C++ std::thread terminate called without an active exception Aborted - c++

Question

I have a code here that captures the video stream from a camera running the video capture operation in a separate thread. The code compiles but when I try to run it I am receiving the following error.
I did some research and found out that this problem is related to the absence of th.join(); but I already do this when the user interrupts the process by pressing the q key. Until then, the code should keep on running in the created thread. So this tells me that I should join the thread somewhere else.
If I remove the thread by replacing thread th(&VideoCaptureAsync::update, this); with VideoCaptureAsync::update(); and deleting th.join();, the error goes away but this obviously defeats the purpose of this code.
Output
Inside initiate function
(process:10748): GStreamer-CRITICAL **: gst_element_get_state:
assertion 'GST_IS_ELEMENT (element)' failed
Inside start function
Inside update function
terminate called without an active exception
Inside read function
Aborted (core dumped)
Code
/*
* Asynchronous_video_capture.cpp
*
* Copyright (C) 2019 C. S. G.
*
* MIT License
*/
#include <iostream> // for standard I/O
#include <string> // for strings
#include <opencv2/highgui.hpp>
#include <opencv2/core.hpp> // Basic OpenCV structures (cv::Mat)
#include <opencv2/videoio.hpp> // Video write
#include <opencv2/opencv.hpp>
#include <opencv2/core/utility.hpp>
#include <thread>
#include <tuple>
using namespace cv;
using namespace std;
void foo(bool &keep_run){
cout << "Inside the thread: Interrupt flag = " << keep_run << endl;
if (std::cin.get() == 'q') {
keep_run = false;
cout << "User Interrupted the process. Interrupt flag = " << keep_run << endl;
}
}
class VideoCaptureAsync
{
private:
VideoCapture cam;
thread th;
bool read_lock;
Mat frame;
Mat grabbed;
bool isStarted;
public:
void initiate(unsigned int camId, unsigned int width, unsigned int height, double fps);
void start(); // a start function to create and start the thread
void update(); // an update function that will be called asynchronously
tuple<Mat, Mat> read(); // a read function that we will call from our code to retrieve a new frame.
void stop(); // a stop function to stop (join) the thread
void exit(); // an __exit__ function to clean up some resources.
};
void VideoCaptureAsync::initiate(unsigned int camId, unsigned int width, unsigned int height, double fps){
cout << "Inside initiate function" << endl;
cam.open(camId);
if (!cam.isOpened())
{
cerr << "Could not open the VideoCapture camera: " << camId << endl;
}
cam.set(CV_CAP_PROP_FRAME_WIDTH, width);
cam.set(CV_CAP_PROP_FRAME_HEIGHT, height);
cam.set(CAP_PROP_FPS, fps);
isStarted = false;
read_lock = false;
VideoCaptureAsync::start();
}
void VideoCaptureAsync::start(){
cout << "Inside start function" << endl;
if (isStarted) {
cout << "Asynchroneous video capturing has already been started" << endl;
}
isStarted = true;
thread th(&VideoCaptureAsync::update, this);
//VideoCaptureAsync::update();
}
void VideoCaptureAsync::update(){
cout << "Inside update function" << endl;
while(isStarted){
Mat frame_update;
Mat grabbed_update;
tie(frame_update, grabbed_update) = VideoCaptureAsync::read();
if(!read_lock){
frame_update.copyTo(frame);
grabbed_update.copyTo(grabbed);
}
}
}
tuple<Mat, Mat> VideoCaptureAsync::read(){
cout << "Inside read function" << endl;
if (!read_lock){
read_lock = true;
Mat frame_read;
cam.read(frame_read);
Mat grabbed_read;
read_lock = false;
return make_tuple(frame_read, grabbed_read);
}
}
void VideoCaptureAsync::stop(){
cout << "Inside stop function" << endl;
th.join();
isStarted = false;
read_lock = true;
}
void VideoCaptureAsync::exit(){
cout << "Finished writing ..." << endl;
cam.release();
}
int main(int argc, char *argv[]){
const unsigned int camId = 1;
const bool enableOutput = true;
const unsigned int w = 1280;
const unsigned int h = 720;
double fps = 30.0;
VideoCaptureAsync obj;
obj.initiate(camId,w,h,fps);
bool keep_running = true;
thread th1(foo, std::ref(keep_running));
Mat original_frame;
while (keep_running) {
std::tie(std::ignore, original_frame) = obj.read();
if (enableOutput) {
imshow("Retrieved Image", original_frame);
waitKey(1000/fps);
}
}
obj.stop();
obj.exit();
}

Answer 1

In your start() method:
thread th(&VideoCaptureAsync::update, this);
This statement creates a new local object in the start() method called th, a brand new, fresh off the assembly line, std::thread object, and constructs it in a manner that creates a new execution thread.
Immediately afterwards, start() returns. This destroys this local object, invoking its destructor, and resulting in your exception.
Your obvious intent is to use the th class member in order to create a new execution thread, instead of creating a new local object in the start() method. But the above C++ syntax is a declaration. It declares a new object, and when used in side a function it creates a new local object (in automatic scope), that gets automatically destroyed at the end of the scope. That's how C++ works.
In order to have the new execution thread started from your existing class member:
th=thread{&VideoCaptureAsync::update, this};
(using modern C++'s uniform initialization syntax). For more information see "Delayed start of thread in C++11".