949 lines
		
	
	
		
			30 KiB
		
	
	
	
		
			ReStructuredText
		
	
	
	
			
		
		
	
	
			949 lines
		
	
	
		
			30 KiB
		
	
	
	
		
			ReStructuredText
		
	
	
	
| 
 | |
| ======================
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| Thread Safety Analysis
 | |
| ======================
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| 
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| Introduction
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| ============
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| 
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| Clang Thread Safety Analysis is a C++ language extension which warns about
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| potential race conditions in code.  The analysis is completely static (i.e.
 | |
| compile-time); there is no run-time overhead.  The analysis is still
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| under active development, but it is mature enough to be deployed in an
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| industrial setting.  It is being developed by Google, in collaboration with
 | |
| CERT/SEI, and is used extensively in Google's internal code base.
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| 
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| Thread safety analysis works very much like a type system for multi-threaded
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| programs.  In addition to declaring the *type* of data (e.g. ``int``, ``float``,
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| etc.), the programmer can (optionally) declare how access to that data is
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| controlled in a multi-threaded environment.  For example, if ``foo`` is
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| *guarded by* the mutex ``mu``, then the analysis will issue a warning whenever
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| a piece of code reads or writes to ``foo`` without first locking ``mu``.
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| Similarly, if there are particular routines that should only be called by
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| the GUI thread, then the analysis will warn if other threads call those
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| routines.
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| 
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| Getting Started
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| ----------------
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| 
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| .. code-block:: c++
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| 
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|   #include "mutex.h"
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| 
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|   class BankAccount {
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|   private:
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|     Mutex mu;
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|     int   balance GUARDED_BY(mu);
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| 
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|     void depositImpl(int amount) {
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|       balance += amount;       // WARNING! Cannot write balance without locking mu.
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|     }
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| 
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|     void withdrawImpl(int amount) REQUIRES(mu) {
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|       balance -= amount;       // OK. Caller must have locked mu.
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|     }
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| 
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|   public:
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|     void withdraw(int amount) {
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|       mu.Lock();
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|       withdrawImpl(amount);    // OK.  We've locked mu.
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|     }                          // WARNING!  Failed to unlock mu.
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| 
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|     void transferFrom(BankAccount& b, int amount) {
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|       mu.Lock();
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|       b.withdrawImpl(amount);  // WARNING!  Calling withdrawImpl() requires locking b.mu.
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|       depositImpl(amount);     // OK.  depositImpl() has no requirements.
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|       mu.Unlock();
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|     }
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|   };
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| 
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| This example demonstrates the basic concepts behind the analysis.  The
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| ``GUARDED_BY`` attribute declares that a thread must lock ``mu`` before it can
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| read or write to ``balance``, thus ensuring that the increment and decrement
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| operations are atomic.  Similarly, ``REQUIRES`` declares that
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| the calling thread must lock ``mu`` before calling ``withdrawImpl``.
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| Because the caller is assumed to have locked ``mu``, it is safe to modify
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| ``balance`` within the body of the method.
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| 
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| The ``depositImpl()`` method does not have ``REQUIRES``, so the
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| analysis issues a warning.  Thread safety analysis is not inter-procedural, so
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| caller requirements must be explicitly declared.
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| There is also a warning in ``transferFrom()``, because although the method
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| locks ``this->mu``, it does not lock ``b.mu``.  The analysis understands
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| that these are two separate mutexes, in two different objects.
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| 
