PTHREAD_DETACH(3)          POSIX Programmer's Manual         PTHREAD_DETACH(3)



PROLOG
       This manual page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual.  The OS
       implementation of this interface may differ (consult the corresponding
       OS manual page for details of OS behavior), or the interface may not be
       implemented on OS.

NAME
       pthread_detach -- detach a thread

SYNOPSIS
       #include <pthread.h>

       int pthread_detach(pthread_t thread);

DESCRIPTION
       The pthread__detach() function shall indicate to the implementation that
       storage for the thread thread can be reclaimed when that thread
       terminates. If thread has not terminated, pthread__detach() shall not
       cause it to terminate.

       The behavior is undefined if the value specified by the thread argument
       to pthread__detach() does not refer to a joinable thread.

RETURN VALUE
       If the call succeeds, pthread__detach() shall return 0; otherwise, an
       error number shall be returned to indicate the error.

ERRORS
       The pthread__detach() function shall not return an error code of
       [EINTR].

       The following sections are informative.

EXAMPLES
       None.

APPLICATION USAGE
       None.

RATIONALE
       The pthread__join() or pthread__detach() functions should eventually be
       called for every thread that is created so that storage associated with
       the thread may be reclaimed.

       It has been suggested that a ``detach'' function is not necessary; the
       detachstate thread creation attribute is sufficient, since a thread
       need never be dynamically detached. However, need arises in at least
       two cases:

        1. In a cancellation handler for a pthread__join() it is nearly
           essential to have a pthread__detach() function in order to detach
           the thread on which pthread__join() was waiting. Without it, it
           would be necessary to have the handler do another pthread__join() to
           attempt to detach the thread, which would both delay the
           cancellation processing for an unbounded period and introduce a new
           call to pthread__join(), which might itself need a cancellation
           handler. A dynamic detach is nearly essential in this case.

        2. In order to detach the ``initial thread'' (as may be desirable in
           processes that set up server threads).

       If an implementation detects that the value specified by the thread
       argument to pthread__detach() does not refer to a joinable thread, it is
       recommended that the function should fail and report an [EINVAL] error.

       If an implementation detects use of a thread ID after the end of its
       lifetime, it is recommended that the function should fail and report an
       [ESRCH] error.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS
       None.

SEE ALSO
       pthread__join()

       The Base Definitions volume of POSIX.1-2017, <pthread.h>

COPYRIGHT
       Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form
       from IEEE Std 1003.1-2017, Standard for Information Technology --
       Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base
       Specifications Issue 7, 2018 Edition, Copyright (C) 2018 by the
       Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open
       Group.  In the event of any discrepancy between this version and the
       original IEEE and The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The
       Open Group Standard is the referee document. The original Standard can
       be obtained online at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .

       Any typographical or formatting errors that appear in this page are
       most likely to have been introduced during the conversion of the source
       files to man page format. To report such errors, see
       https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/reporting_bugs.html .



IEEE/The Open Group                  2017                    PTHREAD_DETACH(3)
