Signal handling in secondary thread - c

I am writing a program to demonstrate signal handling in a secondary thread. In my program, main thread spawns 10 thread and each thread calls sigwait to wait for signal. But in my case, it is main thread which is handling signa. Code is given below:
#include <signal.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <sys/syscall.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <pthread.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <errno.h>
volatile sig_atomic_t cont = 1;
volatile sig_atomic_t wsig = 0;
volatile sig_atomic_t wtid = 0;
int GetCurrentThreadId()
{
return syscall(__NR_gettid);
}
void Segv1(int, siginfo_t *, void *)
{
//printf("SIGSEGV signal on illegal memory access handled by thread: %d\n", GetCurrentThreadId());
wtid = GetCurrentThreadId();
wsig = SIGSEGV;
_exit(SIGSEGV);
}
void Fpe1(int , siginfo_t *, void *)
{
wtid = GetCurrentThreadId();
wsig = SIGFPE;
_exit(SIGFPE);
}
void User1(int, siginfo_t *, void *)
{
wtid = GetCurrentThreadId();
wsig = SIGUSR1;
}
void* ThreadFunc (void*)
{
sigset_t sigs;
sigemptyset(&sigs);
sigaddset(&sigs, SIGUSR1);
sigaddset(&sigs, SIGSEGV);
sigaddset(&sigs, SIGFPE);
pthread_sigmask(SIG_BLOCK, &sigs, NULL);
//printf("Thread: %d starts\n", GetCurrentThreadId());
while(cont) {
//printf("Thread: %d enters into loop\n", GetCurrentThreadId());
//int s = sigwaitinfo(&sigs, NULL);
//int sig;
//int s = sigwait(&sigs, &sig);
//printf("A signal\n");
/*if(s==0) {
sigaddset(&sigs, sig);
printf("Signal %d handled from thread: %d\n", sig, GetCurrentThreadId());
if(sig==SIGFPE||sig==SIGSEGV)
return NULL;
} else {
printf("sigwaitinfo failed with %d\n", s);
break;
}*/
int s = sigsuspend(&sigs);
switch(wsig) {
case SIGSEGV:
printf("Segmenation fault in thread: %d Current thread id: %d\n", wtid, GetCurrentThreadId());
exit(1);
break;
case SIGFPE:
printf("Floating point exception in thread: %d Current thread id: %d\n", wtid, GetCurrentThreadId());
exit(1);
break;
case SIGUSR1:
printf("User 1 signal in thread: %d Current thread id: %d\n", wtid, GetCurrentThreadId());
break;
default:
printf("Unhandled signal: %d in thread: %d Current thread id: %d\n", wsig, wtid, GetCurrentThreadId());
break;
}
}
printf("Thread: %d ends\n", GetCurrentThreadId());
return NULL;
}
int main()
{
printf("My PID: %d\n", getpid());
printf("SIGSEGV: %d\nSIGFPE: %d\nSIGUSR1: %d\n", SIGSEGV, SIGFPE, SIGUSR1);
//Create a thread for signal
struct sigaction act;
memset(&act, 0, sizeof act);
act.sa_sigaction = User1;
act.sa_flags = SA_SIGINFO;
//Set Handler for SIGUSR1 signal.
if(sigaction(SIGUSR1, &act, NULL)<0) {
fprintf(stderr, "sigaction failed\n");
return 1;
}
//Set handler for SIGSEGV signal.
act.sa_sigaction = Segv1;
sigaction(SIGSEGV, &act, NULL);
//Set handler for SIGFPE (floating point exception) signal.
