1 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 13industrial setting. It is being developed by Google, in collaboration with 14CERT/SEI, and is used extensively in Google's internal code base. 15 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 24routines. 25 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); 37 38 void depositImpl(int amount) { 39 balance += amount; // WARNING! Cannot write balance without locking mu. 40 } 41 42 void withdrawImpl(int amount) REQUIRES(mu) { 43 balance -= amount; // OK. Caller must have locked mu. 44 } 45 46 public: 47 void withdraw(int amount) { 48 mu.Lock(); 49 withdrawImpl(amount); // OK. We've locked mu. 50 } // WARNING! Failed to unlock mu. 51 52 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 63operations are atomic. Similarly, ``REQUIRES`` declares that 64the 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 68The ``depositImpl()`` method does not have ``REQUIRES``, so the 69analysis 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 73that these are two separate mutexes, in two different objects. 74 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 79as such (using ``ACQUIRE``/``RELEASE``). 80 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, 93unlocking, and so on. 94 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 109to acquire the capability to access data that is protected by ``mu``. Similarly, 110calling ``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 116require exclusive access, while read operations require only shared access. 117 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 124exact mechanism used to acquire and release capabilities; it assumes that the 125underlying 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 147The attributes only control assumptions made by thread safety analysis and the 148warnings it issues. They don't affect generated code or behavior at run-time. 149 150For historical reasons, prior versions of thread safety used macro names that 151were very lock-centric. These macros have since been renamed to fit a more 152general capability model. The prior names are still in use, and will be 153mentioned under the tag *previously* where appropriate. 154 155 156GUARDED_BY(c) and PT_GUARDED_BY(c) 157---------------------------------- 158 159``GUARDED_BY`` is an attribute on data members, which declares that the data 160member is protected by the given capability. Read operations on the data 161require shared access, while write operations require exclusive access. 162 163``PT_GUARDED_BY`` is similar, but is intended for use on pointers and smart 164pointers. There is no constraint on the data member itself, but the *data that 165it points to* is protected by the given capability. 166 167.. code-block:: c++ 168 169 Mutex mu; 170 int *p1 GUARDED_BY(mu); 171 int *p2 PT_GUARDED_BY(mu); 172 unique_ptr<int> p3 PT_GUARDED_BY(mu); 173 174 void test() { 175 p1 = 0; // Warning! 176 177 *p2 = 42; // Warning! 178 p2 = new int; // OK. 179 180 *p3 = 42; // Warning! 181 p3.reset(new int); // OK. 182 } 183 184 185REQUIRES(...), REQUIRES_SHARED(...) 186----------------------------------- 187 188*Previously*: ``EXCLUSIVE_LOCKS_REQUIRED``, ``SHARED_LOCKS_REQUIRED`` 189 190``REQUIRES`` is an attribute on functions or methods, which 191declares that the calling thread must have exclusive access to the given 192capabilities. More than one capability may be specified. The capabilities 193must be held on entry to the function, *and must still be held on exit*. 194 195``REQUIRES_SHARED`` is similar, but requires only shared access. 196 197.. code-block:: c++ 198 199 Mutex mu1, mu2; 200 int a GUARDED_BY(mu1); 201 int b GUARDED_BY(mu2); 202 203 void foo() REQUIRES(mu1, mu2) { 204 a = 0; 205 b = 0; 206 } 207 208 void test() { 209 mu1.Lock(); 210 foo(); // Warning! Requires mu2. 211 mu1.Unlock(); 212 } 213 214 215ACQUIRE(...), ACQUIRE_SHARED(...), RELEASE(...), RELEASE_SHARED(...), RELEASE_GENERIC(...) 