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| Finally, there is a warning in the ``withdraw()`` method, because it fails to
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| unlock ``mu``.  Every lock must have a corresponding unlock, and the analysis
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| will detect both double locks, and double unlocks.  A function is allowed to
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| acquire a lock without releasing it, (or vice versa), but it must be annotated
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| as such (using ``ACQUIRE``/``RELEASE``).
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| 
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| 
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| Running The Analysis
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| --------------------
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| 
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| To run the analysis, simply compile with the ``-Wthread-safety`` flag, e.g.
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| 
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| .. code-block:: bash
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| 
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|   clang -c -Wthread-safety example.cpp
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| 
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| Note that this example assumes the presence of a suitably annotated
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| :ref:`mutexheader` that declares which methods perform locking,
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| unlocking, and so on.
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| 
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| 
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| Basic Concepts: Capabilities
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| ============================
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| 
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| Thread safety analysis provides a way of protecting *resources* with
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| *capabilities*.  A resource is either a data member, or a function/method
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| that provides access to some underlying resource.  The analysis ensures that
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| the calling thread cannot access the *resource* (i.e. call the function, or
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| read/write the data) unless it has the *capability* to do so.
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| 
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| Capabilities are associated with named C++ objects which declare specific
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| methods to acquire and release the capability.  The name of the object serves
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| to identify the capability.  The most common example is a mutex.  For example,
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| if ``mu`` is a mutex, then calling ``mu.Lock()`` causes the calling thread
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| to acquire the capability to access data that is protected by ``mu``. Similarly,
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| calling ``mu.Unlock()`` releases that capability.
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| 
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| A thread may hold a capability either *exclusively* or *shared*.  An exclusive
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| capability can be held by only one thread at a time, while a shared capability
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| can be held by many threads at the same time.  This mechanism enforces a
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| multiple-reader, single-writer pattern.  Write operations to protected data
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| require exclusive access, while read operations require only shared access.
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| 
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| At any given moment during program execution, a thread holds a specific set of
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| capabilities (e.g. the set of mutexes that it has locked.)  These act like keys
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| or tokens that allow the thread to access a given resource.  Just like physical
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| security keys, a thread cannot make copy of a capability, nor can it destroy
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| one.  A thread can only release a capability to another thread, or acquire one
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| from another thread.  The annotations are deliberately agnostic about the
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| exact mechanism used to acquire and release capabilities; it assumes that the
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| underlying implementation (e.g. the Mutex implementation) does the handoff in
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| an appropriate manner.
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| 
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| The set of capabilities that are actually held by a given thread at a given
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| point in program execution is a run-time concept.  The static analysis works
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| by calculating an approximation of that set, called the *capability
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| environment*.  The capability environment is calculated for every program point,
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| and describes the set of capabilities that are statically known to be held, or
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| not held, at that particular point.  This environment is a conservative
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| approximation of the full set of capabilities that will actually held by a
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| thread at run-time.
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| 
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| 
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| Reference Guide
 | |
| ===============
 | |
| 
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| The thread safety analysis uses attributes to declare threading constraints.
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| Attributes must be attached to named declarations, such as classes, methods,