act.sa_sigaction = Fpe1;
sigaction(SIGFPE, &act, NULL);
sigset_t sset;
sigemptyset(&sset);
sigaddset(&sset, SIGUSR1);
sigaddset(&sset, SIGSEGV);
sigaddset(&sset, SIGFPE);
//pthread_sigmask(SIG_BLOCK, &sset, NULL);
const int numthreads = 10;
pthread_t tid[numthreads];
for(int i=0;i<numthreads;++i)
pthread_create(&tid[i], NULL, ThreadFunc, NULL);
sleep(numthreads/2);
int sleepval = 15;
int pid = fork();
if(pid) {
while(sleepval) {
sleepval = sleep(sleepval);
//It might get interrupted with signal.
switch(wsig) {
case SIGSEGV:
printf("Segmenation fault in thread: %d\n", wtid);
exit(1);
break;
case SIGFPE:
printf("Floating point exception in thread: %d\n", wtid);
exit(1);
break;
case SIGUSR1:
printf("User 1 signal in thread: %d\n", wtid);
break;
default:
printf("Unhandled signal: %d in thread: %d\n", wsig, wtid);
break;
}
}
} else {
for(int i=0;i<10;++i) {
kill(getppid(), SIGUSR1);
//If sleep is not used, signal SIGUSR1 will be handled one time in parent
//as other signals will be ignored while SIGUSR1 is being handled.
sleep(1);
}
return 0;
}
int * a = 0;
//*a = 1;
int c=0;
//c = 0;
int b = 1/c; //send SIGFPE signal.
return 0;
}
Is there any rule of picking up the thread for signal handling on Linux and Mac OS X? What should I do so that signal got handled in secondary thread?
In the above program, I am not able to handle the signal in secondary thread. What is wrong with it?

I suggest you should SIG_BLOCK needed signals in main thread (commented out now) and SIG_UNBLOCK them in other threads (SIG_BLOCK now). Or you can spawn you threads and after it SIG_BLOCK in main thread, as spawned threads got their sigmask from parent.
And sigsuspend's parameter is not the signals you want to wake up on, but vice versa.

Is there any rule of picking up the thread for signal handling on Linux and Mac OS X?
There is, see Signal Generation and Delivery:
During the time between the generation of a signal and its delivery or acceptance, the signal is said to be pending. Ordinarily, this interval cannot be detected by an application. However, a signal can be blocked from delivery to a thread. If the action associated with a blocked signal is anything other than to ignore the signal, and if that signal is generated for the thread, the signal shall remain pending until it is unblocked, it is accepted when it is selected and returned by a call to the sigwait() function, or the action associated with it is set to ignore the signal. Signals generated for the process shall be delivered to exactly one of those threads within the process which is in a call to a sigwait() function selecting that signal or has not blocked delivery of the signal. If there are no threads in a call to a sigwait() function selecting that signal, and if all threads within the process block delivery of the signal, the signal shall remain pending on the process until a thread calls a sigwait() function selecting that signal, a thread unblocks delivery of the signal, or the action associated with the signal is set to ignore the signal. If the action associated with a blocked signal is to ignore the signal and if that signal is generated for the process, it is unspecified whether the signal is discarded immediately upon generation or remains pending.

Related

Signal handler behavior in multi threaded environment

I have the following program where only one thread installs the signal handler. But when I tested the code by sending signal to each thread, all the threads execute the signal handler.
Does all the threads share the same signal handler. I was under the assumption that it would happen(threads share signal handler) only when the main process which spawns these threads install the signal handler.
And one more question is about the context in which the signal handler executes. Is it guaranteed that the signal sent to the particular thread will execute in the same thread context for the given scenario?