216------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 217 218*Previously*: ``EXCLUSIVE_LOCK_FUNCTION``, ``SHARED_LOCK_FUNCTION``, 219``UNLOCK_FUNCTION`` 220 221``ACQUIRE`` and ``ACQUIRE_SHARED`` are attributes on functions or methods 222declaring that the function acquires a capability, but does not release it. 223The given capability must not be held on entry, and will be held on exit 224(exclusively for ``ACQUIRE``, shared for ``ACQUIRE_SHARED``). 225 226``RELEASE``, ``RELEASE_SHARED``, and ``RELEASE_GENERIC`` declare that the 227function releases the given capability. The capability must be held on entry 228(exclusively for ``RELEASE``, shared for ``RELEASE_SHARED``, exclusively or 229shared for ``RELEASE_GENERIC``), and will no longer be held on exit. 230 231.. code-block:: c++ 232 233 Mutex mu; 234 MyClass myObject GUARDED_BY(mu); 235 236 void lockAndInit() ACQUIRE(mu) { 237 mu.Lock(); 238 myObject.init(); 239 } 240 241 void cleanupAndUnlock() RELEASE(mu) { 242 myObject.cleanup(); 243 } // Warning! Need to unlock mu. 244 245 void test() { 246 lockAndInit(); 247 myObject.doSomething(); 248 cleanupAndUnlock(); 249 myObject.doSomething(); // Warning, mu is not locked. 250 } 251 252If no argument is passed to ``ACQUIRE`` or ``RELEASE``, then the argument is 253assumed to be ``this``, and the analysis will not check the body of the 254function. This pattern is intended for use by classes which hide locking 255details behind an abstract interface. For example: 256 257.. code-block:: c++ 258 259 template <class T> 260 class CAPABILITY("mutex") Container { 261 private: 262 Mutex mu; 263 T* data; 264 265 public: 266 // Hide mu from public interface. 267 void Lock() ACQUIRE() { mu.Lock(); } 268 void Unlock() RELEASE() { mu.Unlock(); } 269 270 T& getElem(int i) { return data[i]; } 271 }; 272 273 void test() { 274 Container<int> c; 275 c.Lock(); 276 int i = c.getElem(0); 277 c.Unlock(); 278 } 279 280 281EXCLUDES(...) 282------------- 283 284*Previously*: ``LOCKS_EXCLUDED`` 285 286``EXCLUDES`` is an attribute on functions or methods, which declares that 287the caller must *not* hold the given capabilities. This annotation is 288used to prevent deadlock. Many mutex implementations are not re-entrant, so 289deadlock can occur if the function acquires the mutex a second time. 290 291.. code-block:: c++ 292 293 Mutex mu; 294 int a GUARDED_BY(mu); 295 296 void clear() EXCLUDES(mu) { 297 mu.Lock(); 298 a = 0; 299 mu.Unlock(); 300 } 301 302 void reset() { 303 mu.Lock(); 304 clear(); // Warning! Caller cannot hold 'mu'. 305 mu.Unlock(); 306 } 307 308Unlike ``REQUIRES``, ``EXCLUDES`` is optional. The analysis will not issue a 309warning if the attribute is missing, which can lead to false negatives in some 310cases. This issue is discussed further in :ref:`negative`. 311 312 313NO_THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS 314------------------------- 315 316``NO_THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS`` is an attribute on functions or methods, which 317turns off thread safety checking for that method. It provides an escape hatch 318for functions which are either (1) deliberately thread-unsafe, or (2) are 319thread-safe, but too complicated for the analysis to understand. Reasons for 320(2) will be described in the :ref:`limitations`, below. 321 322.. code-block:: c++ 323 324 class Counter { 325 Mutex mu; 326 int a GUARDED_BY(mu); 327 328 void unsafeIncrement() NO_THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS { a++; } 329 }; 330 331Unlike the other attributes, NO_THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS is not part of the 332interface of a function, and should thus be placed on the function definition 333(in the ``.cc`` or ``.cpp`` file) rather than on the function declaration 334(in the header). 335 336 337RETURN_CAPABILITY(c) 338-------------------- 339 340*Previously*: ``LOCK_RETURNED`` 341 342``RETURN_CAPABILITY`` is an attribute on functions or methods, which declares 343that the function returns a reference to the given capability. It is used to 344annotate getter methods that return mutexes. 