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 &mu; }
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 or function returning them by value (using C++17 guaranteed copy
412elision). Acquire-type attributes on other member functions are treated as
413applying to that set of associated capabilities, while ``RELEASE`` implies that
414a function releases all associated capabilities in whatever mode they're held.
415
416
417TRY_ACQUIRE(<bool>, ...), TRY_ACQUIRE_SHARED(<bool>, ...)
418---------------------------------------------------------
419
420*Previously:* ``EXCLUSIVE_TRYLOCK_FUNCTION``, ``SHARED_TRYLOCK_FUNCTION``
421
422These are attributes on a function or method that tries to acquire the given
423capability, and returns a boolean value indicating success or failure.
424The first argument must be ``true`` or ``false``, to specify which return value
425indicates success, and the remaining arguments are interpreted in the same way
426as ``ACQUIRE``.  See :ref:`mutexheader`, below, for example uses.
427
428Because the analysis doesn't support conditional locking, a capability is
429treated as acquired after the first branch on the return value of a try-acquire
430function.
431
432.. code-block:: c++
433
434  Mutex mu;
435  int a GUARDED_BY(mu);
436
437  void foo() {
438    bool success = mu.TryLock();
439    a = 0;         // Warning, mu is not locked.
440    if (success) {
441      a = 0;       // Ok.
442      mu.Unlock();
443    } else {
444      a = 0;       // Warning, mu is not locked.
445    }
446  }
447
448
449ASSERT_CAPABILITY(...) and ASSERT_SHARED_CAPABILITY(...)
450--------------------------------------------------------
451
452*Previously:*  ``ASSERT_EXCLUSIVE_LOCK``, ``ASSERT_SHARED_LOCK``
453
454These are attributes on a function or method which asserts the calling thread
455already holds the given capability, for example by performing a run-time test
456and terminating if the capability is not held.  Presence of this annotation
457causes the analysis to assume the capability is held after calls to the
458annotated function.  See :ref:`mutexheader`, below, for example uses.
459
460
461GUARDED_VAR and PT_GUARDED_VAR
462------------------------------
463
464Use of these attributes has been deprecated.
465
466
467Warning flags
468-------------
469
470* ``-Wthread-safety``:  Umbrella flag which turns on the following:
471
472  + ``-Wthread-safety-attributes``: Semantic checks for thread safety attributes.
473  + ``-Wthread-safety-analysis``: The core analysis.
474  + ``-Wthread-safety-precise``: Requires that mutex expressions match precisely.
475       This warning can be disabled for code which has a lot of aliases.
476  + ``-Wthread-safety-reference``: Checks when guarded members are passed by reference.
477
478
479:ref:`negative` are an experimental feature, which are enabled with:
480
481* ``-Wthread-safety-negative``:  Negative capabilities.  Off by default.
482
483When new features and checks are added to the analysis, they can often introduce
484additional warnings.  Those warnings are initially released as *beta* warnings
485for a period of time, after which they are migrated into the standard analysis.
486
487* ``-Wthread-safety-beta``:  New features.  Off by default.
488
489
490.. _negative:
491
492Negative Capabilities
493=====================
494
495Thread Safety Analysis is designed to prevent both race conditions and
496deadlock.  The GUARDED_BY and REQUIRES attributes prevent race conditions, by
497ensuring that a capability is held before reading or writing to guarded data,
498and the EXCLUDES attribute prevents deadlock, by making sure that a mutex is
499*not* held.
500
501However, EXCLUDES is an optional attribute, and does not provide the same
502safety guarantee as REQUIRES.  In particular:
503
504  * A function which acquires a capability does not have to exclude it.
505  * A function which calls a function that excludes a capability does not
506    have transitively exclude that capability.
507
508As a result, EXCLUDES can easily produce false negatives:
509
510.. code-block:: c++
511
512  class Foo {
513    Mutex mu;
514
515    void foo() {
516      mu.Lock();
517      bar();           // No warning.
518      baz();           // No warning.
519      mu.Unlock();
520    }
521
522    void bar() {       // No warning.  (Should have EXCLUDES(mu)).
523      mu.Lock();
524      // ...
525      mu.Unlock();
526    }
527
528    void baz() {
529      bif();           // No warning.  (Should have EXCLUDES(mu)).
530    }
531
532    void bif() EXCLUDES(mu);
533  };
534
535
536Negative requirements are an alternative EXCLUDES that provide
537a stronger safety guarantee.  A negative requirement uses the  REQUIRES
538attribute, in conjunction with the ``!`` operator, to indicate that a capability
539should *not* be held.
