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Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -07001
2======================
3Thread Safety Analysis
4======================
5
6Introduction
7============
8
9Clang Thread Safety Analysis is a C++ language extension which warns about
10potential race conditions in code. The analysis is completely static (i.e.
11compile-time); there is no run-time overhead. The analysis is still
12under active development, but it is mature enough to be deployed in an
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -080013industrial setting. It is being developed by Google, in collaboration with
14CERT/SEI, and is used extensively in Google's internal code base.
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -070015
16Thread safety analysis works very much like a type system for multi-threaded
17programs. In addition to declaring the *type* of data (e.g. ``int``, ``float``,
18etc.), the programmer can (optionally) declare how access to that data is
19controlled in a multi-threaded environment. For example, if ``foo`` is
20*guarded by* the mutex ``mu``, then the analysis will issue a warning whenever
21a piece of code reads or writes to ``foo`` without first locking ``mu``.
22Similarly, if there are particular routines that should only be called by
23the GUI thread, then the analysis will warn if other threads call those
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -080024routines.
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -070025
26Getting Started
27----------------
28
29.. code-block:: c++
30
31 #include "mutex.h"
32
33 class BankAccount {
34 private:
35 Mutex mu;
36 int balance GUARDED_BY(mu);
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -080037
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -070038 void depositImpl(int amount) {
39 balance += amount; // WARNING! Cannot write balance without locking mu.
40 }
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -080041
42 void withdrawImpl(int amount) REQUIRES(mu) {
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -070043 balance -= amount; // OK. Caller must have locked mu.
44 }
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -080045
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -070046 public:
47 void withdraw(int amount) {
48 mu.Lock();
49 withdrawImpl(amount); // OK. We've locked mu.
50 } // WARNING! Failed to unlock mu.
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -080051
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -070052 void transferFrom(BankAccount& b, int amount) {
53 mu.Lock();
54 b.withdrawImpl(amount); // WARNING! Calling withdrawImpl() requires locking b.mu.
55 depositImpl(amount); // OK. depositImpl() has no requirements.
56 mu.Unlock();
57 }
58 };
59
60This example demonstrates the basic concepts behind the analysis. The
61``GUARDED_BY`` attribute declares that a thread must lock ``mu`` before it can
62read or write to ``balance``, thus ensuring that the increment and decrement
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -080063operations are atomic. Similarly, ``REQUIRES`` declares that
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -070064the calling thread must lock ``mu`` before calling ``withdrawImpl``.
65Because the caller is assumed to have locked ``mu``, it is safe to modify
66``balance`` within the body of the method.
67
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -080068The ``depositImpl()`` method does not have ``REQUIRES``, so the
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -070069analysis issues a warning. Thread safety analysis is not inter-procedural, so
70caller requirements must be explicitly declared.
71There is also a warning in ``transferFrom()``, because although the method
72locks ``this->mu``, it does not lock ``b.mu``. The analysis understands
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -080073that these are two separate mutexes, in two different objects.
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -070074
75Finally, there is a warning in the ``withdraw()`` method, because it fails to
76unlock ``mu``. Every lock must have a corresponding unlock, and the analysis
77will detect both double locks, and double unlocks. A function is allowed to
78acquire a lock without releasing it, (or vice versa), but it must be annotated
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -080079as such (using ``ACQUIRE``/``RELEASE``).
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -070080
81
82Running The Analysis
83--------------------
84
85To run the analysis, simply compile with the ``-Wthread-safety`` flag, e.g.
86
87.. code-block:: bash
88
89 clang -c -Wthread-safety example.cpp
90
91Note that this example assumes the presence of a suitably annotated
92:ref:`mutexheader` that declares which methods perform locking,
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -080093unlocking, and so on.
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -070094
95
96Basic Concepts: Capabilities
97============================
98
99Thread safety analysis provides a way of protecting *resources* with
100*capabilities*. A resource is either a data member, or a function/method
101that provides access to some underlying resource. The analysis ensures that
102the calling thread cannot access the *resource* (i.e. call the function, or
103read/write the data) unless it has the *capability* to do so.
