C++ pthread member function [duplicate] - c++

This question already has answers here:
Closed 10 years ago.
Possible Duplicate:
pthread Function from a Class
I have this code that I can't get to compile because of the pthread_create line:
void* gtk_functor::_threaded_run(void* win)
{
Gtk::Window* w = static_cast<Gtk::Window*>(win);
Gtk::Main::run(*w);
delete w;
}
void gtk_functor::operator ()(Gtk::Window& win, bool threaded)
{
if (threaded)
{
pthread_t t_num;
pthread_create(&t_num, NULL, (void* (*)(void*))&gtk_functor::_threaded_run, static_cast<void*>(&win));
}
else
{
Gtk::Main::run(win);
}
}
This gcc line:
g++ -o main 'pkg-config --cflags --libs sqlite3 gtkmm-3.0' -lpthread main.cpp
does in the end compile with this output:
code/ui.cpp: In member function 'void ui::gtk_functor::operator()(Gtk::Window&, bool)':
code/ui.cpp:45:65: warning: converting from 'void* (ui::gtk_functor::*)(void*)' to 'void* (*)(void*)' [-Wpmf-conversions]
and apparently the code doesn't work correctly, I get sementation fault when the if (threaded) is raised.
I know its with the cast, but I don't know the correct form of passing a member function into pthread_create. Any suggestions?

Try making _threaded_run static. In the header:
private:
static void* _threaded_run(void*);
And in the implementation:
void* gtk_functor::_threaded_run(void* win) {
Gtk::Window* w = static_cast<Gtk::Window*>(win);
Gtk::Main::run(*w);
delete w;
}
Then when creating the thread:
pthread_create(&t_num, NULL, &gtk_functor::_threaded_run, static_cast<void*>(&win));

As #ildjarn suggests, just make a free function:
void * threaded_run(void * win)
{
Gtk::Window * const w = static_cast<Gtk::Window*>(win);
Gtk::Main::run(*w);
delete w;
}
// ...
pthread_create(&t_num, NULL, threaded_run, &win);
Since the function does not depend on the state of any particular gtk_functor object, there is no point in making it a member function.
In a hypothetical different world where you really would want an object's member function to be called in a separate thread, you need to pass the object reference for the object around somehow, usually via the argument void pointer:
struct Foo
{
void * run() { /* ... use state ... */ }
/* ... state ... */
};
Foo x;
pthread_t pt;
// start a new execution context with x.run():
pthread_create(&pt, NULL, FooInvoker, &x);
extern "C" void * FooInvoker(void * p)
{
return static_cast<Foo*>(p)->run();
}
In fact, you may even wish to package up more contextual information into some auxiliary structure and pass a void pointer to that to the thread invoker function.

Related

Pthread and function pointers

I am a little confused on how pthread works - specifically, I am pretty sure that pthread takes in a pointer to a function that takes a void pointer as an argument (correct me if I am wrong), and I have declared my function in that way, but I am still getting an error. Here is the code I am struggling with:
void eva::OSDAccessibility::_resumeWrapper(void* x)
{
logdbg("Starting Connection.");
_listener->resume();
logdbg("Connected.");
pthread_exit(NULL);
}
void eva::OSDAccessibility::resumeConnection()
{
long t;
_listener->setDelegate(_TD);
pthread_t threads[1];
pthread_create(&threads[0], NULL, &eva::OSDAccessibility::_resumeWrapper, (void *)t);
}
The error I'm getting is:
No matching function for call to pthread_create.
You don't necessarily have to tell me how to fix the code (although that would be appreciated of course), I'm more interested in why this error is coming up and if my understanding of pthread is correct. Thanks! :)
Your function signature must be void * function (void*)
If called from c++ code, the method must be static:
class myClass
{
public:
static void * function(void *);
}
A solution to use methods that are not static is the following:
class myClass
{
// the interesting function that is not an acceptable parameter of pthread_create
void * function();
public:
// the thread entry point
static void * functionEntryPoint(void *p)
{
((myClass*)p)->function();
}
}
And to launch the thread:
myClass *p = ...;
pthread_create(&tid, NULL, myClass::functionEntryPoint, p);