540
541For example, using ``REQUIRES(!mu)`` instead of ``EXCLUDES(mu)`` will produce
542the appropriate warnings:
543
544.. code-block:: c++
545
546  class FooNeg {
547    Mutex mu;
548
549    void foo() REQUIRES(!mu) {   // foo() now requires !mu.
550      mu.Lock();
551      bar();
552      baz();
553      mu.Unlock();
554    }
555
556    void bar() {
557      mu.Lock();       // WARNING!  Missing REQUIRES(!mu).
558      // ...
559      mu.Unlock();
560    }
561
562    void baz() {
563      bif();           // WARNING!  Missing REQUIRES(!mu).
564    }
565
566    void bif() REQUIRES(!mu);
567  };
568
569
570Negative requirements are an experimental feature which is off by default,
571because it will produce many warnings in existing code.  It can be enabled
572by passing ``-Wthread-safety-negative``.
573
574
575.. _faq:
576
577Frequently Asked Questions
578==========================
579
580(Q) Should I put attributes in the header file, or in the .cc/.cpp/.cxx file?
581
582(A) Attributes are part of the formal interface of a function, and should
583always go in the header, where they are visible to anything that includes
584the header.  Attributes in the .cpp file are not visible outside of the
585immediate translation unit, which leads to false negatives and false positives.
586
587
588(Q) "*Mutex is not locked on every path through here?*"  What does that mean?
589
590(A) See :ref:`conditional_locks`, below.
591
592
593.. _limitations:
594
595Known Limitations
596=================
597
598Lexical scope
599-------------
600
601Thread safety attributes contain ordinary C++ expressions, and thus follow
602ordinary C++ scoping rules.  In particular, this means that mutexes and other
603capabilities must be declared before they can be used in an attribute.
604Use-before-declaration is okay within a single class, because attributes are
605parsed at the same time as method bodies. (C++ delays parsing of method bodies
606until the end of the class.)  However, use-before-declaration is not allowed
607between classes, as illustrated below.
608
609.. code-block:: c++
610
611  class Foo;
612
613  class Bar {
614    void bar(Foo* f) REQUIRES(f->mu);  // Error: mu undeclared.
615  };
616
617  class Foo {
618    Mutex mu;
619  };
620
621
622Private Mutexes
623---------------
624
625Good software engineering practice dictates that mutexes should be private
626members, because the locking mechanism used by a thread-safe class is part of
627its internal implementation.  However, private mutexes can sometimes leak into
628the public interface of a class.
629Thread safety attributes follow normal C++ access restrictions, so if ``mu``
630is a private member of ``c``, then it is an error to write ``c.mu`` in an
631attribute.
632
633One workaround is to (ab)use the ``RETURN_CAPABILITY`` attribute to provide a
634public *name* for a private mutex, without actually exposing the underlying
635mutex.  For example:
636
637.. code-block:: c++
638
639  class MyClass {
640  private:
641    Mutex mu;
642
643  public:
644    // For thread safety analysis only.  Does not need to be defined.
645    Mutex* getMu() RETURN_CAPABILITY(mu);
646
647    void doSomething() REQUIRES(mu);
648  };
649
650  void doSomethingTwice(MyClass& c) REQUIRES(c.getMu()) {
651    // The analysis thinks that c.getMu() == c.mu
652    c.doSomething();
653    c.doSomething();
654  }
655
656In the above example, ``doSomethingTwice()`` is an external routine that
657requires ``c.mu`` to be locked, which cannot be declared directly because ``mu``
658is private.  This pattern is discouraged because it
659violates encapsulation, but it is sometimes necessary, especially when adding
660annotations to an existing code base.  The workaround is to define ``getMu()``
661as a fake getter method, which is provided only for the benefit of thread
662safety analysis.
663
664
665.. _conditional_locks:
666
667No conditionally held locks.
668----------------------------
669
670The analysis must be able to determine whether a lock is held, or not held, at
671every program point.  Thus, sections of code where a lock *might be held* will
672generate spurious warnings (false positives).  For example:
673
674.. code-block:: c++
675
676  void foo() {
677    bool b = needsToLock();
678    if (b) mu.Lock();
679    ...  // Warning!  Mutex 'mu' is not held on every path through here.
680    if (b) mu.Unlock();
681  }
682
683
684No checking inside constructors and destructors.
685------------------------------------------------
686
687The analysis currently does not do any checking inside constructors or
688destructors.  In other words, every constructor and destructor is treated as
689if it was annotated with ``NO_THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS``.
