Thread::Semaphore(3) Perl Programmers Reference Guide Thread::Semaphore(3)NAMEThread::Semaphore - Thread-safe semaphores
VERSION
This document describes Thread::Semaphore version 2.09
SYNOPSIS
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);
DESCRIPTION
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.
METHODS
->new()
->new(NUMBER)
"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.
->down()
->down(NUMBER)
The "down" method decreases the semaphore's count by the speci‐
fied 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 opera‐
tions were named by the late Dijkstra, who was Dutch).
->up()
->up(NUMBER)
The "up" method increases the semaphore's count by the number
specified (which must be an integer >= 1), or by one if no num‐
ber 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 sema‐
phore 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").
NOTES
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 func‐
tion in either environment.
SEE ALSOThread::Semaphore Discussion Forum on CPAN: <http://www.cpanfo‐
rum.com/dist/Thread-Semaphore>
Annotated POD for Thread::Semaphore: <http://annocpan.org/~JDHED‐
DEN/Thread-Semaphore-2.09/lib/Thread/Semaphore.pm>
Source repository: <http://code.google.com/p/thread-semaphore/>
threads, threads::shared
MAINTAINER
Jerry D. Hedden, <jdhedden AT cpan DOT org>
LICENSE
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
under the same terms as Perl itself.
perl v5.8.8 2008-09-19 Thread::Semaphore(3)