Invalid conversion in pthread_create c++ [duplicate]

This question already has answers here:
pthread function from a class
(9 answers)
Closed 9 years ago.
I have a class named qwerty and a function called compute_ans inside it which takes a void pointer and returns a void pointer. Now when I try to compile, the following statement throws an error
pthread_create (thread_a, NULL, compute_ans, (void*) struct_left);
The definition of the function is void* compute_ans (void* struct_input)
The error is
cannot convert ‘qwerty::compute_ans’ from type ‘void* (qwerty::)(void*)’ to type ‘void* ()(void)’*
You cannot convert a pointer to a non-static member function to a pointer to function, C++ does not allow it. The reason is that member functions take an implicit this pointer as a parameter. Essentially this changes the signature of your function to be something like void* compute_ans(qwerty*, void*). In order to pass the function to pthread_create you need to make the member function static.
class qwerty
{
public:
// ... other member functions and variables ...
// thread start function
static void* compute_ans(void*);
};
If you cannot make this a static member function you will need to pass a pointer to a qwerty object to the thread start function. Looking at the code in your question you also need to pass additional data to the thread function. To do this you can use an additional data structure that contains all the necessary data and pass a pointer to that instead.
class qwerty; // forward declaration
// Structure passed to pthread_create and our helper function
struct thread_data
{
qwerty* qptr; // pointer to qwerty object
void* data; // pointer to other data. change void to your data type.
};
class qwerty
{
public:
// thread start function
static void* start_compute_ans(void* param)
{
// get a pointer to the thread data
thread_data* tdata = static_cast<thread_data*>(param);
// Call the real compute_ans
tdata->qptr->compute_ans(tdata->data);
// Delete the data (use an appropriate smart pointer if possible)
delete tdata;
return NULL;
}
// the real
void compute_ans(void*)
{
// do stuff here
}
};
// Create our thread startup data
thread_data* tdata = new thread_data();
tdata->qptr = qwerty_pointer;
tdata->data = struct_left;
// start the thread data
pthread_create (thread_a, NULL, &qwerty::start_compute_ans, tdata);
You can find the answer here.
You should use static functions to pass to pthread.
class qwerty
{
public:
void compute_ans(void)
{
std::cout << "Compute result!" << std::endl;
return
}
static void hello_helper(void *context)
{
return ((qwerty *)context)->compute_answer();
}
};
...
qwerty c;
pthread_t t;
pthread_create(&t, NULL, &qwerty::hello_helper, &c);

error: argument of type ‘void* (Thread::)(void*)’ does not match ‘void* (*)(void*)’

I'm doing to implement thread class for my own using pthread. So, I create Thread class as below :
class Thread
{
public:
Thread()
{
}
virtual void* run(void *params) = 0;
void start(void *params)
{
pthread_create (&threadId, 0, run, params);
pthread_join (threadId, 0);
}
private:
pthread_t threadId;
};
After implementing this class and override virtual run function, I do compile this project. But error: argument of type ‘void* (Thread::)(void*)’ does not match ‘void* (*)(void*)’ occurs. What is wrong in my code?
Thanks in advance :)
Exactly what the compiler is telling you.
pthread_create is expecting a function with the signature :
void* (*)(void*)
Which is a function pointer.
However, you are providing something with this signature:
void* (Thread::)(void*)
Which is not a function pointer, but a pointer to member function. There is a difference : a pointer to member function needs an instance of an object in order to work properly (here, it would need an instance of Thread).
A usual solution would be to make your function run static : it would not be a member function anymore - it doesn't NEED an instance of Thread in order to work properly anymore, and you could pass your current instance as the last parameter of pthread_create in order to act on it once the thread is launched.
You would just need to save the parameters in the class itself.
public:
void start(void *params)
{
this->my_thread_params = params;
pthread_create (&threadId, 0, run, static_cast<void*>(this));
}
private:
static void *run(void *my_object)
{
// here, my_object already contains the params you passed to the function start
static_cast<Thread*>(my_object)->my_member_function();
}
pthread_create is a C function, and knows nothing of C++ member functions. You'll need to give it a static or non-member function, and pass a pointer to your Thread object via the final argument of pthread_create; something like:
class Thread
{
virtual void* run(void *params) = 0;
void start(void * params)
{
this->params = params;
pthread_create(&threadId, 0, &Thread::static_run, this);
}
static void * static_run(void * void_this)
{
Thread * thread_this = static_cast<Thread*>(void_this);
return thread_this->run(thread_this->params);
}
private:
pthread_t threadId;
void *params;
};
Of course in modern C++, this is rather more straightforward:
std::thread thread;
void start(void * params)
{
thread = std::thread([this]{run(params);});
}
(Although of course you shouldn't be using void* to pass your parameters, and there's probably no good reason to wrap the thread up in a class in the first place.)
The error message is telling you that a pointer to a member function in Thread that takes and returns a void* (void* (Thread::*)(void*)) is not convertible to a pointer to function taking and returning the same void*.
While the declaration of the member function may look similar to the type that you need, there is an implicit this pointer of type Thread that needs to be injected on any call to Thread::run