104
105Capabilities are associated with named C++ objects which declare specific
106methods to acquire and release the capability. The name of the object serves
107to identify the capability. The most common example is a mutex. For example,
108if ``mu`` is a mutex, then calling ``mu.Lock()`` causes the calling thread
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800109to acquire the capability to access data that is protected by ``mu``. Similarly,
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700110calling ``mu.Unlock()`` releases that capability.
111
112A thread may hold a capability either *exclusively* or *shared*. An exclusive
113capability can be held by only one thread at a time, while a shared capability
114can be held by many threads at the same time. This mechanism enforces a
115multiple-reader, single-writer pattern. Write operations to protected data
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800116require exclusive access, while read operations require only shared access.
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700117
118At any given moment during program execution, a thread holds a specific set of
119capabilities (e.g. the set of mutexes that it has locked.) These act like keys
120or tokens that allow the thread to access a given resource. Just like physical
121security keys, a thread cannot make copy of a capability, nor can it destroy
122one. A thread can only release a capability to another thread, or acquire one
123from another thread. The annotations are deliberately agnostic about the
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800124exact mechanism used to acquire and release capabilities; it assumes that the
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700125underlying implementation (e.g. the Mutex implementation) does the handoff in
126an appropriate manner.
127
128The set of capabilities that are actually held by a given thread at a given
129point in program execution is a run-time concept. The static analysis works
130by calculating an approximation of that set, called the *capability
131environment*. The capability environment is calculated for every program point,
132and describes the set of capabilities that are statically known to be held, or
133not held, at that particular point. This environment is a conservative
134approximation of the full set of capabilities that will actually held by a
135thread at run-time.
136
137
138Reference Guide
139===============
140
141The thread safety analysis uses attributes to declare threading constraints.
142Attributes must be attached to named declarations, such as classes, methods,
143and data members. Users are *strongly advised* to define macros for the various
144attributes; example definitions can be found in :ref:`mutexheader`, below.
145The following documentation assumes the use of macros.
146
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800147For historical reasons, prior versions of thread safety used macro names that
148were very lock-centric. These macros have since been renamed to fit a more
149general capability model. The prior names are still in use, and will be
150mentioned under the tag *previously* where appropriate.
151
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700152
153GUARDED_BY(c) and PT_GUARDED_BY(c)
154----------------------------------
155
156``GUARDED_BY`` is an attribute on data members, which declares that the data
157member is protected by the given capability. Read operations on the data
158require shared access, while write operations require exclusive access.
159
160``PT_GUARDED_BY`` is similar, but is intended for use on pointers and smart
161pointers. There is no constraint on the data member itself, but the *data that
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800162it points to* is protected by the given capability.
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700163
164.. code-block:: c++
165
166 Mutex mu;
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800167 int *p1 GUARDED_BY(mu);
168 int *p2 PT_GUARDED_BY(mu);
169 unique_ptr<int> p3 PT_GUARDED_BY(mu);
170
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700171 void test() {
172 p1 = 0; // Warning!
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800173
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700174 *p2 = 42; // Warning!
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800175 p2 = new int; // OK.
176
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700177 *p3 = 42; // Warning!
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800178 p3.reset(new int); // OK.
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700179 }
180
181
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800182REQUIRES(...), REQUIRES_SHARED(...)
183-----------------------------------
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700184
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800185*Previously*: ``EXCLUSIVE_LOCKS_REQUIRED``, ``SHARED_LOCKS_REQUIRED``
186
187``REQUIRES`` is an attribute on functions or methods, which
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700188declares that the calling thread must have exclusive access to the given
189capabilities. More than one capability may be specified. The capabilities
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800190must be held on entry to the function, *and must still be held on exit*.
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700191
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800192``REQUIRES_SHARED`` is similar, but requires only shared access.
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700193
194.. code-block:: c++
195
196 Mutex mu1, mu2;
197 int a GUARDED_BY(mu1);
198 int b GUARDED_BY(mu2);
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800199
200 void foo() REQUIRES(mu1, mu2) {
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700201 a = 0;
202 b = 0;
203 }
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800204
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700205 void test() {
206 mu1.Lock();
207 foo(); // Warning! Requires mu2.
208 mu1.Unlock();
209 }
210
211
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800212ACQUIRE(...), ACQUIRE_SHARED(...), RELEASE(...), RELEASE_SHARED(...)