345 346.. code-block:: c++ 347 348 class MyClass { 349 private: 350 Mutex mu; 351 int a GUARDED_BY(mu); 352 353 public: 354 Mutex* getMu() RETURN_CAPABILITY(mu) { return μ } 355 356 // analysis knows that getMu() == mu 357 void clear() REQUIRES(getMu()) { a = 0; } 358 }; 359 360 361ACQUIRED_BEFORE(...), ACQUIRED_AFTER(...) 362----------------------------------------- 363 364``ACQUIRED_BEFORE`` and ``ACQUIRED_AFTER`` are attributes on member 365declarations, specifically declarations of mutexes or other capabilities. 366These declarations enforce a particular order in which the mutexes must be 367acquired, in order to prevent deadlock. 368 369.. code-block:: c++ 370 371 Mutex m1; 372 Mutex m2 ACQUIRED_AFTER(m1); 373 374 // Alternative declaration 375 // Mutex m2; 376 // Mutex m1 ACQUIRED_BEFORE(m2); 377 378 void foo() { 379 m2.Lock(); 380 m1.Lock(); // Warning! m2 must be acquired after m1. 381 m1.Unlock(); 382 m2.Unlock(); 383 } 384 385 386CAPABILITY(<string>) 387-------------------- 388 389*Previously*: ``LOCKABLE`` 390 391``CAPABILITY`` is an attribute on classes, which specifies that objects of the 392class can be used as a capability. The string argument specifies the kind of 393capability in error messages, e.g. ``"mutex"``. See the ``Container`` example 394given above, or the ``Mutex`` class in :ref:`mutexheader`. 395 396 397SCOPED_CAPABILITY 398----------------- 399 400*Previously*: ``SCOPED_LOCKABLE`` 401 402``SCOPED_CAPABILITY`` is an attribute on classes that implement RAII-style 403locking, in which a capability is acquired in the constructor, and released in 404the destructor. Such classes require special handling because the constructor 405and destructor refer to the capability via different names; see the 406``MutexLocker`` class in :ref:`mutexheader`, below. 407 408Scoped capabilities are treated as capabilities that are implicitly acquired 409on construction and released on destruction. They are associated with 410the set of (regular) capabilities named in thread safety attributes on the 411constructor. Acquire-type attributes on other member functions are treated as 412applying to that set of associated capabilities, while ``RELEASE`` implies that 413a function releases all associated capabilities in whatever mode they're held. 414 415 416TRY_ACQUIRE(<bool>, ...), TRY_ACQUIRE_SHARED(<bool>, ...) 417--------------------------------------------------------- 418 419*Previously:* ``EXCLUSIVE_TRYLOCK_FUNCTION``, ``SHARED_TRYLOCK_FUNCTION`` 420 421These are attributes on a function or method that tries to acquire the given 422capability, and returns a boolean value indicating success or failure. 423The first argument must be ``true`` or ``false``, to specify which return value 424indicates success, and the remaining arguments are interpreted in the same way 425as ``ACQUIRE``. See :ref:`mutexheader`, below, for example uses. 426 427Because the analysis doesn't support conditional locking, a capability is 428treated as acquired after the first branch on the return value of a try-acquire 429function. 430 431.. code-block:: c++ 432 433 Mutex mu; 434 int a GUARDED_BY(mu); 435 436 void foo() { 437 bool success = mu.TryLock(); 438 a = 0; // Warning, mu is not locked. 439 if (success) { 440 a = 0; // Ok. 441 mu.Unlock(); 442 } else { 443 a = 0; // Warning, mu is not locked. 444 } 445 } 446 447 448ASSERT_CAPABILITY(...) and ASSERT_SHARED_CAPABILITY(...) 449-------------------------------------------------------- 450 451*Previously:* ``ASSERT_EXCLUSIVE_LOCK``, ``ASSERT_SHARED_LOCK`` 452 453These are attributes on a function or method which asserts the calling thread 454already holds the given capability, for example by performing a run-time test 455and terminating if the capability is not held. Presence of this annotation 456causes the analysis to assume the capability is held after calls to the 457annotated function. See :ref:`mutexheader`, below, for example uses. 458 459 460GUARDED_VAR and PT_GUARDED_VAR 461------------------------------ 462 463Use of these attributes has been deprecated. 