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| and data members. Users are *strongly advised* to define macros for the various
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| attributes; example definitions can be found in :ref:`mutexheader`, below.
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| The following documentation assumes the use of macros.
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| 
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| For historical reasons, prior versions of thread safety used macro names that
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| were very lock-centric.  These macros have since been renamed to fit a more
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| general capability model.  The prior names are still in use, and will be
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| mentioned under the tag *previously* where appropriate.
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| 
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| 
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| GUARDED_BY(c) and PT_GUARDED_BY(c)
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| ----------------------------------
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| 
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| ``GUARDED_BY`` is an attribute on data members, which declares that the data
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| member is protected by the given capability.  Read operations on the data
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| require shared access, while write operations require exclusive access.
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| 
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| ``PT_GUARDED_BY`` is similar, but is intended for use on pointers and smart
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| pointers. There is no constraint on the data member itself, but the *data that
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| it points to* is protected by the given capability.
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| 
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| .. code-block:: c++
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| 
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|   Mutex mu;
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|   int *p1             GUARDED_BY(mu);
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|   int *p2             PT_GUARDED_BY(mu);
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|   unique_ptr<int> p3  PT_GUARDED_BY(mu);
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| 
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|   void test() {
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|     p1 = 0;             // Warning!
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| 
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|     *p2 = 42;           // Warning!
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|     p2 = new int;       // OK.
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| 
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|     *p3 = 42;           // Warning!
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|     p3.reset(new int);  // OK.
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|   }
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| 
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| 
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| REQUIRES(...), REQUIRES_SHARED(...)
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| -----------------------------------
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| 
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| *Previously*: ``EXCLUSIVE_LOCKS_REQUIRED``, ``SHARED_LOCKS_REQUIRED``
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| 
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| ``REQUIRES`` is an attribute on functions or methods, which
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| declares that the calling thread must have exclusive access to the given
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| capabilities.  More than one capability may be specified.  The capabilities
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| must be held on entry to the function, *and must still be held on exit*.
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| 
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| ``REQUIRES_SHARED`` is similar, but requires only shared access.
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| 
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| .. code-block:: c++
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| 
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|   Mutex mu1, mu2;
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|   int a GUARDED_BY(mu1);
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|   int b GUARDED_BY(mu2);
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| 
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|   void foo() REQUIRES(mu1, mu2) {
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|     a = 0;
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|     b = 0;
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|   }
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| 
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|   void test() {
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|     mu1.Lock();
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|     foo();         // Warning!  Requires mu2.
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|     mu1.Unlock();
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|   }
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| 
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| 
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| ACQUIRE(...), ACQUIRE_SHARED(...), RELEASE(...), RELEASE_SHARED(...)
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| --------------------------------------------------------------------
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| 
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| *Previously*: ``EXCLUSIVE_LOCK_FUNCTION``, ``SHARED_LOCK_FUNCTION``,
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| ``UNLOCK_FUNCTION``
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| 
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| ``ACQUIRE`` is an attribute on functions or methods, which
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| declares that the function acquires a capability, but does not release it.  The
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| caller must not hold the given capability on entry, and it will hold the
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| capability on exit.  ``ACQUIRE_SHARED`` is similar.