cannot convert '*void(MyClass::*)(void*) to void*(*)(void*) in pthread_create function

i'm trying to create a new thread with a class "CameraManager" but i have the following error:
cannot convert '*void(CameraManager:: * )(void*) to void*( * )(void*) in pthread_create function
i defined in the cameramanager.h file:
public:
void *dequeueLoop(void *ptr);
and in the cameramanager.cpp
void CameraManager::startDequeuing(){
dequeuing = true;
dequeueThreadId = pthread_create(&dequeueThread, NULL, &CameraManager::dequeueLoop, NULL);
}
void *CameraManager::dequeueLoop(void *ptr){
while(dequeuing){
highSpeedCamera->dequeue();
highSpeedCamera->enqueue();
}
I don't want to declare dequeueLoop as a static function i also tried to declare dequeueLoop as a class friend function in the following way but then it doesn't have scope on class variables 'highSpeedCamera' and 'dequeuing' and the compiler also tell me that 'dequeueLoop' was not declared in this scope
to make dequeueLoop a friend function i did:
cameramanager.h
public:
friend void *dequeueLoop(void *ptr);
cameramanager.cpp
void CameraManager::startDequeuing(){
dequeuing = true;
dequeueThreadId = pthread_create(&dequeueThread, NULL, &CameraManager::dequeueLoop, NULL);
}
void *dequeueLoop(void *ptr){
while(dequeuing){
highSpeedCamera->dequeue();
highSpeedCamera->enqueue();
}
}
Where i'm doing wrong?
I don't want to declare dequeueLoop as a static function
If you want to use pthreads, then you'll need a static or non-member function for the entry point. You can pass a pointer to your object to this function, using it as a trampoline into the non-static member function:
static void * dequeueEntry(void * self) {
return static_cast<CameraManager*>(self)->dequeueLoop();
}
dequeueThreadId = pthread_create(
&dequeueThread, NULL,
&CameraManager::dequeueEntry, // <-- pointer to trampoline function
this); // <-- pointer to object for member function
Alternatively, if you have a modern compiler, you could use the standard thread library instead:
std::thread thread(&CameraManager::dequeLoop, this);
If you want the function to be a member of the class, it must be static. It's because the thread function will be called directly and will not have a valid this pointer. This can be solved by having a wrapper function, that gets passed the actual object and then calls the proper member function:
void *dequeueLoopWrapper(void *p)
{
CameraManager *cameraManager = static_cast<CameraManager*>(p);
camereraManager->dequeueLoop();
return nullptr;
}
// ...
void CameraManager::startDequeuing()
{
dequeuing = true;
dequeueThreadId = pthread_create(&dequeueThread, NULL, dequeueLoopWrapper, this);
}
However, I would recommend you start using the threading support in the new standard library:
void CameraManager::startDequeuing()
{
dequeuing = true;
myThread = std::thread(&CameraManager::dequeueLoop, this);
}
You can't use a pointer to member function as a function pointer unless it's static. You'll have to make dequeueLoop a free function, or write a free function as a wrapper to it.
To access the class members in a free function, you should have the function pass it's this pointer as the final argument of pthread_create. Then have the free function cast it's argument to a pointer to the class.

