 printf("watch_count(): thread %ld Condition signal received. Count= %d\n", my_id,count);
}
printf("watch_count(): thread %ld Updating the value of count...\n", my_id);
count += 125;
printf("watch_count(): thread %ld count now = %d.\n", my_id, count);
printf("watch_count(): thread %ld Unlocking mutex.\n", my_id);
pthread_mutex_unlock(&count_mutex);
pthread_exit(NULL);
}

int main(int argc, char *argv[])

{
int i, rc;
long t1 = 1,
t2 = 2,
t3 = 3;
pthread_t threads[3];
pthread_attr_t attr;

/* Initialize mutex and condition variable objects */

pthread_mutex_init(&count_mutex, NULL);
pthread_cond_init (&count_threshold_cv, NULL);

/* For portability, explicitly create threads in a joinable state */

pthread_attr_init(&attr);
pthread_attr_setdetachstate(&attr, PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE);
pthread_create(&threads[0], &attr, watch_count, (void *)t1);
pthread_create(&threads[1], &attr, inc_count, (void *)t2);
pthread_create(&threads[2], &attr, inc_count, (void *)t3);

/* Wait for all threads to complete */

for (i = 0; i < NUM_THREADS; i++) {
pthread_join(threads[i], NULL);
 }
printf ("Main(): Waited and joined with %d threads. Final value of count = %d. Done.\n",
NUM_THREADS, count);

/* Clean up and exit */

pthread_attr_destroy(&attr);
pthread_mutex_destroy(&count_mutex);
pthread_cond_destroy(&count_threshold_cv);
pthread_exit (NULL);

Source
Output

Monitoring, Debugging, and

Performance Analysis for Pthreads
Monitoring and Debugging Pthreads

 Debuggers vary in their ability to handle Pthreads. The TotalView debugger is LC’s
recommended debugger for parallel programs. It is well suited for both monitoring and
debugging threaded programs.
 An example screenshot from a TotalView session using a threaded code is shown below.
1. Stack Trace Pane: Displays the call stack of routines that the selected thread is
executing.
2. Status Bars: Show status information for the selected thread and its associated
process.
3. Stack Frame Pane: Shows a selected thread’s stack variables, registers, etc.
4. Source Pane: Shows the source code for the selected thread.
5. Root Window showing all threads
6. Threads Pane: Shows threads associated with the selected process
 See the TotalView Debugger tutorial for details.
 The Linux ps command provides several flags for viewing thread information. Some
examples are shown below. See the man page for details.

% ps -Lf
UID PID PPID LWP C NLWP STIME TTY TIME CMD
 blaise 22529 28240 22529 0 5 11:31 pts/53 00:00:00 a.out
blaise 22529 28240 22530 99 5 11:31 pts/53 00:01:24 a.out
blaise 22529 28240 22531 99 5 11:31 pts/53 00:01:24 a.out
blaise 22529 28240 22532 99 5 11:31 pts/53 00:01:24 a.out
blaise 22529 28240 22533 99 5 11:31 pts/53 00:01:24 a.out

% ps -T
PID SPID TTY TIME CMD
22529 22529 pts/53 00:00:00 a.out
22529 22530 pts/53 00:01:49 a.out
22529 22531 pts/53 00:01:49 a.out
22529 22532 pts/53 00:01:49 a.out
22529 22533 pts/53 00:01:49 a.out

% ps -Lm
PID LWP TTY TIME CMD
22529 - pts/53 00:18:56 a.out
- 22529 - 00:00:00 -
- 22530 - 00:04:44 -
- 22531 - 00:04:44 -
- 22532 - 00:04:44 -
- 22533 - 00:04:44 -

LC’s Linux clusters also provide the top command to monitor processes on a node. If used with
the -H flag, the threads contained within a process will be visible. An example of the top -H
command is shown below. The parent process is PID 18010 which spawned three threads, shown
as PIDs 18012, 18013 and 18014.
Performance Analysis Tools:

 There are a variety of performance analysis tools that can be used with threaded
programs. Searching the web will turn up a wealth of information.
 At LC, the list of supported computing tools can be found
at: https://hpc.llnl.gov/software.
 These tools vary significantly in their complexity, functionality and learning curve.
Covering them in detail is beyond the scope of this tutorial.
 Some tools worth investigating, specifically for threaded codes, include:
o Open|SpeedShop
o TAU
o HPCToolkit
o PAPI
o Intel VTune Amplifier
o ThreadSpotter

LLNL Specific Information and

Recommendations
This section describes details specific to Livermore Computing’s systems.