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| 
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| ``RELEASE`` and ``RELEASE_SHARED`` declare that the function releases the given
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| capability.  The caller must hold the capability on entry, and will no longer
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| hold it on exit. It does not matter whether the given capability is shared or
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| exclusive.
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| 
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| .. code-block:: c++
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| 
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|   Mutex mu;
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|   MyClass myObject GUARDED_BY(mu);
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| 
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|   void lockAndInit() ACQUIRE(mu) {
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|     mu.Lock();
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|     myObject.init();
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|   }
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| 
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|   void cleanupAndUnlock() RELEASE(mu) {
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|     myObject.cleanup();
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|   }                          // Warning!  Need to unlock mu.
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| 
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|   void test() {
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|     lockAndInit();
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|     myObject.doSomething();
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|     cleanupAndUnlock();
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|     myObject.doSomething();  // Warning, mu is not locked.
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|   }
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| 
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| If no argument is passed to ``ACQUIRE`` or ``RELEASE``, then the argument is
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| assumed to be ``this``, and the analysis will not check the body of the
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| function.  This pattern is intended for use by classes which hide locking
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| details behind an abstract interface.  For example:
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| 
 | |
| .. code-block:: c++
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| 
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|   template <class T>
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|   class CAPABILITY("mutex") Container {
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|   private:
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|     Mutex mu;
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|     T* data;
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| 
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|   public:
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|     // Hide mu from public interface.
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|     void Lock()   ACQUIRE() { mu.Lock(); }
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|     void Unlock() RELEASE() { mu.Unlock(); }
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| 
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|     T& getElem(int i) { return data[i]; }
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|   };
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| 
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|   void test() {
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|     Container<int> c;
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|     c.Lock();
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|     int i = c.getElem(0);
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|     c.Unlock();
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|   }
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| 
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| 
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| EXCLUDES(...)
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| -------------
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| 
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| *Previously*: ``LOCKS_EXCLUDED``
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| 
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| ``EXCLUDES`` is an attribute on functions or methods, which declares that
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| the caller must *not* hold the given capabilities.  This annotation is
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| used to prevent deadlock.  Many mutex implementations are not re-entrant, so
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| deadlock can occur if the function acquires the mutex a second time.
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| 
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| .. code-block:: c++
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| 
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|   Mutex mu;
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|   int a GUARDED_BY(mu);
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| 
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|   void clear() EXCLUDES(mu) {
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|     mu.Lock();
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|     a = 0;
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|     mu.Unlock();
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|   }
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| 
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|   void reset() {
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|     mu.Lock();
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|     clear();     // Warning!  Caller cannot hold 'mu'.
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|     mu.Unlock();
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|   }
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| 
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| Unlike ``REQUIRES``, ``EXCLUDES`` is optional.  The analysis will not issue a
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| warning if the attribute is missing, which can lead to false negatives in some
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| cases.  This issue is discussed further in :ref:`negative`.