213--------------------------------------------------------------------
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700214
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800215*Previously*: ``EXCLUSIVE_LOCK_FUNCTION``, ``SHARED_LOCK_FUNCTION``,
216``UNLOCK_FUNCTION``
217
218``ACQUIRE`` is an attribute on functions or methods, which
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700219declares that the function acquires a capability, but does not release it. The
220caller must not hold the given capability on entry, and it will hold the
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800221capability on exit. ``ACQUIRE_SHARED`` is similar.
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700222
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800223``RELEASE`` and ``RELEASE_SHARED`` declare that the function releases the given
224capability. The caller must hold the capability on entry, and will no longer
225hold it on exit. It does not matter whether the given capability is shared or
226exclusive.
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700227
228.. code-block:: c++
229
230 Mutex mu;
231 MyClass myObject GUARDED_BY(mu);
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800232
233 void lockAndInit() ACQUIRE(mu) {
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700234 mu.Lock();
235 myObject.init();
236 }
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800237
238 void cleanupAndUnlock() RELEASE(mu) {
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700239 myObject.cleanup();
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800240 } // Warning! Need to unlock mu.
241
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700242 void test() {
243 lockAndInit();
244 myObject.doSomething();
245 cleanupAndUnlock();
246 myObject.doSomething(); // Warning, mu is not locked.
247 }
248
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800249If no argument is passed to ``ACQUIRE`` or ``RELEASE``, then the argument is
250assumed to be ``this``, and the analysis will not check the body of the
251function. This pattern is intended for use by classes which hide locking
252details behind an abstract interface. For example:
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700253
254.. code-block:: c++
255
256 template <class T>
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800257 class CAPABILITY("mutex") Container {
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700258 private:
259 Mutex mu;
260 T* data;
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800261
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700262 public:
263 // Hide mu from public interface.
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800264 void Lock() ACQUIRE() { mu.Lock(); }
265 void Unlock() RELEASE() { mu.Unlock(); }
266
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700267 T& getElem(int i) { return data[i]; }
268 };
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800269
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700270 void test() {
271 Container<int> c;
272 c.Lock();
273 int i = c.getElem(0);
274 c.Unlock();
275 }
276
277
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800278EXCLUDES(...)
279-------------
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700280
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800281*Previously*: ``LOCKS_EXCLUDED``
282
283``EXCLUDES`` is an attribute on functions or methods, which declares that
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700284the caller must *not* hold the given capabilities. This annotation is
285used to prevent deadlock. Many mutex implementations are not re-entrant, so
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800286deadlock can occur if the function acquires the mutex a second time.
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700287
288.. code-block:: c++
289
290 Mutex mu;
291 int a GUARDED_BY(mu);
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800292
293 void clear() EXCLUDES(mu) {
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700294 mu.Lock();
295 a = 0;
296 mu.Unlock();
297 }
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800298
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700299 void reset() {
300 mu.Lock();
301 clear(); // Warning! Caller cannot hold 'mu'.
302 mu.Unlock();
303 }
304
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800305Unlike ``REQUIRES``, ``EXCLUDES`` is optional. The analysis will not issue a
306warning if the attribute is missing, which can lead to false negatives in some
307cases. This issue is discussed further in :ref:`negative`.
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700308
309
310NO_THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS
311-------------------------
312
313``NO_THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS`` is an attribute on functions or methods, which
314turns off thread safety checking for that method. It provides an escape hatch
315for functions which are either (1) deliberately thread-unsafe, or (2) are
316thread-safe, but too complicated for the analysis to understand. Reasons for
317(2) will be described in the :ref:`limitations`, below.
318
319.. code-block:: c++
320
321 class Counter {
322 Mutex mu;
323 int a GUARDED_BY(mu);
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800324
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700325 void unsafeIncrement() NO_THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS { a++; }
326 };
327
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800328Unlike the other attributes, NO_THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS is not part of the
329interface of a function, and should thus be placed on the function definition
330(in the ``.cc`` or ``.cpp`` file) rather than on the function declaration
331(in the header).
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700332
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700333
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800334RETURN_CAPABILITY(c)
335--------------------
336
337*Previously*: ``LOCK_RETURNED``
338
339``RETURN_CAPABILITY`` is an attribute on functions or methods, which declares
340that the function returns a reference to the given capability. It is used to
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700341annotate getter methods that return mutexes.