Implementations:
All LC production systems include a Pthreads implementation that follows draft 10 (final)
of the POSIX standard. This is the preferred implementation. Implementations differ in
the maximum number of threads that a process may create. They also differ in the
default amount of thread stack space.

Compiling:
LC maintains a number of compilers, and usually several different versions of each - see
the LC’s Supported Compilers web page. The compiler commands described in the
Compiling Threaded Programs section apply to LC systems.

Mixing MPI with Pthreads:

This is the primary motivation for using Pthreads at LC.

Design:
Each MPI process typically creates and then manages N threads, where N makes the
best use of the available cores/node. Finding the best value for N will vary with the
platform and your application’s characteristics. In general, there may be problems if
multiple threads make MPI calls. The program may fail or behave unexpectedly. If MPI
calls must be made from within a thread, they should be made only by one thread.

Compiling:
Use the appropriate MPI compile command for the platform and language of choice Be
sure to include the required Pthreads flag as shown in the Compiling Threaded
Programs section. An example code that uses both MPI and Pthreads is available below.
The serial, threads-only, MPI-only and MPI-with-threads versions demonstrate one
possible progression.

 Serial
 Pthreads only
 MPI only
 MPI with pthreads
 makefile

Topics Not Covered

Several features of the Pthreads API are not covered in this tutorial. These are listed
below. See the Pthread Library Routines Reference section for more information.

 Thread Scheduling
o Implementations will differ on how threads are scheduled to run. In most
cases, the default mechanism is adequate.
o The Pthreads API provides routines to explicitly set thread scheduling
policies and priorities which may override the default mechanisms.
o The API does not require implementations to support these features.
 Keys: Thread-Specific Data
o As threads call and return from different routines, the local data on a
thread’s stack comes and goes.
 o To preserve stack data you can usually pass it as an argument from one
routine to the next, or else store the data in a global variable associated
with a thread.
o Pthreads provides another, possibly more convenient and versatile, way of
accomplishing this through keys.
 Mutex Protocol Attributes and Mutex Priority Management for the handling of
“priority inversion” problems.
o Condition Variable Sharing—across processes
o Thread Cancellation
o Threads and Signals
o Sychronization constructs—barriers and locks

Exercise 2
1. Mutexes

1. Review, compile and run the dotprod_serial.c program. As its name implies, it is
serial - no threads are created.
2. Now review, compile and run the dotprod_mutex.c program. This version of the
dotprod program uses threads and requires a mutex to protect the global sum as
each thread updates it with their partial sums.
3. Execute the dotprod_mutex program several times and notice that the order in
which threads update the global sum varies.
4. Review, compile and run the bug6.c program.
5. Run it several times and notice what the global sum is each time? See if you can
figure out why and fix it. The explanation is provided in the bug examples table
above, and an example solution is provided by the bug6fix.c program.
6. The arrayloops.c program is another example of using a mutex to protect
updates to a global sum. Feel free to review, compile and run this example code
as well.

2. Condition Variables

1. Review, compile and run the condvar.c program. This example is essentially the
same as the shown in the tutorial. Observe the output of the three threads.
2. Now, review, compile and run the bug1.c program. Observe the output of the five
threads. What happens? See if you can determine why and fix the problem. The
explanation is provided in the bug examples table above, and an example
solution is provided by the bug1fix.c program.
3. The bug4.c program is yet another example of what can go wrong when using
condition variables. Review, compile (for gcc include the -lm flag) and run the
code. Observe the output and then see if you can fix the problem. The
explanation is provided in the bug examples table above, and an example
solution is provided by the bug4fix.c program.

3. Hybrid MPI with Pthreads

1. Your pthreads directory should contain the following 5 codes:

  mpithreads_serial.c
 mpithreads_threads.c
 mpithreads_mpi.c
 mpithreads_both.c
 mpithreads.makefile

These codes implement a dot product calculation and are designed to show the
progression of developing a hybrid MPI / Pthreads program from a a serial code. The
problem size increases as the examples go from serial, to threads/mpi to mpi with
threads.
Suggestion: simply making and running this series of codes is rather unremarkable.
Using the available lab time to understand what is actually happening is the intent. The
instructor is available for your questions.

