C++11 Threads Not Joining - c++

Question

I have experience with threads in Java but want to learn how to use them in C++11. I tried to make a simple threadpool, where threads are created once and can be asked to execute tasks.
#include <thread>
#include <iostream>
#define NUM_THREADS 2
class Worker
{
public:
Worker(): m_running(false), m_hasData(false)
{
};
~Worker() {};
void execute()
{
m_running = true;
while(m_running)
{
if(m_hasData)
{
m_system();
}
m_hasData = false;
}
};
void stop()
{
m_running = false;
};
void setSystem(const std::function<void()>& system)
{
m_system = system;
m_hasData = true;
};
bool isIdle() const
{
return !m_hasData;
};
private:
bool m_running;
std::function<void()> m_system;
bool m_hasData;
};
class ThreadPool
{
public:
ThreadPool()
{
for(int i = 0; i < NUM_THREADS; ++i)
{
m_threads[i] = std::thread(&Worker::execute, &m_workers[i]);
}
};
~ThreadPool()
{
for(int i = 0; i < NUM_THREADS; ++i)
{
std::cout << "Stopping " << i << std::endl;
m_workers[i].stop();
m_threads[i].join();
}
};
void execute(const std::function<void()>& system)
{
// Finds the first non-idle worker - not really great but just for testing
for(int i = 0; i < NUM_THREADS; ++i)
{
if(m_workers[i].isIdle())
{
m_workers[i].setSystem(system);
return;
}
}
};
private:
Worker m_workers[NUM_THREADS];
std::thread m_threads[NUM_THREADS];
};
void print(void* in, void* out)
{
char** in_c = (char**)in;
printf("%s\n", *in_c);
}
int main(int argc, const char * argv[]) {
ThreadPool pool;
const char* test_c = "hello_world";
pool.execute([&]() { print(&test_c, nullptr); });
}
The output of this is:
hello_world
Stopping 0
After that, the main thread halts, because it's waiting for the first thread to join (in the destructor of the ThreadPool). For some reason, the m_running variable of the workers is not set to false, which keeps the application running indefinitely.

Answer 1

In Worker::stop the member m_running is written in the main thread, while it is read in execute in a different thread. This is undefined behavior. You need to protect read/write access from different threads. In this case I would recommend using std::atomic<bool> for m_running.
Edit: the same holds for m_hasData.