Callback to non-static method

Think of your basic GLUT programs. They simply run from a main method and contain callbacks like `glutMouseFunc(MouseButton) where MouseButton is the name of a method.
What I have done is I have encapsulated the main file into a class, so that MouseButton is no longer a static function but has an instance. But doing this gives me a compilation error :
Error 2 error C3867: 'StartHand::MouseButton': function call missing argument list; use '&StartHand::MouseButton' to create a pointer to member c:\users\angeleyes\documents\visual studio 2008\projects\capstone ver 4\starthand.cpp 388 IK Engine
It is not possible to provide a code sample as the class is quite huge.
I have tried using this->MouseButton but that gives the same error. Can't a pointer to an instance function be given for callback?
As the error message says, you must use &StartHand::MouseButton syntax to get a pointer to a member function (ptmf); this is simply mandated as part of the language.
When using a ptmf, the function you are calling, glutMouseFunc in this case, must also expect to get a ptmf as a callback, otherwise using your non-static MouseButton won't work. Instead, a common technique is for callbacks to work with a user-supplied void* context, which can be the instance pointer—but the library doing the callbacks must explicitly allow this parameter. It's also important to make sure you match the ABI expected by the external library (the handle_mouse function below).
Since glut doesn't allow user-supplied context, you have to use another mechanism: associate your objects with glut's current window. It does provide a way to get the "current window", however, and I've used this to associate a void* with the window. Then you simply need to create a trampoline to do the type conversion and call the method.
Machinery:
#include <map>
int glutGetWindow() { return 0; } // make this example compile and run ##E##
typedef std::pair<void*, void (*)(void*,int,int,int,int)> MouseCallback;
typedef std::map<int, MouseCallback> MouseCallbacks;
MouseCallbacks mouse_callbacks;
extern "C" void handle_mouse(int button, int state, int x, int y) {
MouseCallbacks::iterator i = mouse_callbacks.find(glutGetWindow());
if (i != mouse_callbacks.end()) { // should always be true, but possibly not
// if deregistering and events arrive
i->second.second(i->second.first, button, state, x, y);
}
}
void set_mousefunc(
MouseCallback::first_type obj,
MouseCallback::second_type f
) {
assert(obj); // preconditions
assert(f);
mouse_callbacks[glutGetWindow()] = MouseCallback(obj, f);
//glutMouseFunc(handle_mouse); // uncomment in non-example ##E##
handle_mouse(0, 0, 0, 0); // pretend it's triggered immediately ##E##
}
void unset_mousefunc() {
MouseCallbacks::iterator i = mouse_callbacks.find(glutGetWindow());
if (i != mouse_callbacks.end()) {
mouse_callbacks.erase(i);
//glutMouseFunc(0); // uncomment in non-example ##E##
}
}
Example:
#include <iostream>
struct Example {
void MouseButton(int button, int state, int x, int y) {
std::cout << "callback\n";
}
static void MouseButtonCallback(
void* self, int button, int state, int x, int y
) {
static_cast<Example*>(self)->MouseButton(button, state, x, y);
}
};
int main() {
Example obj;
set_mousefunc(&obj, &Example::MouseButtonCallback);
return 0;
}
Notice that you don't call glutMouseFunc directly anymore; it is managed as part of [un]set_mousefunc.
Just in case it isn't clear: I've rewritten this answer so it should work for you and so that it avoids the C/C++ linkage issue being debated. It will compile and run as-is (without glut), and it should work with glut with only minor modification: comment or uncomment the 4 lines marked ##E##.
No, a pointer to an instance function can not be given to a callback function expecting a function pointer of a certain signature. Their signatures are different. It won't compile.
Generally such APIs allow you to pass in a void* as a "context" parameter. You pass in your object there, and write a wrapper function which takes the context as the callback. The wrapper casts it back to whatever class you were using, and calls the appropriate member function.
You can't replace a static callback with an instance one. When the caller calls your callback, on what instance whoul it call? In other words, how does the caller pass in the formal 'this' argument?