690The reason for this is that during initialization, only one thread typically
691has access to the object which is being initialized, and it is thus safe (and
692common practice) to initialize guarded members without acquiring any locks.
693The same is true of destructors.
694
695Ideally, the analysis would allow initialization of guarded members inside the
696object being initialized or destroyed, while still enforcing the usual access
697restrictions on everything else.  However, this is difficult to enforce in
698practice, because in complex pointer-based data structures, it is hard to
699determine what data is owned by the enclosing object.
700
701No inlining.
702------------
703
704Thread safety analysis is strictly intra-procedural, just like ordinary type
705checking.  It relies only on the declared attributes of a function, and will
706not attempt to inline any method calls.  As a result, code such as the
707following will not work:
708
709.. code-block:: c++
710
711  template<class T>
712  class AutoCleanup {
713    T* object;
714    void (T::*mp)();
715
716  public:
717    AutoCleanup(T* obj, void (T::*imp)()) : object(obj), mp(imp) { }
718    ~AutoCleanup() { (object->*mp)(); }
719  };
720
721  Mutex mu;
722  void foo() {
723    mu.Lock();
724    AutoCleanup<Mutex>(&mu, &Mutex::Unlock);
725    // ...
726  }  // Warning, mu is not unlocked.
727
728In this case, the destructor of ``Autocleanup`` calls ``mu.Unlock()``, so
729the warning is bogus.  However,
730thread safety analysis cannot see the unlock, because it does not attempt to
731inline the destructor.  Moreover, there is no way to annotate the destructor,
732because the destructor is calling a function that is not statically known.
733This pattern is simply not supported.
734
735
736No alias analysis.
737------------------
738
739The analysis currently does not track pointer aliases.  Thus, there can be
740false positives if two pointers both point to the same mutex.
741
742
743.. code-block:: c++
744
745  class MutexUnlocker {
746    Mutex* mu;
747
748  public:
749    MutexUnlocker(Mutex* m) RELEASE(m) : mu(m)  { mu->Unlock(); }
750    ~MutexUnlocker() ACQUIRE(mu) { mu->Lock(); }
751  };
752
753  Mutex mutex;
754  void test() REQUIRES(mutex) {
755    {
756      MutexUnlocker munl(&mutex);  // unlocks mutex
757      doSomeIO();
758    }                              // Warning: locks munl.mu
759  }
760
761The MutexUnlocker class is intended to be the dual of the MutexLocker class,
762defined in :ref:`mutexheader`.  However, it doesn't work because the analysis
763doesn't know that munl.mu == mutex.  The SCOPED_CAPABILITY attribute handles
764aliasing for MutexLocker, but does so only for that particular pattern.
765
766
767ACQUIRED_BEFORE(...) and ACQUIRED_AFTER(...) are currently unimplemented.
768-------------------------------------------------------------------------
769
770To be fixed in a future update.
771
772
773.. _mutexheader:
774
775mutex.h
776=======
777
778Thread safety analysis can be used with any threading library, but it does
779require that the threading API be wrapped in classes and methods which have the
780appropriate annotations.  The following code provides ``mutex.h`` as an example;
781these methods should be filled in to call the appropriate underlying
782implementation.
783
784
785.. code-block:: c++
786
787
788  #ifndef THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS_MUTEX_H
789  #define THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS_MUTEX_H
790
791  // Enable thread safety attributes only with clang.
792  // The attributes can be safely erased when compiling with other compilers.
793  #if defined(__clang__) && (!defined(SWIG))
794  #define THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(x)   __attribute__((x))
795  #else
796  #define THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(x)   // no-op
797  #endif
798
799  #define CAPABILITY(x) \
800    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(capability(x))
801
802  #define SCOPED_CAPABILITY \
803    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(scoped_lockable)
804
805  #define GUARDED_BY(x) \
806    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(guarded_by(x))
807
808  #define PT_GUARDED_BY(x) \
809    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(pt_guarded_by(x))
810
811  #define ACQUIRED_BEFORE(...) \
812    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(acquired_before(__VA_ARGS__))
813
814  #define ACQUIRED_AFTER(...) \
815    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(acquired_after(__VA_ARGS__))
816
817  #define REQUIRES(...) \
818    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(requires_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
819
820  #define REQUIRES_SHARED(...) \
821    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(requires_shared_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
822
823  #define ACQUIRE(...) \
824    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(acquire_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
825
826  #define ACQUIRE_SHARED(...) \
827    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(acquire_shared_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
828
829  #define RELEASE(...) \
830    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(release_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
831
832  #define RELEASE_SHARED(...) \
833    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(release_shared_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
834
835  #define RELEASE_GENERIC(...) \
836    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(release_generic_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
837
838  #define TRY_ACQUIRE(...) \
839    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(try_acquire_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
840
841  #define TRY_ACQUIRE_SHARED(...) \
842    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(try_acquire_shared_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
843
844  #define EXCLUDES(...) \
845    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(locks_excluded(__VA_ARGS__))
846
847  #define ASSERT_CAPABILITY(x) \
848    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(assert_capability(x))
849
850  #define ASSERT_SHARED_CAPABILITY(x) \
851    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(assert_shared_capability(x))
852
853  #define RETURN_CAPABILITY(x) \
854    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(lock_returned(x))
855
856  #define NO_THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS \
857    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(no_thread_safety_analysis)
858
859
860  // Defines an annotated interface for mutexes.