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| 
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| 
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| NO_THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS
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| -------------------------
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| 
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| ``NO_THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS`` is an attribute on functions or methods, which
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| turns off thread safety checking for that method.  It provides an escape hatch
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| for functions which are either (1) deliberately thread-unsafe, or (2) are
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| thread-safe, but too complicated for the analysis to understand.  Reasons for
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| (2) will be described in the :ref:`limitations`, below.
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| 
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| .. code-block:: c++
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| 
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|   class Counter {
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|     Mutex mu;
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|     int a GUARDED_BY(mu);
 | |
| 
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|     void unsafeIncrement() NO_THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS { a++; }
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|   };
 | |
| 
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| Unlike the other attributes, NO_THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS is not part of the
 | |
| interface of a function, and should thus be placed on the function definition
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| (in the ``.cc`` or ``.cpp`` file) rather than on the function declaration
 | |
| (in the header).
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| RETURN_CAPABILITY(c)
 | |
| --------------------
 | |
| 
 | |
| *Previously*: ``LOCK_RETURNED``
 | |
| 
 | |
| ``RETURN_CAPABILITY`` is an attribute on functions or methods, which declares
 | |
| that the function returns a reference to the given capability.  It is used to
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| annotate getter methods that return mutexes.
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| 
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| .. code-block:: c++
 | |
| 
 | |
|   class MyClass {
 | |
|   private:
 | |
|     Mutex mu;
 | |
|     int a GUARDED_BY(mu);
 | |
| 
 | |
|   public:
 | |
|     Mutex* getMu() RETURN_CAPABILITY(mu) { return μ }
 | |
| 
 | |
|     // analysis knows that getMu() == mu
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|     void clear() REQUIRES(getMu()) { a = 0; }
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|   };
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
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| ACQUIRED_BEFORE(...), ACQUIRED_AFTER(...)
 | |
| -----------------------------------------
 | |
| 
 | |
| ``ACQUIRED_BEFORE`` and ``ACQUIRED_AFTER`` are attributes on member
 | |
| declarations, specifically declarations of mutexes or other capabilities.
 | |
| These declarations enforce a particular order in which the mutexes must be
 | |
| acquired, in order to prevent deadlock.
 | |
| 
 | |
| .. code-block:: c++
 | |
| 
 | |
|   Mutex m1;
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|   Mutex m2 ACQUIRED_AFTER(m1);
 | |
| 
 | |
|   // Alternative declaration
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|   // Mutex m2;
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|   // Mutex m1 ACQUIRED_BEFORE(m2);
 | |
| 
 | |
|   void foo() {
 | |
|     m2.Lock();
 | |
|     m1.Lock();  // Warning!  m2 must be acquired after m1.
 | |
|     m1.Unlock();
 | |
|     m2.Unlock();
 | |
|   }
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| CAPABILITY(<string>)
 | |
| --------------------
 | |
| 
 | |
| *Previously*: ``LOCKABLE``
 | |
| 
 | |
| ``CAPABILITY`` is an attribute on classes, which specifies that objects of the
 | |
| class can be used as a capability.  The string argument specifies the kind of
 | |
| capability in error messages, e.g. ``"mutex"``.  See the ``Container`` example
 | |
| given above, or the ``Mutex`` class in :ref:`mutexheader`.
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| SCOPED_CAPABILITY
 | |
| -----------------
 | |
| 
 | |
| *Previously*: ``SCOPED_LOCKABLE``
 | |
| 
 | |
| ``SCOPED_CAPABILITY`` is an attribute on classes that implement RAII-style
 | |
| locking, in which a capability is acquired in the constructor, and released in
 | |
| the destructor.  Such classes require special handling because the constructor
 | |
| and destructor refer to the capability via different names; see the
 | |
| ``MutexLocker`` class in :ref:`mutexheader`, below.
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| TRY_ACQUIRE(<bool>, ...), TRY_ACQUIRE_SHARED(<bool>, ...)
 | |
| ---------------------------------------------------------
 | |
| 
 | |
| *Previously:* ``EXCLUSIVE_TRYLOCK_FUNCTION``, ``SHARED_TRYLOCK_FUNCTION``
 | |
| 
 | |
| These are attributes on a function or method that tries to acquire the given
 | |
| capability, and returns a boolean value indicating success or failure.
 | |
| The first argument must be ``true`` or ``false``, to specify which return value
 | |
| indicates success, and the remaining arguments are interpreted in the same way
 | |
| as ``ACQUIRE``.  See :ref:`mutexheader`, below, for example uses.
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| ASSERT_CAPABILITY(...) and ASSERT_SHARED_CAPABILITY(...)
 | |
| --------------------------------------------------------
 | |
| 
 | |
| *Previously:*  ``ASSERT_EXCLUSIVE_LOCK``, ``ASSERT_SHARED_LOCK``
 | |
| 
 | |
| These are attributes on a function or method that does a run-time test to see
 | |
| whether the calling thread holds the given capability.  The function is assumed
 | |
| to fail (no return) if the capability is not held.  See :ref:`mutexheader`,
 | |
| below, for example uses.
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| GUARDED_VAR and PT_GUARDED_VAR
 | |
| ------------------------------
 | |
| 
 | |
| Use of these attributes has been deprecated.
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| Warning flags
 | |
| -------------
 | |
| 
 | |
| * ``-Wthread-safety``:  Umbrella flag which turns on the following three:
 | |
| 
 | |
|   + ``-Wthread-safety-attributes``: Sanity checks on attribute syntax.
 | |
|   + ``-Wthread-safety-analysis``: The core analysis.
 | |
|   + ``-Wthread-safety-precise``: Requires that mutex expressions match precisely.