464 465 466Warning flags 467------------- 468 469* ``-Wthread-safety``: Umbrella flag which turns on the following three: 470 471 + ``-Wthread-safety-attributes``: Sanity checks on attribute syntax. 472 + ``-Wthread-safety-analysis``: The core analysis. 473 + ``-Wthread-safety-precise``: Requires that mutex expressions match precisely. 474 This warning can be disabled for code which has a lot of aliases. 475 + ``-Wthread-safety-reference``: Checks when guarded members are passed by reference. 476 477 478:ref:`negative` are an experimental feature, which are enabled with: 479 480* ``-Wthread-safety-negative``: Negative capabilities. Off by default. 481 482When new features and checks are added to the analysis, they can often introduce 483additional warnings. Those warnings are initially released as *beta* warnings 484for a period of time, after which they are migrated into the standard analysis. 485 486* ``-Wthread-safety-beta``: New features. Off by default. 487 488 489.. _negative: 490 491Negative Capabilities 492===================== 493 494Thread Safety Analysis is designed to prevent both race conditions and 495deadlock. The GUARDED_BY and REQUIRES attributes prevent race conditions, by 496ensuring that a capability is held before reading or writing to guarded data, 497and the EXCLUDES attribute prevents deadlock, by making sure that a mutex is 498*not* held. 499 500However, EXCLUDES is an optional attribute, and does not provide the same 501safety guarantee as REQUIRES. In particular: 502 503 * A function which acquires a capability does not have to exclude it. 504 * A function which calls a function that excludes a capability does not 505 have transitively exclude that capability. 506 507As a result, EXCLUDES can easily produce false negatives: 508 509.. code-block:: c++ 510 511 class Foo { 512 Mutex mu; 513 514 void foo() { 515 mu.Lock(); 516 bar(); // No warning. 517 baz(); // No warning. 518 mu.Unlock(); 519 } 520 521 void bar() { // No warning. (Should have EXCLUDES(mu)). 522 mu.Lock(); 523 // ... 524 mu.Unlock(); 525 } 526 527 void baz() { 528 bif(); // No warning. (Should have EXCLUDES(mu)). 529 } 530 531 void bif() EXCLUDES(mu); 532 }; 533 534 535Negative requirements are an alternative EXCLUDES that provide 536a stronger safety guarantee. A negative requirement uses the REQUIRES 537attribute, in conjunction with the ``!`` operator, to indicate that a capability 538should *not* be held. 539 540For example, using ``REQUIRES(!mu)`` instead of ``EXCLUDES(mu)`` will produce 541the appropriate warnings: 542 543.. code-block:: c++ 544 545 class FooNeg { 546 Mutex mu; 547 548 void foo() REQUIRES(!mu) { // foo() now requires !mu. 549 mu.Lock(); 550 bar(); 551 baz(); 552 mu.Unlock(); 553 } 554 555 void bar() { 556 mu.Lock(); // WARNING! Missing REQUIRES(!mu). 557 // ... 558 mu.Unlock(); 559 } 560 561 void baz() { 562 bif(); // WARNING! Missing REQUIRES(!mu). 563 } 564 565 void bif() REQUIRES(!mu); 566 }; 567 568 569Negative requirements are an experimental feature which is off by default, 570because it will produce many warnings in existing code. It can be enabled 571by passing ``-Wthread-safety-negative``. 572 573 574.. _faq: 575 576Frequently Asked Questions 577========================== 578 579(Q) Should I put attributes in the header file, or in the .cc/.cpp/.cxx file? 580 581(A) Attributes are part of the formal interface of a function, and should 582always go in the header, where they are visible to anything that includes 583the header. Attributes in the .cpp file are not visible outside of the 584immediate translation unit, which leads to false negatives and false positives. 585 586 587(Q) "*Mutex is not locked on every path through here?*" What does that mean? 588 589(A) See :ref:`conditional_locks`, below. 590 591 592.. _limitations: 593 594Known Limitations 595================= 596 597Lexical scope 598------------- 599 600Thread safety attributes contain ordinary C++ expressions, and thus follow 601ordinary C++ scoping rules. In particular, this means that mutexes and other 602capabilities must be declared before they can be used in an attribute. 