342
343.. code-block:: c++
344
345 class MyClass {
346 private:
347 Mutex mu;
348 int a GUARDED_BY(mu);
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800349
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700350 public:
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800351 Mutex* getMu() RETURN_CAPABILITY(mu) { return &mu; }
352
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700353 // analysis knows that getMu() == mu
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800354 void clear() REQUIRES(getMu()) { a = 0; }
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700355 };
356
357
358ACQUIRED_BEFORE(...), ACQUIRED_AFTER(...)
359-----------------------------------------
360
361``ACQUIRED_BEFORE`` and ``ACQUIRED_AFTER`` are attributes on member
362declarations, specifically declarations of mutexes or other capabilities.
363These declarations enforce a particular order in which the mutexes must be
364acquired, in order to prevent deadlock.
365
366.. code-block:: c++
367
368 Mutex m1;
369 Mutex m2 ACQUIRED_AFTER(m1);
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800370
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700371 // Alternative declaration
372 // Mutex m2;
373 // Mutex m1 ACQUIRED_BEFORE(m2);
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800374
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700375 void foo() {
376 m2.Lock();
377 m1.Lock(); // Warning! m2 must be acquired after m1.
378 m1.Unlock();
379 m2.Unlock();
380 }
381
382
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800383CAPABILITY(<string>)
384--------------------
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700385
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800386*Previously*: ``LOCKABLE``
387
388``CAPABILITY`` is an attribute on classes, which specifies that objects of the
389class can be used as a capability. The string argument specifies the kind of
390capability in error messages, e.g. ``"mutex"``. See the ``Container`` example
391given above, or the ``Mutex`` class in :ref:`mutexheader`.
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700392
393
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800394SCOPED_CAPABILITY
395-----------------
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700396
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800397*Previously*: ``SCOPED_LOCKABLE``
398
399``SCOPED_CAPABILITY`` is an attribute on classes that implement RAII-style
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700400locking, in which a capability is acquired in the constructor, and released in
401the destructor. Such classes require special handling because the constructor
402and destructor refer to the capability via different names; see the
403``MutexLocker`` class in :ref:`mutexheader`, below.
404
405
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800406TRY_ACQUIRE(<bool>, ...), TRY_ACQUIRE_SHARED(<bool>, ...)
407---------------------------------------------------------
408
409*Previously:* ``EXCLUSIVE_TRYLOCK_FUNCTION``, ``SHARED_TRYLOCK_FUNCTION``
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700410
411These are attributes on a function or method that tries to acquire the given
412capability, and returns a boolean value indicating success or failure.
413The first argument must be ``true`` or ``false``, to specify which return value
414indicates success, and the remaining arguments are interpreted in the same way
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800415as ``ACQUIRE``. See :ref:`mutexheader`, below, for example uses.
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700416
417
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800418ASSERT_CAPABILITY(...) and ASSERT_SHARED_CAPABILITY(...)
419--------------------------------------------------------
420
421*Previously:* ``ASSERT_EXCLUSIVE_LOCK``, ``ASSERT_SHARED_LOCK``
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700422
423These are attributes on a function or method that does a run-time test to see
424whether the calling thread holds the given capability. The function is assumed
425to fail (no return) if the capability is not held. See :ref:`mutexheader`,
426below, for example uses.
427
428
429GUARDED_VAR and PT_GUARDED_VAR
430------------------------------
431
432Use of these attributes has been deprecated.
433
434
435Warning flags
436-------------
437
438* ``-Wthread-safety``: Umbrella flag which turns on the following three:
439
440 + ``-Wthread-safety-attributes``: Sanity checks on attribute syntax.
441 + ``-Wthread-safety-analysis``: The core analysis.
442 + ``-Wthread-safety-precise``: Requires that mutex expressions match precisely.
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800443 This warning can be disabled for code which has a lot of aliases.
444 + ``-Wthread-safety-reference``: Checks when guarded members are passed by reference.
445
446
447:ref:`negative` are an experimental feature, which are enabled with:
448
449* ``-Wthread-safety-negative``: Negative capabilities. Off by default.