1. Review each of the codes. The order of the listing above shows the “progression”.
2. Use the provided makefile to compile all of the codes at once. The makefile uses
the gcc compiler - feel free to modify it and use a different compiler.
3. make -f mpithreads.makefile

4. Run each of the codes and observe their output:

Execution command Description

mpithreads_serial Serial version - no threads or MPI

mpithreads_threads Threads only version of the code using 8 threads

srun -n8 -ppReserved MPI only version with 8 tasks running on a single node in the
mpithreads_mpi
special workshop pool

srun -N4 -ppReserved MPI with threads using 4 tasks running on 4 different nodes,
mpithreads_both each of which spawns 8 threads, running in special workshop
pool

References and More Information

Original Author: Blaise Barney; Contact: [email protected], Livermore Computing.
"Pthreads Programming". B. Nichols et al. O'Reilly and Associates.
"Threads Primer". B. Lewis and D. Berg. Prentice Hall
"Programming With POSIX Threads". D. Butenhof. Addison Wesley
"Programming With Threads". S. Kleiman et al. Prentice Hall
Appendix A: Pthread Library
Routines Reference
For convenience, an alphabetical list of Pthread routines, linked to their corresponding
man page, is provided below.
pthread_atfork
pthread_attr_destroy
pthread_attr_getdetachstate
pthread_attr_getguardsize
pthread_attr_getinheritsched
pthread_attr_getschedparam
pthread_attr_getschedpolicy
pthread_attr_getscope
pthread_attr_getstack
pthread_attr_getstackaddr
pthread_attr_getstacksize
pthread_attr_init
pthread_attr_setdetachstate
pthread_attr_setguardsize
pthread_attr_setinheritsched
pthread_attr_setschedparam
pthread_attr_setschedpolicy
pthread_attr_setscope
pthread_attr_setstack
pthread_attr_setstackaddr
pthread_attr_setstacksize
pthread_barrier_destroy
pthread_barrier_init
pthread_barrier_wait
pthread_barrierattr_destroy
pthread_barrierattr_getpshared
pthread_barrierattr_init
pthread_barrierattr_setpshared
pthread_cancel
pthread_cleanup_pop
pthread_cleanup_push
pthread_cond_broadcast
pthread_cond_destroy
pthread_cond_init
pthread_cond_signal
pthread_cond_timedwait
pthread_cond_wait
pthread_condattr_destroy
pthread_condattr_getclock
pthread_condattr_getpshared
pthread_condattr_init
pthread_condattr_setclock
pthread_condattr_setpshared
pthread_create
pthread_detach
pthread_equal
pthread_exit
pthread_getconcurrency
pthread_getcpuclockid
pthread_getschedparam
pthread_getspecific
pthread_join
pthread_key_create
pthread_key_delete
pthread_kill
pthread_mutex_destroy
pthread_mutex_getprioceiling
pthread_mutex_init
pthread_mutex_lock
pthread_mutex_setprioceiling
pthread_mutex_timedlock
pthread_mutex_trylock
pthread_mutex_unlock
pthread_mutexattr_destroy
pthread_mutexattr_getprioceiling
pthread_mutexattr_getprotocol
pthread_mutexattr_getpshared
pthread_mutexattr_gettype
pthread_mutexattr_init
pthread_mutexattr_setprioceiling
pthread_mutexattr_setprotocol
pthread_mutexattr_setpshared
pthread_mutexattr_settype
pthread_once
pthread_rwlock_destroy
pthread_rwlock_init
pthread_rwlock_rdlock
pthread_rwlock_timedrdlock
pthread_rwlock_timedwrlock
pthread_rwlock_tryrdlock
pthread_rwlock_trywrlock
pthread_rwlock_unlock
pthread_rwlock_wrlock
pthread_rwlockattr_destroy
pthread_rwlockattr_getpshared
pthread_rwlockattr_init
pthread_rwlockattr_setpshared
pthread_self
pthread_setcancelstate
pthread_setcanceltype
pthread_setconcurrency
pthread_setschedparam
pthread_setschedprio
pthread_setspecific
pthread_sigmask
pthread_spin_destroy
pthread_spin_init
pthread_spin_lock
pthread_spin_trylock
pthread_spin_unlock
pthread_testcancel

https://hpc-tutorials.llnl.gov/posix/