603Use-before-declaration is okay within a single class, because attributes are 604parsed at the same time as method bodies. (C++ delays parsing of method bodies 605until the end of the class.) However, use-before-declaration is not allowed 606between classes, as illustrated below. 607 608.. code-block:: c++ 609 610 class Foo; 611 612 class Bar { 613 void bar(Foo* f) REQUIRES(f->mu); // Error: mu undeclared. 614 }; 615 616 class Foo { 617 Mutex mu; 618 }; 619 620 621Private Mutexes 622--------------- 623 624Good software engineering practice dictates that mutexes should be private 625members, because the locking mechanism used by a thread-safe class is part of 626its internal implementation. However, private mutexes can sometimes leak into 627the public interface of a class. 628Thread safety attributes follow normal C++ access restrictions, so if ``mu`` 629is a private member of ``c``, then it is an error to write ``c.mu`` in an 630attribute. 631 632One workaround is to (ab)use the ``RETURN_CAPABILITY`` attribute to provide a 633public *name* for a private mutex, without actually exposing the underlying 634mutex. For example: 635 636.. code-block:: c++ 637 638 class MyClass { 639 private: 640 Mutex mu; 641 642 public: 643 // For thread safety analysis only. Does not actually return mu. 644 Mutex* getMu() RETURN_CAPABILITY(mu) { return 0; } 645 646 void doSomething() REQUIRES(mu); 647 }; 648 649 void doSomethingTwice(MyClass& c) REQUIRES(c.getMu()) { 650 // The analysis thinks that c.getMu() == c.mu 651 c.doSomething(); 652 c.doSomething(); 653 } 654 655In the above example, ``doSomethingTwice()`` is an external routine that 656requires ``c.mu`` to be locked, which cannot be declared directly because ``mu`` 657is private. This pattern is discouraged because it 658violates encapsulation, but it is sometimes necessary, especially when adding 659annotations to an existing code base. The workaround is to define ``getMu()`` 660as a fake getter method, which is provided only for the benefit of thread 661safety analysis. 662 663 664.. _conditional_locks: 665 666No conditionally held locks. 667---------------------------- 668 669The analysis must be able to determine whether a lock is held, or not held, at 670every program point. Thus, sections of code where a lock *might be held* will 671generate spurious warnings (false positives). For example: 672 673.. code-block:: c++ 674 675 void foo() { 676 bool b = needsToLock(); 677 if (b) mu.Lock(); 678 ... // Warning! Mutex 'mu' is not held on every path through here. 679 if (b) mu.Unlock(); 680 } 681 682 683No checking inside constructors and destructors. 684------------------------------------------------ 685 686The analysis currently does not do any checking inside constructors or 687destructors. In other words, every constructor and destructor is treated as 688if it was annotated with ``NO_THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS``. 689The reason for this is that during initialization, only one thread typically 690has access to the object which is being initialized, and it is thus safe (and 691common practice) to initialize guarded members without acquiring any locks. 692The same is true of destructors. 693 694Ideally, the analysis would allow initialization of guarded members inside the 695object being initialized or destroyed, while still enforcing the usual access 696restrictions on everything else. However, this is difficult to enforce in 697practice, because in complex pointer-based data structures, it is hard to 698determine what data is owned by the enclosing object. 699 700No inlining. 701------------ 702 703Thread safety analysis is strictly intra-procedural, just like ordinary type 704checking. It relies only on the declared attributes of a function, and will 705not attempt to inline any method calls. As a result, code such as the 706following will not work: 707 708.. code-block:: c++ 709 710 template<class T> 711 class AutoCleanup { 712 T* object; 713 void (T::*mp)(); 714 715 public: 716 AutoCleanup(T* obj, void (T::*imp)()) : object(obj), mp(imp) { } 717 ~AutoCleanup() { (object->*mp)(); } 718 }; 719 720 Mutex mu; 721 void foo() { 722 mu.Lock(); 723 AutoCleanup<Mutex>(&mu, &Mutex::Unlock); 724 // ... 