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700450
451When new features and checks are added to the analysis, they can often introduce
452additional warnings. Those warnings are initially released as *beta* warnings
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800453for a period of time, after which they are migrated into the standard analysis.
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700454
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800455* ``-Wthread-safety-beta``: New features. Off by default.
456
457
458.. _negative:
459
460Negative Capabilities
461=====================
462
463Thread Safety Analysis is designed to prevent both race conditions and
464deadlock. The GUARDED_BY and REQUIRES attributes prevent race conditions, by
465ensuring that a capability is held before reading or writing to guarded data,
466and the EXCLUDES attribute prevents deadlock, by making sure that a mutex is
467*not* held.
468
469However, EXCLUDES is an optional attribute, and does not provide the same
470safety guarantee as REQUIRES. In particular:
471
472 * A function which acquires a capability does not have to exclude it.
473 * A function which calls a function that excludes a capability does not
474 have transitively exclude that capability.
475
476As a result, EXCLUDES can easily produce false negatives:
477
478.. code-block:: c++
479
480 class Foo {
481 Mutex mu;
482
483 void foo() {
484 mu.Lock();
485 bar(); // No warning.
486 baz(); // No warning.
487 mu.Unlock();
488 }
489
490 void bar() { // No warning. (Should have EXCLUDES(mu)).
491 mu.Lock();
492 // ...
493 mu.Unlock();
494 }
495
496 void baz() {
497 bif(); // No warning. (Should have EXCLUDES(mu)).
498 }
499
500 void bif() EXCLUDES(mu);
501 };
502
503
504Negative requirements are an alternative EXCLUDES that provide
505a stronger safety guarantee. A negative requirement uses the REQUIRES
506attribute, in conjunction with the ``!`` operator, to indicate that a capability
507should *not* be held.
508
509For example, using ``REQUIRES(!mu)`` instead of ``EXCLUDES(mu)`` will produce
510the appropriate warnings:
511
512.. code-block:: c++
513
514 class FooNeg {
515 Mutex mu;
516
517 void foo() REQUIRES(!mu) { // foo() now requires !mu.
518 mu.Lock();
519 bar();
520 baz();
521 mu.Unlock();
522 }
523
524 void bar() {
525 mu.Lock(); // WARNING! Missing REQUIRES(!mu).
526 // ...
527 mu.Unlock();
528 }
529
530 void baz() {
531 bif(); // WARNING! Missing REQUIRES(!mu).
532 }
533
534 void bif() REQUIRES(!mu);
535 };
536
537
538Negative requirements are an experimental feature which is off by default,
539because it will produce many warnings in existing code. It can be enabled
540by passing ``-Wthread-safety-negative``.
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700541
542
543.. _faq:
544
545Frequently Asked Questions
546==========================
547
548(Q) Should I put attributes in the header file, or in the .cc/.cpp/.cxx file?
549
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800550(A) Attributes are part of the formal interface of a function, and should
551always go in the header, where they are visible to anything that includes
552the header. Attributes in the .cpp file are not visible outside of the
553immediate translation unit, which leads to false negatives and false positives.
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700554
555
556(Q) "*Mutex is not locked on every path through here?*" What does that mean?
557
558(A) See :ref:`conditional_locks`, below.
559
560
561.. _limitations:
562
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800563Known Limitations
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700564=================
565
566Lexical scope
567-------------
568
569Thread safety attributes contain ordinary C++ expressions, and thus follow
570ordinary C++ scoping rules. In particular, this means that mutexes and other
571capabilities must be declared before they can be used in an attribute.
572Use-before-declaration is okay within a single class, because attributes are
573parsed at the same time as method bodies. (C++ delays parsing of method bodies
574until the end of the class.) However, use-before-declaration is not allowed
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800575between classes, as illustrated below.
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700576
577.. code-block:: c++
578
579 class Foo;
580
581 class Bar {
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800582 void bar(Foo* f) REQUIRES(f->mu); // Error: mu undeclared.
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700583 };
584
585 class Foo {
586 Mutex mu;
587 };
588
589
590Private Mutexes
591---------------
592
593Good software engineering practice dictates that mutexes should be private
594members, because the locking mechanism used by a thread-safe class is part of
595its internal implementation. However, private mutexes can sometimes leak into
596the public interface of a class.