void handler(int signo, siginfo_t *info, void *extra)
{
printf("handler id %d and thread id %d\n",syscall( SYS_gettid ),pthread_self());
}
void signalHandler()
{
struct sigaction sa;
sa.sa_flags = SA_SIGINFO;
sa.sa_sigaction = handler;
sigaction(SIGSEGV, &sa, NULL);
//sigaction(SIGINT, &sa, NULL);
}
void *threadfn0(void *p)
{
signalHandler();
printf("thread0\n");
while ( 1 )
{
pause();
}
}
void *threadfn1(void *p)
{
while(1){
printf("thread1\n");
sleep(15);
}
return 0;
}
void *threadfn2(void *p)
{
while(1){
printf("thread2\n");
sleep(15);
}
return 0;
}
int main()
{
pthread_t t0,t1,t2;
pthread_create(&t0,NULL,threadfn0,NULL);
printf("T0 is %d\n",t0);
pthread_create(&t1,NULL,threadfn1,NULL);
printf("T1 is %d\n",t1);
pthread_create(&t2,NULL,threadfn2,NULL);
printf("T2 is %d\n",t2);
sleep(10);
pthread_kill(t2,SIGSEGV);
sleep(10);
pthread_kill(t1,SIGSEGV);
pthread_join(t1,NULL);
pthread_join(t2,NULL);
pthread_join(t0,NULL);
return 0;
}
output:
T0 is 1110239552
T1 is 1088309568
T2 is 1120729408
thread0
thread1
thread2
handler id 18878 and thread id 1120729408
thread2
thread1
handler id 18877 and thread id 1088309568
thread1
From the manpage for signal(7):
The signal disposition is a per-process attribute: in a multithreaded application, the disposition of a particular signal is the same for all threads.
So all threads share the same handlers, yes. If you use pthread_kill() to send a signal to a specific thread, that thread should execute the handler (Depending on the thread's signal mask set with pthread_sigmask(), of course).
Also note that you can't safely use printf() or other stdio functions in a signal handler. See the list of allowed functions in signal-safety(7).
All threads share the signal handler. You can use pthread_sigmask() to select, which threads have which signals blocked or unblocked and therefore can execute the handler. If several threads have the same signal unblocked, then any of them can execute the handler.
So cleaned up and fixed example looks something like this:
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <pthread.h>
#include <signal.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <sys/syscall.h>
static void handler (int signo, siginfo_t *info, void *extra)
{
printf ("SIGNAL %u, handler id %lu and thread id %lu\n", signo, syscall (SYS_gettid), pthread_self ());
}
static void signalHandler (void)
{
struct sigaction sa;
sa.sa_flags = SA_SIGINFO;
sa.sa_sigaction = handler;
sigaction (SIGSEGV, &sa, NULL);
}
static void *threadfn0 (void *p)
{
signalHandler ();
sigset_t set;
sigfillset (&set);
pthread_sigmask (SIG_UNBLOCK, &set, NULL);
printf ("thread0\n");
while (1) {
pause ();
}
}
static void *threadfn1 (void *p)
{
while (1) {
printf ("thread1\n");
sleep (15);
}
return 0;
}
static void *threadfn2 (void *p)
{
while (1) {
printf ("thread2\n");
sleep (15);
}
return 0;
}
int main (int argc, char *argv[])
{
pthread_t t0, t1, t2;
// By default, block all signals in all threads and
// unblock them only in one thread after signal handler
// is set up, to avoid race conditions
sigset_t set;
sigfillset (&set);
pthread_sigmask (SIG_BLOCK, &set, NULL);
pthread_create (&t0, NULL, threadfn0, NULL);
printf ("T0 is %lu\n", t0);
pthread_create (&t1, NULL, threadfn1, NULL);
printf ("T1 is %lu\n", t1);
pthread_create (&t2, NULL, threadfn2, NULL);
printf ("T2 is %lu\n", t2);
pthread_kill (t2, SIGSEGV);
pthread_kill (t1, SIGSEGV);
pthread_kill (t0, SIGSEGV);
pthread_join (t2, NULL);
pthread_join (t1, NULL);
pthread_join (t0, NULL);
return 0;
}

How to terminate threads cleanly in C?

I am trying to write a multithreaded application in C for the Raspberry Pi in raspbian environment (UNIX system).
