pthread_mutex_timedlock(), pthread_mutex_timedlock_monotonic()

Updated: April 19, 2023

Lock a mutex, with a time limit

Synopsis:

#include <pthread.h>
#include <time.h>

int pthread_mutex_timedlock( 
                  pthread_mutex_t * mutex,
                  const struct timespec * abs_timeout );

int pthread_mutex_timedlock_monotonic( 
                  pthread_mutex_t * mutex,
                  const struct timespec * abs_timeout );

Arguments:

mutex
The mutex that you want to lock.
abs_timeout
A pointer to a timespec structure that specifies the absolute time at which the timeout is to expire.

Library:

libc

Use the -l c option to qcc to link against this library. This library is usually included automatically.

Description:

The pthread_mutex_timedlock() function locks the mutex object referenced by mutex. If the mutex is already locked, the calling thread blocks until the mutex becomes available as in the pthread_mutex_lock() function. If the mutex can't be locked without waiting for another thread to unlock the mutex, the wait is terminated when the specified timeout expires.

The pthread_mutex_timedlock_monotonic() function is a QNX Neutrino extension; it's similar to pthread_mutex_timedlock(), but it uses CLOCK_MONOTONIC, so the timeout isn't affected by changes to the system time.

If you want to choose the clock against which the timeout is measured, you can instead use pthread_mutex_clocklock(), which is similar to pthread_mutex_timedlock() and pthread_mutex_timedlock_monotonic() and differs only because of its clock parameter (clk). Choosing the clock prevents the timeout from being affected by changes to the system time.

By default, if a thread with a higher priority than the mutex owner attempts to lock a mutex, then the effective priority of the current owner is increased to that of the higher-priority blocked thread waiting for the mutex. The owner returns to its real priority when it unlocks the mutex. For more information, see Mutexes: mutual exclusion locks in the QNX Neutrino Microkernel chapter of the System Architecture guide.

The timeout expires when the absolute time specified by abs_timeout passes, as measured by the clock on which timeouts are based (i.e., when the value of that clock equals or exceeds abs_timeout), or if the absolute time specified by abs_timeout has already been passed at the time of the call.

The timeout is based on the CLOCK_REALTIME clock. The timespec datatype is defined in the <time.h> header.

If the mutex can be locked immediately, the validity of the abs_timeout parameter isn't checked, and the function won't fail with a timeout.

As a consequence of the priority inheritance rules (for mutexes initialized with the PTHREAD_PRIO_INHERIT protocol), if a timed mutex wait is terminated because its timeout expires, the priority of the owner of the mutex is adjusted as necessary to reflect the fact that this thread is no longer among the threads waiting for the mutex.

Returns:

EOK
Success.
EAGAIN
The mutex couldn't be acquired because the maximum number of recursive locks for the mutex has been exceeded.
EDEADLK
One of the following occurred:
  • The mutex type is PTHREAD_MUTEX_ERRORCHECK, and the current thread already owns the mutex.
  • A deadlock condition was detected.
EINVAL
One of the following occurred:
  • The mutex was created with a protocol attribute of PTHREAD_PRIO_PROTECT, and the calling thread's priority is higher than the mutex's current priority ceiling.
  • The process or thread would have blocked, and the abs_timeout parameter specified a nanoseconds field value less than zero or greater than or equal to 1000 million.
  • The value specified by mutex doesn't refer to an initialized mutex object.
  • The mutex has died; see SyncMutexEvent().
ENOTRECOVERABLE
The mutex is a robust mutex, and the state that it protects isn't recoverable. All you can do with the mutex is destroy it by calling pthread_mutex_destroy().
EOWNERDEAD
The mutex is a robust mutex and the process containing the previous owning thread terminated while holding the mutex lock. The calling thread acquires the mutex lock; it's up to the new owner to make the state consistent (see pthread_mutex_consistent()).
ETIMEDOUT
The mutex couldn't be locked before the specified timeout expired.

Classification:

pthread_mutex_timedlock() is POSIX 1003.1; pthread_mutex_timedlock_monotonic() is QNX Neutrino

Safety:  
Cancellation point No
Interrupt handler No
Signal handler No
Thread Yes