The solution is to have a static callback stub and pass the instance as argument, which implies the callee must accept an arbitrary pvoid that will pass back when invoking the callback. In the stub, you can then call the non-static method:
class C {
void f() {...}
static void F(void* p) {
C* pC = (C*)p;
pC->f();
}
}
C* pC = ...;
someComponent.setCallback(&C::F, pC);
Contrary to what everyone seems to be saying, you most definitely CAN use a non-static member function as a callback method. It requires special syntax designed specifically for getting pointers to non-static members, and special syntax to call that function on a specific instance of a class. See here for a discussion of the needed syntax.
Here is sample code that illustrates how this works:
#include <cstdlib>
#include <string>
#include <iostream>
#include <vector>
#include <sstream>
#include <algorithm>
using namespace std;
class Operational
{
public:
Operational(int value) : value_(value) {};
string FormatValue() const ;
private:
int value_;
};
string Operational::FormatValue() const
{
stringstream ss;
ss << "My value is " << value_;
return ss.str();
}
typedef string(Operational::*FormatFn)() const; // note the funky syntax
Operational make_oper(int val)
{
return Operational(val);
}
int main()
{
// build the list of objects with the instance callbacks we want to call
Operational ops[] = {1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13};
size_t numOps = sizeof(ops)/sizeof(ops[0]);
// now call the instance callbacks
for( size_t i = 0; i < numOps; ++i )
{
// get the function pointer
FormatFn fn = &Operational::FormatValue;
// get a pointer to the instance
Operational* op = &ops[i];
// call the callback on the instance
string retval = (op->*fn)();
// display the output
cout << "The object # " << hex << (void*)op << " said: '" << retval << "'" << endl;
}
return 0;
}
The output of this program when I ran it on my machine was:
The object # 0017F938 said: 'My value is 1'
The object # 0017F93C said: 'My value is 2'
The object # 0017F940 said: 'My value is 3'
The object # 0017F944 said: 'My value is 5'
The object # 0017F948 said: 'My value is 8'
The object # 0017F94C said: 'My value is 13'
You cannot use a non-static member function in this case.
Basically the type of the argument expected by glutMouseFunc is
void (*)(int, int, int, int)
while the type of your non-static member function is
void (StartHand::*)(int, int, int, int)
First problem is that types don't really match.
Second, in order to be able to call that method, the callback would have to know which object ( i.e. "this" pointer ) your method belongs to ( that's pretty much why the types are different in the first place ).
And third, I think you're using the wrong syntax to retrieve the method's pointer. The right syntax should be: &StartHand::MouseButton.
So, you have to either make that method static or use some other static method that would know which StartHand pointer to use to call MouseButton.
The following works in c++ to define a c callback function, useful for example when using glut (glutDisplayFunc, glutKeyboardFunc, glutMouseFunc ...) when you only need a single instance of this class :
MyClass * ptr_global_instance = NULL;
extern "C" void mouse_buttons_callback(int button, int state, int x, int y) {
// c function call which calls your c++ class method
ptr_global_instance->mouse_buttons_cb(button, state, x, y);
}
void MyClass::mouse_buttons_cb(int button, int state, int x, int y) {
// this is actual body of callback - ie. if (button == GLUT_LEFT_BUTTON) ...
// implemented as a c++ method
}
void MyClass::setup_glut(int argc, char** argv) { // largely boilerplate glut setup
glutInit(&argc, argv);
// ... the usual suspects go here like glutInitWindowSize(900, 800); ...
setupMouseButtonCallback(); // <-- custom linkage of c++ to cb
// ... other glut setup calls here
}
void MyClass::setupMouseButtonCallback() {
// c++ method which registers c function callback
::ptr_global_instance = this;
::glutMouseFunc(::mouse_buttons_callback);
}
In your MyClass header we add :
void mouse_buttons_cb(int button, int state, int x, int y);
void setupMouseButtonCallback();
This also works using identical logic flows to setup your glut
call to glutDisplayFunc(display)