Apart from the main thread three other threads are created and do the following:
the first looks at the output of a PIR sensor and if movement is detected it takes a picture. The thread function is task1();
the second uses sigwait and alarm() to measure the temperature every given seconds. The thread function is task2()
The third thread checks if a new picture is taken and if so it does some other stuff. The synchronization with the first thread is done with a global flag, a mutex and with pthread_cond_wait. The thread function is task3().
All the thread functions have an infinite loop. The execution of the program seems good.
The main thread call the function pause() and then pthread_cancel() to exit cleanly from each thread (lowering the pins).
At first I did not use the signal handler and the process quit without calling the exiting thread functions registered with the function pthread_cleanup_push. This because pause() returns only if the handler returns. That is why I added my signal handler which returns.
In this way the pthread_cancel are called correctly and also the exiting thread functions are called correctly (the output is printed) but the process keeps running even with pressing CTRL-C or calling kill from another terminal window.
I think I messed up with the masks so that the signal generated by pthread_cancel (if any) has no effect.
Apart from this I have read that in general it is bad practice using pthread_cancel so my question is:
what is the best way to exit cleanly from each thread (especially in my case)? Shall I use another global flag? With mutex or read-write lock? Should I set it from the main thread or handler?
Any suggestion will be appreciated.
EDIT: If instead of calling pthread_cancel I use a global flag for the infinite loops, how would you set the condition in task3()?
NOTE: the code is incomplete for the sake of brevity. I tried to emphasize the logic. If needed I will add all the code.
#include<wiringPi.h>
#include<stdlib.h>
#include<stdio.h>
#include<signal.h>
#include<stdint.h>
#include<pthread.h>
g_new_pic_flag=FALSE;
pthread_cond_t g_new_pic_cond = PTHREAD_COND_INITIALIZER;
pthread_mutex_t g_new_pic_m = PTHREAD_MUTEX_INITIALIZER;
/* FUNCTION DECLARATION */
/*We define thread exit functions so that each pin
is lowered by the thread in which it is used avoiding
race condition between the signal handler of the main thread
and the other threads*/
void exitingThreadTask1(void* arg);
void exitingThreadTask2(void* arg);
void exitingThreadTask3(void* arg);
void* task1(void *arg); //thread function for the motion sensor
void* task2(void *arg); //thread function for the temperature reading
void* task3(void *arg); //thread function to post data on IOT platforms
/*Signal handler to return from pause*/
void sig_handler(int signo);
int main()
{
int err;
sigset_t omask, mask;
pthread_t thread_motionSensor;
pthread_t thread_tempReading;
pthread_t thread_platformPost;
printf("Created threads IDs\n");
if (wiringPiSetup()<0)
{
printf("WiringPi error\n");
return -1;
}
printf("WiringPi is ok\n");
if (signal(SIGQUIT, sig_handler)==SIG_ERR)
printf("Error on recording SIGQUITHANDLER\n");
if (signal(SIGINT, sig_handler)==SIG_ERR)
printf("Error on recording SIGINTHANDLER\n");
if (signal(SIGTERM, sig_handler)==SIG_ERR)
printf("Error on recording SIGTERMHANDLER\n");
/*Create a new mask to block all signals for the following thread*/
sigfillset(&mask);
pthread_sigmask(SIG_SETMASK, &mask, &omask);
printf("Trying to create threads\n");
if ((err = pthread_create (&thread_motionSensor, NULL, task1, NULL))!=0)
{
printf("Thread 1 not created: error %d\n", err);
err_exit((const char)err, "pthread_create error");
}
printf("Thread 1 created. Trying to create Thread 2\n");