597Thread safety attributes follow normal C++ access restrictions, so if ``mu``
598is a private member of ``c``, then it is an error to write ``c.mu`` in an
599attribute.
600
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800601One workaround is to (ab)use the ``RETURN_CAPABILITY`` attribute to provide a
602public *name* for a private mutex, without actually exposing the underlying
603mutex. For example:
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700604
605.. code-block:: c++
606
607 class MyClass {
608 private:
609 Mutex mu;
610
611 public:
612 // For thread safety analysis only. Does not actually return mu.
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800613 Mutex* getMu() RETURN_CAPABILITY(mu) { return 0; }
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700614
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800615 void doSomething() REQUIRES(mu);
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700616 };
617
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800618 void doSomethingTwice(MyClass& c) REQUIRES(c.getMu()) {
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700619 // The analysis thinks that c.getMu() == c.mu
620 c.doSomething();
621 c.doSomething();
622 }
623
624In the above example, ``doSomethingTwice()`` is an external routine that
625requires ``c.mu`` to be locked, which cannot be declared directly because ``mu``
626is private. This pattern is discouraged because it
627violates encapsulation, but it is sometimes necessary, especially when adding
628annotations to an existing code base. The workaround is to define ``getMu()``
629as a fake getter method, which is provided only for the benefit of thread
630safety analysis.
631
632
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700633.. _conditional_locks:
634
635No conditionally held locks.
636----------------------------
637
638The analysis must be able to determine whether a lock is held, or not held, at
639every program point. Thus, sections of code where a lock *might be held* will
640generate spurious warnings (false positives). For example:
641
642.. code-block:: c++
643
644 void foo() {
645 bool b = needsToLock();
646 if (b) mu.Lock();
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800647 ... // Warning! Mutex 'mu' is not held on every path through here.
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700648 if (b) mu.Unlock();
649 }
650
651
652No checking inside constructors and destructors.
653------------------------------------------------
654
655The analysis currently does not do any checking inside constructors or
656destructors. In other words, every constructor and destructor is treated as
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800657if it was annotated with ``NO_THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS``.
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700658The reason for this is that during initialization, only one thread typically
659has access to the object which is being initialized, and it is thus safe (and
660common practice) to initialize guarded members without acquiring any locks.
661The same is true of destructors.
662
663Ideally, the analysis would allow initialization of guarded members inside the
664object being initialized or destroyed, while still enforcing the usual access
665restrictions on everything else. However, this is difficult to enforce in
666practice, because in complex pointer-based data structures, it is hard to
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800667determine what data is owned by the enclosing object.
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700668
669No inlining.
670------------
671
672Thread safety analysis is strictly intra-procedural, just like ordinary type
673checking. It relies only on the declared attributes of a function, and will
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800674not attempt to inline any method calls. As a result, code such as the
675following will not work:
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700676
677.. code-block:: c++
678
679 template<class T>
680 class AutoCleanup {
681 T* object;
682 void (T::*mp)();
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800683
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700684 public:
685 AutoCleanup(T* obj, void (T::*imp)()) : object(obj), mp(imp) { }
686 ~AutoCleanup() { (object->*mp)(); }
687 };
688
689 Mutex mu;
690 void foo() {
691 mu.Lock();
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800692 AutoCleanup<Mutex>(&mu, &Mutex::Unlock);
693 // ...
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700694 } // Warning, mu is not unlocked.
695
696In this case, the destructor of ``Autocleanup`` calls ``mu.Unlock()``, so
697the warning is bogus. However,
698thread safety analysis cannot see the unlock, because it does not attempt to
699inline the destructor. Moreover, there is no way to annotate the destructor,
700because the destructor is calling a function that is not statically known.
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800701This pattern is simply not supported.
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700702
703
704No alias analysis.
705------------------
706
707The analysis currently does not track pointer aliases. Thus, there can be
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800708false positives if two pointers both point to the same mutex.
