PTHREAD_DETACH(3P)					     POSIX Programmer's Manual						PTHREAD_DETACH(3P)

PROLOG

       This  manual page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual.  The Linux implementation of this interface may differ (consult the correspond-
       ing Linux manual page for details of Linux behavior), or the interface may not be implemented on Linux.

NAME

       pthread_detach - detach a thread

SYNOPSIS

       #include <pthread.h>

       int pthread_detach(pthread_t thread);

DESCRIPTION

       The pthread_detach() function shall indicate to the implementation that storage for the thread thread can be  reclaimed	when  that  thread
       terminates.  If	thread has not terminated, pthread_detach() shall not cause it to terminate. The effect of multiple pthread_detach() calls
       on the same target thread is unspecified.

RETURN VALUE

       If the call succeeds, pthread_detach() shall return 0; otherwise, an error number shall be returned to indicate the error.

ERRORS

       The pthread_detach() function shall fail if:

       EINVAL The implementation has detected that the value specified by thread does not refer to a joinable thread.

       ESRCH  No thread could be found corresponding to that specified by the given thread ID.

       The pthread_detach() function shall not return an error code of [EINTR].

       The following sections are informative.

EXAMPLES

       None.

APPLICATION USAGE

       None.

RATIONALE

       The pthread_join() or pthread_detach() functions should eventually be called for every thread that is created so  that  storage	associated
       with the thread may be reclaimed.

       It  has	been  suggested that a "detach" function is not necessary; the detachstate thread creation attribute is sufficient, since a thread
       need never be dynamically detached. However, need arises in at least two cases:

	1. In a cancellation handler for a pthread_join() it is nearly essential to have a pthread_detach() function in order to detach the thread
	   on  which  pthread_join()  was  waiting.  Without it, it would be necessary to have the handler do another pthread_join() to attempt to
	   detach the thread, which would both	delay  the  cancellation  processing  for  an  unbounded  period  and  introduce  a  new  call	to
	   pthread_join(), which might itself need a cancellation handler. A dynamic detach is nearly essential in this case.

	2. In order to detach the "initial thread" (as may be desirable in processes that set up server threads).

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

       None.

SEE ALSO

       pthread_join(), the Base Definitions volume of IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, <pthread.h>

COPYRIGHT

       Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2003 Edition, Standard for Information Technol-
       ogy -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 6, Copyright (C) 2001-2003 by the Institute of
       Electrical  and	Electronics  Engineers, Inc and The Open Group. In the event of any discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE
       and The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard is the referee document. The original Standard can  be  obtained
       online at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .

IEEE
/The Open Group						       2003							PTHREAD_DETACH(3P)