Synchronization Using Mutexes and Condition Variables

RingBuffer.C

template<class Token> void RingBuffer<Token>::add(Token& token) { pthread_mutex_lock(&mutex); if (filled == buffer.size()) { pthread_cond_wait(&nonFull, &mutex); } assert(filled < buffer.size()); buffer[in] = token; in = (in + 1) % buffer.size(); ++filled; pthread_cond_signal(&nonEmpty); pthread_mutex_unlock(&mutex); } // add

All methods of a concurrently used class must protect accesses on their data members with a mutex variable.

pthread_mutex_lock blocks the calling thread until the given mutex becomes available and locks it.

pthread_mutex_unlock unlocks it and allows one of the other threads to proceed that waited for this mutex to become available, if any.

This is not sufficient for add, however, as we cannot proceed if the buffer is full. In this case, we want to wait until the buffer is emptied by one of the consumers.

	All methods of a concurrently used class must protect accesses on their data members with a mutex variable.
	`pthread_mutex_lock` blocks the calling thread until the given mutex becomes available and locks it.
	`pthread_mutex_unlock` unlocks it and allows one of the other threads to proceed that waited for this mutex to become available, if any.
	This is not sufficient for `add`, however, as we cannot proceed if the buffer is full. In this case, we want to wait until the buffer is emptied by one of the consumers.