 | |
|        This warning can be disabled for code which has a lot of aliases.
 | |
|   + ``-Wthread-safety-reference``: Checks when guarded members are passed by reference.
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| :ref:`negative` are an experimental feature, which are enabled with:
 | |
| 
 | |
| * ``-Wthread-safety-negative``:  Negative capabilities.  Off by default.
 | |
| 
 | |
| When new features and checks are added to the analysis, they can often introduce
 | |
| additional warnings.  Those warnings are initially released as *beta* warnings
 | |
| for a period of time, after which they are migrated into the standard analysis.
 | |
| 
 | |
| * ``-Wthread-safety-beta``:  New features.  Off by default.
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| .. _negative:
 | |
| 
 | |
| Negative Capabilities
 | |
| =====================
 | |
| 
 | |
| Thread Safety Analysis is designed to prevent both race conditions and
 | |
| deadlock.  The GUARDED_BY and REQUIRES attributes prevent race conditions, by
 | |
| ensuring that a capability is held before reading or writing to guarded data,
 | |
| and the EXCLUDES attribute prevents deadlock, by making sure that a mutex is
 | |
| *not* held.
 | |
| 
 | |
| However, EXCLUDES is an optional attribute, and does not provide the same
 | |
| safety guarantee as REQUIRES.  In particular:
 | |
| 
 | |
|   * A function which acquires a capability does not have to exclude it.
 | |
|   * A function which calls a function that excludes a capability does not
 | |
|     have transitively exclude that capability.
 | |
| 
 | |
| As a result, EXCLUDES can easily produce false negatives:
 | |
| 
 | |
| .. code-block:: c++
 | |
| 
 | |
|   class Foo {
 | |
|     Mutex mu;
 | |
| 
 | |
|     void foo() {
 | |
|       mu.Lock();
 | |
|       bar();           // No warning.
 | |
|       baz();           // No warning.
 | |
|       mu.Unlock();
 | |
|     }
 | |
| 
 | |
|     void bar() {       // No warning.  (Should have EXCLUDES(mu)).
 | |
|       mu.Lock();
 | |
|       // ...
 | |
|       mu.Unlock();
 | |
|     }
 | |
| 
 | |
|     void baz() {
 | |
|       bif();           // No warning.  (Should have EXCLUDES(mu)).
 | |
|     }
 | |
| 
 | |
|     void bif() EXCLUDES(mu);
 | |
|   };
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| Negative requirements are an alternative EXCLUDES that provide
 | |
| a stronger safety guarantee.  A negative requirement uses the  REQUIRES
 | |
| attribute, in conjunction with the ``!`` operator, to indicate that a capability
 | |
| should *not* be held.
 | |
| 
 | |
| For example, using ``REQUIRES(!mu)`` instead of ``EXCLUDES(mu)`` will produce
 | |
| the appropriate warnings:
 | |
| 
 | |
| .. code-block:: c++
 | |
| 
 | |
|   class FooNeg {
 | |
|     Mutex mu;
 | |
| 
 | |
|     void foo() REQUIRES(!mu) {   // foo() now requires !mu.
 | |
|       mu.Lock();
 | |
|       bar();
 | |
|       baz();
 | |
|       mu.Unlock();
 | |
|     }
 | |
| 
 | |
|     void bar() {
 | |
|       mu.Lock();       // WARNING!  Missing REQUIRES(!mu).
 | |
|       // ...
 | |
|       mu.Unlock();
 | |
|     }
 | |
| 
 | |
|     void baz() {
 | |
|       bif();           // WARNING!  Missing REQUIRES(!mu).
 | |
|     }
 | |
| 
 | |
|     void bif() REQUIRES(!mu);
 | |
|   };
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| Negative requirements are an experimental feature which is off by default,
 | |
| because it will produce many warnings in existing code.  It can be enabled
 | |
| by passing ``-Wthread-safety-negative``.
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| .. _faq:
 | |
| 
 | |
| Frequently Asked Questions
 | |
| ==========================
 | |
| 
 | |
| (Q) Should I put attributes in the header file, or in the .cc/.cpp/.cxx file?
 | |
| 
 | |
| (A) Attributes are part of the formal interface of a function, and should
 | |
| always go in the header, where they are visible to anything that includes
 | |
| the header.  Attributes in the .cpp file are not visible outside of the
 | |
| immediate translation unit, which leads to false negatives and false positives.
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| (Q) "*Mutex is not locked on every path through here?*"  What does that mean?
 | |
| 
 | |
| (A) See :ref:`conditional_locks`, below.
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| .. _limitations:
 | |
| 
 | |
| Known Limitations
 | |
| =================
 | |
| 
 | |
| Lexical scope
 | |
| -------------
 | |
| 
 | |
| Thread safety attributes contain ordinary C++ expressions, and thus follow
 | |
| ordinary C++ scoping rules.  In particular, this means that mutexes and other
 | |
| capabilities must be declared before they can be used in an attribute.
 | |
| Use-before-declaration is okay within a single class, because attributes are
 | |
| parsed at the same time as method bodies. (C++ delays parsing of method bodies
 | |
| until the end of the class.)  However, use-before-declaration is not allowed
 | |
| between classes, as illustrated below.
 | |
| 
 | |
| .. code-block:: c++
 | |
| 
 | |
|   class Foo;
 | |
| 
 | |
|   class Bar {
 | |
|     void bar(Foo* f) REQUIRES(f->mu);  // Error: mu undeclared.
 | |
|   };
 | |
| 
 | |
|   class Foo {
 | |
|     Mutex mu;
 | |
|   };
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| Private Mutexes
 | |
| ---------------
 | |
| 
 | |
| Good software engineering practice dictates that mutexes should be private
 | |
| members, because the locking mechanism used by a thread-safe class is part of
 | |
| its internal implementation.  However, private mutexes can sometimes leak into
 | |
| the public interface of a class.
 | |
| Thread safety attributes follow normal C++ access restrictions, so if ``mu``
 | |
| is a private member of ``c``, then it is an error to write ``c.mu`` in an
 | |
| attribute.
 | |
| 
 | |
| One workaround is to (ab)use the ``RETURN_CAPABILITY`` attribute to provide a
 | |
| public *name* for a private mutex, without actually exposing the underlying
 | |
| mutex.  For example:
 | |
| 
 | |
| .. code-block:: c++
 | |
| 
 | |
|   class MyClass {
 | |
|   private:
 | |
|     Mutex mu;
 | |
| 
 | |
|   public:
 | |
|     // For thread safety analysis only.  Does not actually return mu.
 | |
|     Mutex* getMu() RETURN_CAPABILITY(mu) { return 0; }
 | |
| 
 | |
|     void doSomething() REQUIRES(mu);
 | |
|   };
 | |
| 
 | |
|   void doSomethingTwice(MyClass& c) REQUIRES(c.getMu()) {
 | |
|     // The analysis thinks that c.getMu() == c.mu
 | |
|     c.doSomething();
 | |
|     c.doSomething();
 | |
|   }
 | |
| 
 | |
| In the above example, ``doSomethingTwice()`` is an external routine that
 | |
| requires ``c.mu`` to be locked, which cannot be declared directly because ``mu``
 | |
| is private.  This pattern is discouraged because it
 | |
| violates encapsulation, but it is sometimes necessary, especially when adding