861  // These methods can be implemented to use any internal mutex implementation.
862  class CAPABILITY("mutex") Mutex {
863  public:
864    // Acquire/lock this mutex exclusively.  Only one thread can have exclusive
865    // access at any one time.  Write operations to guarded data require an
866    // exclusive lock.
867    void Lock() ACQUIRE();
868
869    // Acquire/lock this mutex for read operations, which require only a shared
870    // lock.  This assumes a multiple-reader, single writer semantics.  Multiple
871    // threads may acquire the mutex simultaneously as readers, but a writer
872    // must wait for all of them to release the mutex before it can acquire it
873    // exclusively.
874    void ReaderLock() ACQUIRE_SHARED();
875
876    // Release/unlock an exclusive mutex.
877    void Unlock() RELEASE();
878
879    // Release/unlock a shared mutex.
880    void ReaderUnlock() RELEASE_SHARED();
881
882    // Generic unlock, can unlock exclusive and shared mutexes.
883    void GenericUnlock() RELEASE_GENERIC();
884
885    // Try to acquire the mutex.  Returns true on success, and false on failure.
886    bool TryLock() TRY_ACQUIRE(true);
887
888    // Try to acquire the mutex for read operations.
889    bool ReaderTryLock() TRY_ACQUIRE_SHARED(true);
890
891    // Assert that this mutex is currently held by the calling thread.
892    void AssertHeld() ASSERT_CAPABILITY(this);
893
894    // Assert that is mutex is currently held for read operations.
895    void AssertReaderHeld() ASSERT_SHARED_CAPABILITY(this);
896
897    // For negative capabilities.
898    const Mutex& operator!() const { return *this; }
899  };
900
901  // Tag types for selecting a constructor.
902  struct adopt_lock_t {} inline constexpr adopt_lock = {};
903  struct defer_lock_t {} inline constexpr defer_lock = {};
904  struct shared_lock_t {} inline constexpr shared_lock = {};
905
906  // MutexLocker is an RAII class that acquires a mutex in its constructor, and
907  // releases it in its destructor.
908  class SCOPED_CAPABILITY MutexLocker {
909  private:
910    Mutex* mut;
911    bool locked;
912
913  public:
914    // Acquire mu, implicitly acquire *this and associate it with mu.
915    MutexLocker(Mutex *mu) ACQUIRE(mu) : mut(mu), locked(true) {
916      mu->Lock();
917    }
918
919    // Assume mu is held, implicitly acquire *this and associate it with mu.
920    MutexLocker(Mutex *mu, adopt_lock_t) REQUIRES(mu) : mut(mu), locked(true) {}
921
922    // Acquire mu in shared mode, implicitly acquire *this and associate it with mu.
923    MutexLocker(Mutex *mu, shared_lock_t) ACQUIRE_SHARED(mu) : mut(mu), locked(true) {
924      mu->ReaderLock();
925    }
926
927    // Assume mu is held in shared mode, implicitly acquire *this and associate it with mu.
928    MutexLocker(Mutex *mu, adopt_lock_t, shared_lock_t) REQUIRES_SHARED(mu)
929      : mut(mu), locked(true) {}
930
931    // Assume mu is not held, implicitly acquire *this and associate it with mu.
932    MutexLocker(Mutex *mu, defer_lock_t) EXCLUDES(mu) : mut(mu), locked(false) {}
933
934    // Same as constructors, but without tag types. (Requires C++17 copy elision.)
