Thread::Semaphore - Thread-safe semaphores
This document describes Thread::Semaphore version 2.09
- use Thread::Semaphore;
- my $s = Thread::Semaphore->new();
- $s->down(); # Also known as the semaphore P operation.
- # The guarded section is here
- $s->up(); # Also known as the semaphore V operation.
- # The default semaphore value is 1
- my $s = Thread::Semaphore-new($initial_value);
- $s->down($down_value);
- $s->up($up_value);
Semaphores provide a mechanism to regulate access to resources. Unlike locks, semaphores aren't tied to particular scalars, and so may be used to control access to anything you care to use them for.
Semaphores don't limit their values to zero and one, so they can be used to control access to some resource that there may be more than one of (e.g., filehandles). Increment and decrement amounts aren't fixed at one either, so threads can reserve or return multiple resources at once.
new
creates a new semaphore, and initializes its count to the specified
number (which must be an integer). If no number is specified, the
semaphore's count defaults to 1.
The down
method decreases the semaphore's count by the specified number
(which must be an integer >= 1), or by one if no number is specified.
If the semaphore's count would drop below zero, this method will block
until such time as the semaphore's count is greater than or equal to the
amount you're down
ing the semaphore's count by.
This is the semaphore "P operation" (the name derives from the Dutch word "pak", which means "capture" -- the semaphore operations were named by the late Dijkstra, who was Dutch).
The up
method increases the semaphore's count by the number specified
(which must be an integer >= 1), or by one if no number is specified.
This will unblock any thread that is blocked trying to down
the
semaphore if the up
raises the semaphore's count above the amount that
the down
is trying to decrement it by. For example, if three threads
are blocked trying to down
a semaphore by one, and another thread up
s
the semaphore by two, then two of the blocked threads (which two is
indeterminate) will become unblocked.
This is the semaphore "V operation" (the name derives from the Dutch word "vrij", which means "release").
Semaphores created by Thread::Semaphore can be used in both threaded and non-threaded applications. This allows you to write modules and packages that potentially make use of semaphores, and that will function in either environment.
Thread::Semaphore Discussion Forum on CPAN: http://www.cpanforum.com/dist/Thread-Semaphore
Annotated POD for Thread::Semaphore: http://annocpan.org/~JDHEDDEN/Thread-Semaphore-2.09/lib/Thread/Semaphore.pm
Source repository: http://code.google.com/p/thread-semaphore/
Jerry D. Hedden, <jdhedden AT cpan DOT org>
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.