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700709
710
711.. code-block:: c++
712
713 class MutexUnlocker {
714 Mutex* mu;
715
716 public:
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800717 MutexUnlocker(Mutex* m) RELEASE(m) : mu(m) { mu->Unlock(); }
718 ~MutexUnlocker() ACQUIRE(mu) { mu->Lock(); }
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700719 };
720
721 Mutex mutex;
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800722 void test() REQUIRES(mutex) {
723 {
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700724 MutexUnlocker munl(&mutex); // unlocks mutex
725 doSomeIO();
726 } // Warning: locks munl.mu
727 }
728
729The MutexUnlocker class is intended to be the dual of the MutexLocker class,
730defined in :ref:`mutexheader`. However, it doesn't work because the analysis
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800731doesn't know that munl.mu == mutex. The SCOPED_CAPABILITY attribute handles
732aliasing for MutexLocker, but does so only for that particular pattern.
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700733
734
735ACQUIRED_BEFORE(...) and ACQUIRED_AFTER(...) are currently unimplemented.
736-------------------------------------------------------------------------
737
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800738To be fixed in a future update.
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700739
740
741.. _mutexheader:
742
743mutex.h
744=======
745
746Thread safety analysis can be used with any threading library, but it does
747require that the threading API be wrapped in classes and methods which have the
748appropriate annotations. The following code provides ``mutex.h`` as an example;
749these methods should be filled in to call the appropriate underlying
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800750implementation.
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700751
752
753.. code-block:: c++
754
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800755
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700756 #ifndef THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS_MUTEX_H
757 #define THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS_MUTEX_H
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800758
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700759 // Enable thread safety attributes only with clang.
760 // The attributes can be safely erased when compiling with other compilers.
761 #if defined(__clang__) && (!defined(SWIG))
762 #define THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(x) __attribute__((x))
763 #else
764 #define THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(x) // no-op
765 #endif
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800766
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700767 #define THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(x) __attribute__((x))
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800768
769 #define CAPABILITY(x) \
770 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(capability(x))
771
772 #define SCOPED_CAPABILITY \
773 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(scoped_lockable)
774
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700775 #define GUARDED_BY(x) \
776 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(guarded_by(x))
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800777
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700778 #define PT_GUARDED_BY(x) \
779 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(pt_guarded_by(x))
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800780
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700781 #define ACQUIRED_BEFORE(...) \
782 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(acquired_before(__VA_ARGS__))
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800783
784 #define ACQUIRED_AFTER(...) \
785 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(acquired_after(__VA_ARGS__))
786
787 #define REQUIRES(...) \
788 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(requires_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
789
790 #define REQUIRES_SHARED(...) \
791 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(requires_shared_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
792
793 #define ACQUIRE(...) \
794 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(acquire_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
795
796 #define ACQUIRE_SHARED(...) \
797 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(acquire_shared_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
798
799 #define RELEASE(...) \
800 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(release_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
801
802 #define RELEASE_SHARED(...) \
803 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(release_shared_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
804
805 #define TRY_ACQUIRE(...) \
806 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(try_acquire_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
807
808 #define TRY_ACQUIRE_SHARED(...) \
809 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(try_acquire_shared_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
810
811 #define EXCLUDES(...) \
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700812 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(locks_excluded(__VA_ARGS__))
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800813
814 #define ASSERT_CAPABILITY(x) \
815 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(assert_capability(x))
816
817 #define ASSERT_SHARED_CAPABILITY(x) \
818 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(assert_shared_capability(x))
819
820 #define RETURN_CAPABILITY(x) \
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700821 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(lock_returned(x))
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800822
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700823 #define NO_THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS \
824 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(no_thread_safety_analysis)
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800825
826
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700827 // Defines an annotated interface for mutexes.
828 // These methods can be implemented to use any internal mutex implementation.
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800829 class CAPABILITY("mutex") Mutex {
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700830 public:
831 // Acquire/lock this mutex exclusively. Only one thread can have exclusive
832 // access at any one time. Write operations to guarded data require an
833 // exclusive lock.
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800834 void Lock() ACQUIRE();
835
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700836 // Acquire/lock this mutex for read operations, which require only a shared
837 // lock. This assumes a multiple-reader, single writer semantics. Multiple
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800838 // threads may acquire the mutex simultaneously as readers, but a writer
839 // must wait for all of them to release the mutex before it can acquire it
840 // exclusively.
841 void ReaderLock() ACQUIRE_SHARED();
842
843 // Release/unlock an exclusive mutex.
844 void Unlock() RELEASE();
845
846 // Release/unlock a shared mutex.