935    static MutexLocker Lock(Mutex *mu) ACQUIRE(mu);
936    static MutexLocker Adopt(Mutex *mu) REQUIRES(mu);
937    static MutexLocker ReaderLock(Mutex *mu) ACQUIRE_SHARED(mu);
938    static MutexLocker AdoptReaderLock(Mutex *mu) REQUIRES_SHARED(mu);
939    static MutexLocker DeferLock(Mutex *mu) EXCLUDES(mu);
940
941    // Release *this and all associated mutexes, if they are still held.
942    // There is no warning if the scope was already unlocked before.
943    ~MutexLocker() RELEASE() {
944      if (locked)
945        mut->GenericUnlock();
946    }
947
948    // Acquire all associated mutexes exclusively.
949    void Lock() ACQUIRE() {
950      mut->Lock();
951      locked = true;
952    }
953
954    // Try to acquire all associated mutexes exclusively.
955    bool TryLock() TRY_ACQUIRE(true) {
956      return locked = mut->TryLock();
957    }
958
959    // Acquire all associated mutexes in shared mode.
960    void ReaderLock() ACQUIRE_SHARED() {
961      mut->ReaderLock();
962      locked = true;
963    }
964
965    // Try to acquire all associated mutexes in shared mode.
966    bool ReaderTryLock() TRY_ACQUIRE_SHARED(true) {
967      return locked = mut->ReaderTryLock();
968    }
969
970    // Release all associated mutexes. Warn on double unlock.
971    void Unlock() RELEASE() {
972      mut->Unlock();
973      locked = false;
974    }
975
976    // Release all associated mutexes. Warn on double unlock.
977    void ReaderUnlock() RELEASE() {
978      mut->ReaderUnlock();
979      locked = false;
980    }
981  };
982
983
984  #ifdef USE_LOCK_STYLE_THREAD_SAFETY_ATTRIBUTES
985  // The original version of thread safety analysis the following attribute
986  // definitions.  These use a lock-based terminology.  They are still in use
987  // by existing thread safety code, and will continue to be supported.
988
989  // Deprecated.
990  #define PT_GUARDED_VAR \
991    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(pt_guarded_var)
992
993  // Deprecated.
994  #define GUARDED_VAR \
995    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(guarded_var)
996
997  // Replaced by REQUIRES
998  #define EXCLUSIVE_LOCKS_REQUIRED(...) \
999    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(exclusive_locks_required(__VA_ARGS__))
1000
1001  // Replaced by REQUIRES_SHARED
1002  #define SHARED_LOCKS_REQUIRED(...) \
1003    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(shared_locks_required(__VA_ARGS__))
1004
1005  // Replaced by CAPABILITY
1006  #define LOCKABLE \
1007    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(lockable)
1008
1009  // Replaced by SCOPED_CAPABILITY
1010  #define SCOPED_LOCKABLE \
1011    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(scoped_lockable)
1012
1013  // Replaced by ACQUIRE
1014  #define EXCLUSIVE_LOCK_FUNCTION(...) \
1015    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(exclusive_lock_function(__VA_ARGS__))
1016
1017  // Replaced by ACQUIRE_SHARED
1018  #define SHARED_LOCK_FUNCTION(...) \
1019    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(shared_lock_function(__VA_ARGS__))
1020
1021  // Replaced by RELEASE and RELEASE_SHARED
1022  #define UNLOCK_FUNCTION(...) \
1023    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(unlock_function(__VA_ARGS__))
1024
1025  // Replaced by TRY_ACQUIRE
1026  #define EXCLUSIVE_TRYLOCK_FUNCTION(...) \
1027    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(exclusive_trylock_function(__VA_ARGS__))
1028
1029  // Replaced by TRY_ACQUIRE_SHARED
1030  #define SHARED_TRYLOCK_FUNCTION(...) \
1031    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(shared_trylock_function(__VA_ARGS__))
1032
1033  // Replaced by ASSERT_CAPABILITY
1034  #define ASSERT_EXCLUSIVE_LOCK(...) \
1035    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(assert_exclusive_lock(__VA_ARGS__))
1036
1037  // Replaced by ASSERT_SHARED_CAPABILITY
1038  #define ASSERT_SHARED_LOCK(...) \
1039    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(assert_shared_lock(__VA_ARGS__))
1040
1041  // Replaced by EXCLUDE_CAPABILITY.
1042  #define LOCKS_EXCLUDED(...) \
1043    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(locks_excluded(__VA_ARGS__))
1044
1045  // Replaced by RETURN_CAPABILITY
1046  #define LOCK_RETURNED(x) \
1047    THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(lock_returned(x))
1048
1049  #endif  // USE_LOCK_STYLE_THREAD_SAFETY_ATTRIBUTES
1050
1051  #endif  // THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS_MUTEX_H
1052