 | |
| annotations to an existing code base.  The workaround is to define ``getMu()``
 | |
| as a fake getter method, which is provided only for the benefit of thread
 | |
| safety analysis.
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| .. _conditional_locks:
 | |
| 
 | |
| No conditionally held locks.
 | |
| ----------------------------
 | |
| 
 | |
| The analysis must be able to determine whether a lock is held, or not held, at
 | |
| every program point.  Thus, sections of code where a lock *might be held* will
 | |
| generate spurious warnings (false positives).  For example:
 | |
| 
 | |
| .. code-block:: c++
 | |
| 
 | |
|   void foo() {
 | |
|     bool b = needsToLock();
 | |
|     if (b) mu.Lock();
 | |
|     ...  // Warning!  Mutex 'mu' is not held on every path through here.
 | |
|     if (b) mu.Unlock();
 | |
|   }
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| No checking inside constructors and destructors.
 | |
| ------------------------------------------------
 | |
| 
 | |
| The analysis currently does not do any checking inside constructors or
 | |
| destructors.  In other words, every constructor and destructor is treated as
 | |
| if it was annotated with ``NO_THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS``.
 | |
| The reason for this is that during initialization, only one thread typically
 | |
| has access to the object which is being initialized, and it is thus safe (and
 | |
| common practice) to initialize guarded members without acquiring any locks.
 | |
| The same is true of destructors.
 | |
| 
 | |
| Ideally, the analysis would allow initialization of guarded members inside the
 | |
| object being initialized or destroyed, while still enforcing the usual access
 | |
| restrictions on everything else.  However, this is difficult to enforce in
 | |
| practice, because in complex pointer-based data structures, it is hard to
 | |
| determine what data is owned by the enclosing object.
 | |
| 
 | |
| No inlining.
 | |
| ------------
 | |
| 
 | |
| Thread safety analysis is strictly intra-procedural, just like ordinary type
 | |
| checking.  It relies only on the declared attributes of a function, and will
 | |
| not attempt to inline any method calls.  As a result, code such as the
 | |
| following will not work:
 | |
| 
 | |
| .. code-block:: c++
 | |
| 
 | |
|   template<class T>
 | |
|   class AutoCleanup {
 | |
|     T* object;
 | |
|     void (T::*mp)();
 | |
| 
 | |
|   public:
 | |
|     AutoCleanup(T* obj, void (T::*imp)()) : object(obj), mp(imp) { }
 | |
|     ~AutoCleanup() { (object->*mp)(); }
 | |
|   };
 | |
| 
 | |
|   Mutex mu;
 | |
|   void foo() {
 | |
|     mu.Lock();
 | |
|     AutoCleanup<Mutex>(&mu, &Mutex::Unlock);
 | |
|     // ...
 | |
|   }  // Warning, mu is not unlocked.
 | |
| 
 | |
| In this case, the destructor of ``Autocleanup`` calls ``mu.Unlock()``, so
 | |
| the warning is bogus.  However,
 | |
| thread safety analysis cannot see the unlock, because it does not attempt to
 | |
| inline the destructor.  Moreover, there is no way to annotate the destructor,
 | |
| because the destructor is calling a function that is not statically known.
 | |
| This pattern is simply not supported.
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| No alias analysis.
 | |
| ------------------
 | |
| 
 | |
| The analysis currently does not track pointer aliases.  Thus, there can be
 | |
| false positives if two pointers both point to the same mutex.
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| .. code-block:: c++
 | |
| 
 | |
|   class MutexUnlocker {
 | |
|     Mutex* mu;
 | |
| 
 | |
|   public:
 | |
|     MutexUnlocker(Mutex* m) RELEASE(m) : mu(m)  { mu->Unlock(); }
 | |
|     ~MutexUnlocker() ACQUIRE(mu) { mu->Lock(); }
 | |
|   };
 | |
| 
 | |
|   Mutex mutex;
 | |
|   void test() REQUIRES(mutex) {
 | |
|     {
 | |
|       MutexUnlocker munl(&mutex);  // unlocks mutex
 | |
|       doSomeIO();
 | |
|     }                              // Warning: locks munl.mu
 | |
|   }
 | |
| 
 | |
| The MutexUnlocker class is intended to be the dual of the MutexLocker class,
 | |
| defined in :ref:`mutexheader`.  However, it doesn't work because the analysis
 | |
| doesn't know that munl.mu == mutex.  The SCOPED_CAPABILITY attribute handles
 | |
| aliasing for MutexLocker, but does so only for that particular pattern.
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| ACQUIRED_BEFORE(...) and ACQUIRED_AFTER(...) are currently unimplemented.
 | |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------
 | |
| 
 | |
| To be fixed in a future update.
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| .. _mutexheader:
 | |
| 
 | |
| mutex.h
 | |
| =======
 | |
| 
 | |
| Thread safety analysis can be used with any threading library, but it does
 | |
| require that the threading API be wrapped in classes and methods which have the
 | |
| appropriate annotations.  The following code provides ``mutex.h`` as an example;
 | |
| these methods should be filled in to call the appropriate underlying
 | |
| implementation.
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| .. code-block:: c++
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
|   #ifndef THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS_MUTEX_H
 | |
|   #define THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS_MUTEX_H
 | |
| 
 | |
|   // Enable thread safety attributes only with clang.
 | |
|   // The attributes can be safely erased when compiling with other compilers.
 | |
|   #if defined(__clang__) && (!defined(SWIG))
 | |
|   #define THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(x)   __attribute__((x))
 | |
|   #else
 | |
|   #define THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(x)   // no-op
 | |
|   #endif
 | |
| 
 | |
|   #define CAPABILITY(x) \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(capability(x))
 | |
| 
 | |
|   #define SCOPED_CAPABILITY \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(scoped_lockable)
 | |
| 
 | |
|   #define GUARDED_BY(x) \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(guarded_by(x))
 | |
| 
 | |
|   #define PT_GUARDED_BY(x) \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(pt_guarded_by(x))
 | |
| 
 | |
|   #define ACQUIRED_BEFORE(...) \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(acquired_before(__VA_ARGS__))
 | |
| 
 | |
|   #define ACQUIRED_AFTER(...) \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(acquired_after(__VA_ARGS__))
 | |
| 
 | |
|   #define REQUIRES(...) \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(requires_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
 | |
| 
 | |
|   #define REQUIRES_SHARED(...) \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(requires_shared_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
 | |
| 
 | |