847 void ReaderUnlock() RELEASE_SHARED();
848
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700849 // Try to acquire the mutex. Returns true on success, and false on failure.
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800850 bool TryLock() TRY_ACQUIRE(true);
851
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700852 // Try to acquire the mutex for read operations.
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800853 bool ReaderTryLock() TRY_ACQUIRE_SHARED(true);
854
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700855 // Assert that this mutex is currently held by the calling thread.
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800856 void AssertHeld() ASSERT_CAPABILITY(this);
857
858 // Assert that is mutex is currently held for read operations.
859 void AssertReaderHeld() ASSERT_SHARED_CAPABILITY(this);
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700860 };
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800861
862
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700863 // MutexLocker is an RAII class that acquires a mutex in its constructor, and
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800864 // releases it in its destructor.
865 class SCOPED_CAPABILITY MutexLocker {
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700866 private:
867 Mutex* mut;
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800868
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700869 public:
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800870 MutexLocker(Mutex *mu) ACQUIRE(mu) : mut(mu) {
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700871 mu->Lock();
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800872 }
873 ~MutexLocker() RELEASE() {
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700874 mut->Unlock();
875 }
876 };
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800877
878
879 #ifdef USE_LOCK_STYLE_THREAD_SAFETY_ATTRIBUTES
880 // The original version of thread safety analysis the following attribute
881 // definitions. These use a lock-based terminology. They are still in use
882 // by existing thread safety code, and will continue to be supported.
883
884 // Deprecated.
885 #define PT_GUARDED_VAR \
886 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(pt_guarded)
887
888 // Deprecated.
889 #define GUARDED_VAR \
890 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(guarded)
891
892 // Replaced by REQUIRES
893 #define EXCLUSIVE_LOCKS_REQUIRED(...) \
894 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(exclusive_locks_required(__VA_ARGS__))
895
896 // Replaced by REQUIRES_SHARED
897 #define SHARED_LOCKS_REQUIRED(...) \
898 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(shared_locks_required(__VA_ARGS__))
899
900 // Replaced by CAPABILITY
901 #define LOCKABLE \
902 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(lockable)
903
904 // Replaced by SCOPED_CAPABILITY
905 #define SCOPED_LOCKABLE \
906 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(scoped_lockable)
907
908 // Replaced by ACQUIRE
909 #define EXCLUSIVE_LOCK_FUNCTION(...) \
910 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(exclusive_lock_function(__VA_ARGS__))
911
912 // Replaced by ACQUIRE_SHARED
913 #define SHARED_LOCK_FUNCTION(...) \
914 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(shared_lock_function(__VA_ARGS__))
915
916 // Replaced by RELEASE and RELEASE_SHARED
917 #define UNLOCK_FUNCTION(...) \
918 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(unlock_function(__VA_ARGS__))
919
920 // Replaced by TRY_ACQUIRE
921 #define EXCLUSIVE_TRYLOCK_FUNCTION(...) \
922 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(exclusive_trylock_function(__VA_ARGS__))
923
924 // Replaced by TRY_ACQUIRE_SHARED
925 #define SHARED_TRYLOCK_FUNCTION(...) \
926 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(shared_trylock_function(__VA_ARGS__))
927
928 // Replaced by ASSERT_CAPABILITY
929 #define ASSERT_EXCLUSIVE_LOCK(...) \
930 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(assert_exclusive_lock(__VA_ARGS__))
931
932 // Replaced by ASSERT_SHARED_CAPABILITY
933 #define ASSERT_SHARED_LOCK(...) \
934 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(assert_shared_lock(__VA_ARGS__))
935
936 // Replaced by EXCLUDE_CAPABILITY.
937 #define LOCKS_EXCLUDED(...) \
938 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(locks_excluded(__VA_ARGS__))
939
940 // Replaced by RETURN_CAPABILITY
941 #define LOCK_RETURNED(x) \
942 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(lock_returned(x))
943
944 #endif // USE_LOCK_STYLE_THREAD_SAFETY_ATTRIBUTES
945
Stephen Hines651f13c2014-04-23 16:59:28 -0700946 #endif // THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS_MUTEX_H
Stephen Hines176edba2014-12-01 14:53:08 -0800947