725 } // Warning, mu is not unlocked. 726 727In this case, the destructor of ``Autocleanup`` calls ``mu.Unlock()``, so 728the warning is bogus. However, 729thread safety analysis cannot see the unlock, because it does not attempt to 730inline the destructor. Moreover, there is no way to annotate the destructor, 731because the destructor is calling a function that is not statically known. 732This pattern is simply not supported. 733 734 735No alias analysis. 736------------------ 737 738The analysis currently does not track pointer aliases. Thus, there can be 739false positives if two pointers both point to the same mutex. 740 741 742.. code-block:: c++ 743 744 class MutexUnlocker { 745 Mutex* mu; 746 747 public: 748 MutexUnlocker(Mutex* m) RELEASE(m) : mu(m) { mu->Unlock(); } 749 ~MutexUnlocker() ACQUIRE(mu) { mu->Lock(); } 750 }; 751 752 Mutex mutex; 753 void test() REQUIRES(mutex) { 754 { 755 MutexUnlocker munl(&mutex); // unlocks mutex 756 doSomeIO(); 757 } // Warning: locks munl.mu 758 } 759 760The MutexUnlocker class is intended to be the dual of the MutexLocker class, 761defined in :ref:`mutexheader`. However, it doesn't work because the analysis 762doesn't know that munl.mu == mutex. The SCOPED_CAPABILITY attribute handles 763aliasing for MutexLocker, but does so only for that particular pattern. 764 765 766ACQUIRED_BEFORE(...) and ACQUIRED_AFTER(...) are currently unimplemented. 767------------------------------------------------------------------------- 768 769To be fixed in a future update. 770 771 772.. _mutexheader: 773 774mutex.h 775======= 776 777Thread safety analysis can be used with any threading library, but it does 778require that the threading API be wrapped in classes and methods which have the 779appropriate annotations. The following code provides ``mutex.h`` as an example; 780these methods should be filled in to call the appropriate underlying 781implementation. 782 783 784.. code-block:: c++ 785 786 787 #ifndef THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS_MUTEX_H 788 #define THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS_MUTEX_H 789 790 // Enable thread safety attributes only with clang. 791 // The attributes can be safely erased when compiling with other compilers. 792 #if defined(__clang__) && (!defined(SWIG)) 793 #define THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(x) __attribute__((x)) 794 #else 795 #define THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(x) // no-op 796 #endif 797 798 #define CAPABILITY(x) \ 799 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(capability(x)) 800 801 #define SCOPED_CAPABILITY \ 802 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(scoped_lockable) 803 804 #define GUARDED_BY(x) \ 805 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(guarded_by(x)) 806 807 #define PT_GUARDED_BY(x) \ 808 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(pt_guarded_by(x)) 809 810 #define ACQUIRED_BEFORE(...) \ 811 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(acquired_before(__VA_ARGS__)) 812 813 #define ACQUIRED_AFTER(...) \ 814 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(acquired_after(__VA_ARGS__)) 815 816 #define REQUIRES(...) \ 817 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(requires_capability(__VA_ARGS__)) 818 819 #define REQUIRES_SHARED(...) \ 820 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(requires_shared_capability(__VA_ARGS__)) 821 822 #define ACQUIRE(...) \ 823 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(acquire_capability(__VA_ARGS__)) 824 825 #define ACQUIRE_SHARED(...) \ 826 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(acquire_shared_capability(__VA_ARGS__)) 827 828 #define RELEASE(...) \ 829 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(release_capability(__VA_ARGS__)) 830 831 #define RELEASE_SHARED(...) \ 