if((err = pthread_create (&thread_tempReading, NULL, task2, NULL))!=0)
{
printf("Thread 2 not created: error %d\n", err);
err_exit((const char)err, "pthread_create error");
}
printf("Thread 2 created. Trying to create Thread 3\n");
if ((err = pthread_create (&thread_platformPost, NULL, task3, NULL))!=0)
{
printf("Thread 3 not created: error %d %d\n", err);
err_exit((const char)err, "pthread_create error");
}
printf("Thread 3 created\n");
/*The main thread must block the SIGALRM but catch SIGINT
SIGQUIT, SIGTERM, SIgkILL*/
sigemptyset(&omask);
sigaddset(&omask, SIGINT);
sigaddset(&omask, SIGQUIT);
sigaddset(&omask, SIGKILL);
sigaddset(&omask, SIGTERM);
pthread_sigmask(SIG_UNBLOCK, &omask, NULL);
printf("Main thread waiting for signal\n");
pause();
printf("Exit signal received: cancelling threads\n");
pthread_cancel(thread_motionSensor);
pthread_cancel(thread_tempReading);
pthread_cancel(thread_platformPost);
pthread_join(thread_motionSensor, NULL);
pthread_join(thread_tempReading, NULL);
pthread_join(thread_platformPost, NULL);
printf("Exiting from main thread and process\n");
exit(0);
}
void* task1(void *arg)
{
//INITIALIZING
pthread_cleanup_push(exitingThreadTask1, NULL);
while(1)
{
//do stuff1
}
pthread_cleanup_pop(0);
pthread_exit(0);
}
void* task2(void *arg)
{
static const unsigned char schedule_time = 5;
int signo, err;
/*
We set a local mask with SIGALARM for the function sigwait
All signals have already been blocked
*/
sigset_t alarm_mask;
sigemptyset(&alarm_mask);
sigaddset(&alarm_mask, SIGALRM);
alarm(schedule_time);
pthread_cleanup_push(exitingThreadTask2, NULL);
while (1)
{
err = sigwait(&alarm_mask, &signo); //signo == SIGALRM check
if (err!=0)
err_exit(err, "sigwait failed\n");
//do stuff
alarm(schedule_time);
}
pthread_cleanup_pop(0);
pthread_exit(0);
}
void* task3(void *arg)
{
pthread_cleanup_push(exitingThreadTask3, NULL);
while(1)
{
pthread_mutex_lock(&g_new_pic_m);
while(g_new_pic_flag==FALSE)
{
pthread_cond_wait(&g_new_pic_cond, &g_new_pic_m);
}
pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_new_pic_m);
//do stuff
}
pthread_cleanup_pop(0);
pthread_exit(0);
}
void exitingThreadTask1(void* arg)
{
printf("Thread of task 1 exiting\n");
digitalWrite(OUTPIN, LOW);
digitalWrite(INPIN, LOW);
printf("Pins lowered\n");
pthread_exit((void*)0);
}
void exitingThreadTask2(void* arg)
{
printf("Thread of task 2 exiting\n");
digitalWrite(DHTPIN, LOW);
printf("Pin lowered\n");
pthread_exit((void*)0);
}
void exitingThreadTask3(void* arg)
{
printf("Thread of task 3 exiting\n");
pthread_exit((void*)0);
}
void sig_handler(int signo)
{
printf("Running handler to return from pause\n");
return;
}
In general, I recommend not cancelling or killing threads. I also try to minimize signal handling in threaded applications, or at least make the signal handlers very short, nonblocking and simple. It is better to have the threads run a loop, where they e.g. check a cancel flag, or if your thread does I/O with select or epoll, have the master thread write to a pipe to signal the other end to die. With C++ and pthreads, cancelling or killing can be even more disastrous, so for C++, doing a clean shutdown with custom code is even more important.
See e.g. pthread cancel and C++
You must not call pthread_exit() in the cleanup functions, because pthread_exit() will also call the cleanup function registered for the thread.
So, in your program, the cleanup function is called recursively and the threads never exit.
About the kill from another terminal, the command kill -9 and the pid of the process should always work because SIGKILL can't be ignored nor caught.
And in the signal handler function, you have to use async-signal-safe functions, printf() isn't async-signal-safe.
