Shared Queue in C++ - c++

Question

I just simply get packets from network, and Enqueue them in one thread and then consume this packets (Dequeue) in an other thread.
So i decide to use boost library to make a shared queue based on
https://www.quantnet.com/cplusplus-multithreading-boost/
template <typename T>
class SynchronisedQueue
{
private:
std::queue<T> m_queue; // Use STL queue to store data
boost::mutex m_mutex; // The mutex to synchronise on
boost::condition_variable m_cond;// The condition to wait for
public:
// Add data to the queue and notify others
void Enqueue(const T& data)
{
// Acquire lock on the queue
boost::unique_lock<boost::mutex> lock(m_mutex);
// Add the data to the queue
m_queue.push(data);
// Notify others that data is ready
m_cond.notify_one();
} // Lock is automatically released here
// Get data from the queue. Wait for data if not available
T Dequeue()
{
// Acquire lock on the queue
boost::unique_lock<boost::mutex> lock(m_mutex);
// When there is no data, wait till someone fills it.
// Lock is automatically released in the wait and obtained
// again after the wait
while (m_queue.size()==0) m_cond.wait(lock);
// Retrieve the data from the queue
T result=m_queue.front(); m_queue.pop();
return result;
} // Lock is automatically released here
};
The problem is , while not getting any data, Dequeue() method
blocks my consumer thread, and when i want to terminate consumer
thread i can not able to end it or stop it sometimes.
What is the suggested way to end blocking of Dequeue(), so that i can safely terminate the thread that consume packets?
Any ideas suggestions?
PS: The site https://www.quantnet.com/cplusplus-multithreading-boost/ use "boost::this_thread::interruption_point();" for stopping consumer thread ... Because of my legacy code structure this is not possible for me...
Based on Answer I update Shared Queue like this:
#include <queue>
#include <boost/thread.hpp>
template <typename T>
class SynchronisedQueue
{
public:
SynchronisedQueue()
{
RequestToEnd = false;
EnqueueData = true;
}
void Enqueue(const T& data)
{
boost::unique_lock<boost::mutex> lock(m_mutex);
if(EnqueueData)
{
m_queue.push(data);
m_cond.notify_one();
}
}
bool TryDequeue(T& result)
{
boost::unique_lock<boost::mutex> lock(m_mutex);
while (m_queue.empty() && (! RequestToEnd))
{
m_cond.wait(lock);
}
if( RequestToEnd )
{
DoEndActions();
return false;
}
result= m_queue.front(); m_queue.pop();
return true;
}
void StopQueue()
{
RequestToEnd = true;
Enqueue(NULL);
}
int Size()
{
boost::unique_lock<boost::mutex> lock(m_mutex);
return m_queue.size();
}
private:
void DoEndActions()
{
EnqueueData = false;
while (!m_queue.empty())
{
m_queue.pop();
}
}
std::queue<T> m_queue; // Use STL queue to store data
boost::mutex m_mutex; // The mutex to synchronise on
boost::condition_variable m_cond; // The condition to wait for
bool RequestToEnd;
bool EnqueueData;
};
And Here is my Test Drive:
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
#include "SynchronisedQueue.h"
using namespace std;
SynchronisedQueue<int> MyQueue;
void InsertToQueue()
{
int i= 0;
while(true)
{
MyQueue.Enqueue(++i);
}
}
void ConsumeFromQueue()
{
while(true)
{
int number;
cout << "Now try to dequeue" << endl;
bool success = MyQueue.TryDequeue(number);
if(success)
{
cout << "value is " << number << endl;
}
else
{
cout << " queue is stopped" << endl;
break;
}
}
cout << "Que size is : " << MyQueue.Size() << endl;
}
int main()
{
cout << "Test Started" << endl;
boost::thread startInsertIntoQueue = boost::thread(InsertToQueue);
boost::thread consumeFromQueue = boost::thread(ConsumeFromQueue);
boost::this_thread::sleep(boost::posix_time::seconds(5)); //After 5 seconds
MyQueue.StopQueue();
int endMain;
cin >> endMain;
return 0;
}
For now it seems to work...Based on new suggestions:
i change Stop Method as:
void StopQueue()
{
boost::unique_lock<boost::mutex> lock(m_mutex);
RequestToEnd = true;
m_cond.notify_one();
}

Answer 1

2 easy solutions to let the thread end:
send an end message on the queue.
add another condition to the condition variable to command to end
while(queue.empty() && (! RequestToEnd)) m_cond.wait(lock);
if (RequestToEnd) { doEndActions(); }
else { T result=m_queue.front(); m_queue.pop(); return result; }

Answer 2

First, do you really need to terminate the thread? If not, don't.
If you do have to, then just queue it a suicide pill. I usually send a NULL cast to T. The thread checks T and, if NULL, cleans up, returns and so dies.
Also, you may need to purge the queue first by removing and delete()ing all the items.

Answer 3

Another option that should be considered is not to block infinitely in threads. In other words, add a time out to your blocking calls like so:
bool TryDequeue(T& result, boost::chrono::milliseconds timeout)
{
boost::unique_lock<boost::mutex> lock(m_mutex);
boost::chrono::system_clock::time_point timeLimit =
boost::chrono::system_clock::now() + timeout;
while (m_queue.empty())
{
if (m_cond.wait_until(lock, timeLimit) ==
boost::condition_variable::cv_status::timeout)
{
return false;
}
}
result = m_queue.front(); m_queue.pop();
return true;
}
Then in your thread, just have a variable to indicate if the thread is still running (I took the liberty to make your consumer into a class):
class Consumer
{
public:
boost::shared_ptr<Consumer> createConsumer()
{
boost::shared_ptr<Consumer> ret(new Consumer());
ret->_consumeFromQueue = boost::thread(&Consumer::ConsumeFromQueue, ret.get());
return ret;
}
protected:
Consumer()
: _threadRunning(true)
{
}
~Consumer()
{
_threadRunning = false;
_consumeFromQueue.join();
}
void ConsumeFromQueue()
{
while(_threadRunning == true)
{
int number;
cout << "Now try to dequeue" << endl;
bool success = MyQueue.TryDequeue(number);
if(success)
{
cout << "value is " << number << endl;
}
else
{
cout << " queue is stopped" << endl;
break;
}
}
cout << "Que size is : " << MyQueue.Size() << endl;
}
bool _threadRunning;
boost::thread _consumeFromQueue;
}
There is no need to hack your queue class just so it can be used in a thread, give it normal interfaces with timeouts, and then use it in the proper way based on the use case.
I give more details on why this is a good pattern to follow for threads here:
http://blog.chrisd.info/how-to-run-threads/