832 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(release_shared_capability(__VA_ARGS__)) 833 834 #define RELEASE_GENERIC(...) \ 835 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(release_generic_capability(__VA_ARGS__)) 836 837 #define TRY_ACQUIRE(...) \ 838 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(try_acquire_capability(__VA_ARGS__)) 839 840 #define TRY_ACQUIRE_SHARED(...) \ 841 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(try_acquire_shared_capability(__VA_ARGS__)) 842 843 #define EXCLUDES(...) \ 844 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(locks_excluded(__VA_ARGS__)) 845 846 #define ASSERT_CAPABILITY(x) \ 847 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(assert_capability(x)) 848 849 #define ASSERT_SHARED_CAPABILITY(x) \ 850 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(assert_shared_capability(x)) 851 852 #define RETURN_CAPABILITY(x) \ 853 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(lock_returned(x)) 854 855 #define NO_THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS \ 856 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(no_thread_safety_analysis) 857 858 859 // Defines an annotated interface for mutexes. 860 // These methods can be implemented to use any internal mutex implementation. 861 class CAPABILITY("mutex") Mutex { 862 public: 863 // Acquire/lock this mutex exclusively. Only one thread can have exclusive 864 // access at any one time. Write operations to guarded data require an 865 // exclusive lock. 866 void Lock() ACQUIRE(); 867 868 // Acquire/lock this mutex for read operations, which require only a shared 869 // lock. This assumes a multiple-reader, single writer semantics. Multiple 870 // threads may acquire the mutex simultaneously as readers, but a writer 871 // must wait for all of them to release the mutex before it can acquire it 872 // exclusively. 873 void ReaderLock() ACQUIRE_SHARED(); 874 875 // Release/unlock an exclusive mutex. 876 void Unlock() RELEASE(); 877 878 // Release/unlock a shared mutex. 879 void ReaderUnlock() RELEASE_SHARED(); 880 881 // Generic unlock, can unlock exclusive and shared mutexes. 882 void GenericUnlock() RELEASE_GENERIC(); 883 884 // Try to acquire the mutex. Returns true on success, and false on failure. 885 bool TryLock() TRY_ACQUIRE(true); 886 887 // Try to acquire the mutex for read operations. 888 bool ReaderTryLock() TRY_ACQUIRE_SHARED(true); 889 890 // Assert that this mutex is currently held by the calling thread. 891 void AssertHeld() ASSERT_CAPABILITY(this); 892 893 // Assert that is mutex is currently held for read operations. 894 void AssertReaderHeld() ASSERT_SHARED_CAPABILITY(this); 895 896 // For negative capabilities. 897 const Mutex& operator!() const { return *this; } 898 }; 899 900 // Tag types for selecting a constructor. 901 struct adopt_lock_t {} inline constexpr adopt_lock = {}; 902 struct defer_lock_t {} inline constexpr defer_lock = {}; 903 struct shared_lock_t {} inline constexpr shared_lock = {}; 904 905 // MutexLocker is an RAII class that acquires a mutex in its constructor, and 906 // releases it in its destructor. 907 class SCOPED_CAPABILITY MutexLocker { 908 private: 909 Mutex* mut; 910 bool locked; 911 912 public: 913 // Acquire mu, implicitly acquire *this and associate it with mu. 914 MutexLocker(Mutex *mu) ACQUIRE(mu) : mut(mu), locked(true) { 915 mu->Lock(); 916 } 917 918 // Assume mu is held, implicitly acquire *this and associate it with mu. 919 MutexLocker(Mutex *mu, adopt_lock_t) REQUIRES(mu) : mut(mu), locked(true) {} 920 921 // Acquire mu in shared mode, implicitly acquire *this and associate it with mu. 922 MutexLocker(Mutex *mu, shared_lock_t) ACQUIRE_SHARED(mu) : mut(mu), locked(true) { 923 mu->ReaderLock(); 924 } 925 926 // Assume mu is held in shared mode, implicitly acquire *this and associate it with mu. 927 MutexLocker(Mutex *mu, adopt_lock_t, shared_lock_t) REQUIRES_SHARED(mu) 928 : mut(mu), locked(true) {} 929 930 // Assume mu is not held, implicitly acquire *this and associate it with mu. 931 MutexLocker(Mutex *mu, defer_lock_t) EXCLUDES(mu) : mut(mu), locked(false) {} 932 933 // Release *this and all associated mutexes, if they are still held. 934 // There is no warning if the scope was already unlocked before. 