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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  corresponding
       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 termi-
       nates. If thread has not terminated, pthread_detach() shall  not  cause
       it to terminate.
       The behavior is undefined if the value specified by the thread argument
       to pthread_detach() does not refer to a joinable thread.
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  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 essen-
           tial 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 pro-
           cessing 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).
       If  an  implementation  detects  that the value specified by the thread
       argument to pthread_detach() does not refer to a joinable thread, it is
       recommended that the function should fail and report an [EINVAL] error.
       If  an  implementation  detects use of a thread ID after the end of its
       lifetime, it is recommended that the function should fail and report an
       [ESRCH] error.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
       None.
SEE ALSO
       pthread_join()
       The Base Definitions volume of POSIX.1-2008, <pthread.h>
COPYRIGHT
       Portions  of  this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form
       from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2013 Edition, Standard for Information Technology
       --  Portable  Operating  System  Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base
       Specifications Issue 7, Copyright (C) 2013 by the Institute of Electri-
       cal  and  Electronics  Engineers,  Inc  and  The  Open Group.  (This is
       POSIX.1-2008 with the 2013 Technical Corrigendum  1  applied.)  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.unix.org/online.html .
       Any typographical or formatting errors that appear  in  this  page  are
       most likely to have been introduced during the conversion of the source
       files to man page format. To report such errors,  see  https://www.ker-
       nel.org/doc/man-pages/reporting_bugs.html .
IEEE/The Open Group                  2013                   PTHREAD_DETACH(3P)