|   #define ACQUIRE(...) \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(acquire_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
 | |
| 
 | |
|   #define ACQUIRE_SHARED(...) \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(acquire_shared_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
 | |
| 
 | |
|   #define RELEASE(...) \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(release_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
 | |
| 
 | |
|   #define RELEASE_SHARED(...) \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(release_shared_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
 | |
| 
 | |
|   #define TRY_ACQUIRE(...) \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(try_acquire_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
 | |
| 
 | |
|   #define TRY_ACQUIRE_SHARED(...) \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(try_acquire_shared_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
 | |
| 
 | |
|   #define EXCLUDES(...) \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(locks_excluded(__VA_ARGS__))
 | |
| 
 | |
|   #define ASSERT_CAPABILITY(x) \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(assert_capability(x))
 | |
| 
 | |
|   #define ASSERT_SHARED_CAPABILITY(x) \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(assert_shared_capability(x))
 | |
| 
 | |
|   #define RETURN_CAPABILITY(x) \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(lock_returned(x))
 | |
| 
 | |
|   #define NO_THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(no_thread_safety_analysis)
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
|   // Defines an annotated interface for mutexes.
 | |
|   // These methods can be implemented to use any internal mutex implementation.
 | |
|   class CAPABILITY("mutex") Mutex {
 | |
|   public:
 | |
|     // Acquire/lock this mutex exclusively.  Only one thread can have exclusive
 | |
|     // access at any one time.  Write operations to guarded data require an
 | |
|     // exclusive lock.
 | |
|     void Lock() ACQUIRE();
 | |
| 
 | |
|     // Acquire/lock this mutex for read operations, which require only a shared
 | |
|     // lock.  This assumes a multiple-reader, single writer semantics.  Multiple
 | |
|     // threads may acquire the mutex simultaneously as readers, but a writer
 | |
|     // must wait for all of them to release the mutex before it can acquire it
 | |
|     // exclusively.
 | |
|     void ReaderLock() ACQUIRE_SHARED();
 | |
| 
 | |
|     // Release/unlock an exclusive mutex.
 | |
|     void Unlock() RELEASE();
 | |
| 
 | |
|     // Release/unlock a shared mutex.
 | |
|     void ReaderUnlock() RELEASE_SHARED();
 | |
| 
 | |
|     // Try to acquire the mutex.  Returns true on success, and false on failure.
 | |
|     bool TryLock() TRY_ACQUIRE(true);
 | |
| 
 | |
|     // Try to acquire the mutex for read operations.
 | |
|     bool ReaderTryLock() TRY_ACQUIRE_SHARED(true);
 | |
| 
 | |
|     // Assert that this mutex is currently held by the calling thread.
 | |
|     void AssertHeld() ASSERT_CAPABILITY(this);
 | |
| 
 | |
|     // Assert that is mutex is currently held for read operations.
 | |
|     void AssertReaderHeld() ASSERT_SHARED_CAPABILITY(this);
 | |
|     
 | |
|     // For negative capabilities.
 | |
|     const Mutex& operator!() const { return *this; }
 | |
|   };
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
|   // MutexLocker is an RAII class that acquires a mutex in its constructor, and
 | |
|   // releases it in its destructor.
 | |
|   class SCOPED_CAPABILITY MutexLocker {
 | |
|   private:
 | |
|     Mutex* mut;
 | |
| 
 | |
|   public:
 | |
|     MutexLocker(Mutex *mu) ACQUIRE(mu) : mut(mu) {
 | |
|       mu->Lock();
 | |
|     }
 | |
|     ~MutexLocker() RELEASE() {
 | |
|       mut->Unlock();
 | |
|     }
 | |
|   };
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
|   #ifdef USE_LOCK_STYLE_THREAD_SAFETY_ATTRIBUTES
 | |
|   // The original version of thread safety analysis the following attribute
 | |
|   // definitions.  These use a lock-based terminology.  They are still in use
 | |
|   // by existing thread safety code, and will continue to be supported.
 | |
| 
 | |
|   // Deprecated.
 | |
|   #define PT_GUARDED_VAR \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(pt_guarded_var)
 | |
| 
 | |
|   // Deprecated.
 | |
|   #define GUARDED_VAR \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(guarded_var)
 | |
| 
 | |
|   // Replaced by REQUIRES
 | |
|   #define EXCLUSIVE_LOCKS_REQUIRED(...) \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(exclusive_locks_required(__VA_ARGS__))
 | |
| 
 | |
|   // Replaced by REQUIRES_SHARED
 | |
|   #define SHARED_LOCKS_REQUIRED(...) \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(shared_locks_required(__VA_ARGS__))
 | |
| 
 | |
|   // Replaced by CAPABILITY
 | |
|   #define LOCKABLE \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(lockable)
 | |
| 
 | |
|   // Replaced by SCOPED_CAPABILITY
 | |
|   #define SCOPED_LOCKABLE \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(scoped_lockable)
 | |
| 
 | |
|   // Replaced by ACQUIRE
 | |
|   #define EXCLUSIVE_LOCK_FUNCTION(...) \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(exclusive_lock_function(__VA_ARGS__))
 | |
| 
 | |
|   // Replaced by ACQUIRE_SHARED
 | |
|   #define SHARED_LOCK_FUNCTION(...) \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(shared_lock_function(__VA_ARGS__))
 | |
| 
 | |
|   // Replaced by RELEASE and RELEASE_SHARED
 | |
|   #define UNLOCK_FUNCTION(...) \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(unlock_function(__VA_ARGS__))
 | |
| 
 | |
|   // Replaced by TRY_ACQUIRE
 | |
|   #define EXCLUSIVE_TRYLOCK_FUNCTION(...) \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(exclusive_trylock_function(__VA_ARGS__))
 | |
| 
 | |
|   // Replaced by TRY_ACQUIRE_SHARED
 | |
|   #define SHARED_TRYLOCK_FUNCTION(...) \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(shared_trylock_function(__VA_ARGS__))
 | |
| 
 | |
|   // Replaced by ASSERT_CAPABILITY
 | |
|   #define ASSERT_EXCLUSIVE_LOCK(...) \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(assert_exclusive_lock(__VA_ARGS__))
 | |
| 
 | |
|   // Replaced by ASSERT_SHARED_CAPABILITY
 | |
|   #define ASSERT_SHARED_LOCK(...) \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(assert_shared_lock(__VA_ARGS__))
 | |
| 
 | |
|   // Replaced by EXCLUDE_CAPABILITY.
 | |
|   #define LOCKS_EXCLUDED(...) \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(locks_excluded(__VA_ARGS__))
 | |
| 
 | |
|   // Replaced by RETURN_CAPABILITY
 | |
|   #define LOCK_RETURNED(x) \
 | |
|     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(lock_returned(x))
 | |
| 
 | |
|   #endif  // USE_LOCK_STYLE_THREAD_SAFETY_ATTRIBUTES
 | |
| 
 | |
|   #endif  // THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS_MUTEX_H
 | |
| 
 |