935 ~MutexLocker() RELEASE() { 936 if (locked) 937 mut->GenericUnlock(); 938 } 939 940 // Acquire all associated mutexes exclusively. 941 void Lock() ACQUIRE() { 942 mut->Lock(); 943 locked = true; 944 } 945 946 // Try to acquire all associated mutexes exclusively. 947 bool TryLock() TRY_ACQUIRE(true) { 948 return locked = mut->TryLock(); 949 } 950 951 // Acquire all associated mutexes in shared mode. 952 void ReaderLock() ACQUIRE_SHARED() { 953 mut->ReaderLock(); 954 locked = true; 955 } 956 957 // Try to acquire all associated mutexes in shared mode. 958 bool ReaderTryLock() TRY_ACQUIRE_SHARED(true) { 959 return locked = mut->ReaderTryLock(); 960 } 961 962 // Release all associated mutexes. Warn on double unlock. 963 void Unlock() RELEASE() { 964 mut->Unlock(); 965 locked = false; 966 } 967 968 // Release all associated mutexes. Warn on double unlock. 969 void ReaderUnlock() RELEASE() { 970 mut->ReaderUnlock(); 971 locked = false; 972 } 973 }; 974 975 976 #ifdef USE_LOCK_STYLE_THREAD_SAFETY_ATTRIBUTES 977 // The original version of thread safety analysis the following attribute 978 // definitions. These use a lock-based terminology. They are still in use 979 // by existing thread safety code, and will continue to be supported. 980 981 // Deprecated. 982 #define PT_GUARDED_VAR \ 983 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(pt_guarded_var) 984 985 // Deprecated. 986 #define GUARDED_VAR \ 987 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(guarded_var) 988 989 // Replaced by REQUIRES 990 #define EXCLUSIVE_LOCKS_REQUIRED(...) \ 991 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(exclusive_locks_required(__VA_ARGS__)) 992 993 // Replaced by REQUIRES_SHARED 994 #define SHARED_LOCKS_REQUIRED(...) \ 995 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(shared_locks_required(__VA_ARGS__)) 996 997 // Replaced by CAPABILITY 998 #define LOCKABLE \ 999 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(lockable) 1000 1001 // Replaced by SCOPED_CAPABILITY 1002 #define SCOPED_LOCKABLE \ 1003 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(scoped_lockable) 1004 1005 // Replaced by ACQUIRE 1006 #define EXCLUSIVE_LOCK_FUNCTION(...) \ 1007 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(exclusive_lock_function(__VA_ARGS__)) 1008 1009 // Replaced by ACQUIRE_SHARED 1010 #define SHARED_LOCK_FUNCTION(...) \ 1011 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(shared_lock_function(__VA_ARGS__)) 1012 1013 // Replaced by RELEASE and RELEASE_SHARED 1014 #define UNLOCK_FUNCTION(...) \ 1015 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(unlock_function(__VA_ARGS__)) 1016 1017 // Replaced by TRY_ACQUIRE 1018 #define EXCLUSIVE_TRYLOCK_FUNCTION(...) \ 1019 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(exclusive_trylock_function(__VA_ARGS__)) 1020 1021 // Replaced by TRY_ACQUIRE_SHARED 1022 #define SHARED_TRYLOCK_FUNCTION(...) \ 1023 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(shared_trylock_function(__VA_ARGS__)) 1024 1025 // Replaced by ASSERT_CAPABILITY 1026 #define ASSERT_EXCLUSIVE_LOCK(...) \ 1027 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(assert_exclusive_lock(__VA_ARGS__)) 1028 1029 // Replaced by ASSERT_SHARED_CAPABILITY 1030 #define ASSERT_SHARED_LOCK(...) \ 1031 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(assert_shared_lock(__VA_ARGS__)) 1032 1033 // Replaced by EXCLUDE_CAPABILITY. 1034 #define LOCKS_EXCLUDED(...) \ 1035 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(locks_excluded(__VA_ARGS__)) 1036 1037 // Replaced by RETURN_CAPABILITY 1038 #define LOCK_RETURNED(x) \ 1039 THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(lock_returned(x)) 1040 1041 #endif // USE_LOCK_STYLE_THREAD_SAFETY_ATTRIBUTES 1042 1043 #endif // THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS_MUTEX_H 1044 1045