Another way to wait for a signal in the main thread is to use sigwait() or sigwaitinfo() instead of pause(), like you did for SIGALARM in a thread. So it won't need to register a handler function, but it will need to block the signals to be caught in all threads.
EDIT: To answer your last comment.
Exiting the threads task2() and task3() with a flag seems to be complex, because the main thread have to send SIGALRM to task2 in order to wake it up, and also signal the condition in order to wake up task3.
I modified your code to try to use a flag, but i may have missed an eventual problem because synchronizing threads may be complex.
In the case of your program, I haven't enough knwoledge to say if it is better to use pthread_cancel() and pthread_testcancel(), or to use flags. However, pthread_cancel() seems to be able to cancel without synchronization problems, threads that are waiting for signals or for a condition.
Using a flag, for task3, there could be the following problem:
task3 check the flag that is 0
main thread set the flag to 1
main thread signal the condition
task3 begin to wait for the condition
In this case, thread task3 won't exit, because it wasn't waiting when the condition was signaled. I'am not sure, but this problem is maybe avoided by protecting the flag with the same mutex we use for the condition. Because when the flag will be set and the condition signaled, task3 will be waiting for the condition or doing work out of the critical section.
I don't know if there may be a problem for task2, for example if the signal is lost due to an internal problem, but normally, the signal will be pending.
Here is the code of my test. I placed 1 as argument for the function pthread_cleanup_pop(), to make the threads execute the cleanup functions.
#include<stdlib.h>
#include<stdio.h>
#include<signal.h>
#include<stdint.h>
#include<pthread.h>
#define FALSE 0
volatile sig_atomic_t g_new_pic_flag=FALSE;
pthread_cond_t g_new_pic_cond = PTHREAD_COND_INITIALIZER;
pthread_mutex_t g_new_pic_m = PTHREAD_MUTEX_INITIALIZER;
volatile int g_shutdown_task_3 = 0;
volatile int g_shutdown_task_1_2 = 0;
pthread_mutex_t g_shutdown_mutex = PTHREAD_MUTEX_INITIALIZER;
/* FUNCTION DECLARATION */
/*We define thread exit functions so that each pin
is lowered by the thread in which it is used avoiding
race condition between the signal handler of the main thread
and the other threads*/
void exitingThreadTask1(void* arg);
void exitingThreadTask2(void* arg);
void exitingThreadTask3(void* arg);
void* task1(void *arg); //thread function for the motion sensor
void* task2(void *arg); //thread function for the temperature reading
void* task3(void *arg); //thread function to post data on IOT platforms
/*Signal handler to return from pause*/
void sig_handler(int signo);
void err_exit(char err, char *msg) {
printf("\nError: %s\n",msg);
exit(1);
}
int main()
{
int err;
sigset_t omask, mask;
pthread_t thread_motionSensor;
pthread_t thread_tempReading;
pthread_t thread_platformPost;
printf("Created threads IDs\n");
/*
if (wiringPiSetup()<0)
{
printf("WiringPi error\n");
return -1;
}
*/
printf("WiringPi is ok\n");
if (signal(SIGQUIT, sig_handler)==SIG_ERR)
printf("Error on recording SIGQUITHANDLER\n");
if (signal(SIGINT, sig_handler)==SIG_ERR)
printf("Error on recording SIGQUITHANDLER\n");
if (signal(SIGTERM, sig_handler)==SIG_ERR)
printf("Error on recording SIGQUITHANDLER\n");
/*Create a new mask to block all signals for the following thread*/
sigfillset(&mask);
pthread_sigmask(SIG_SETMASK, &mask, &omask);
printf("Trying to create threads\n");
if ((err = pthread_create (&thread_motionSensor, NULL, task1, NULL))!=0)
{
printf("Thread 1 not created: error %d\n", err);
err_exit((const char)err, "pthread_create error");
}
printf("Thread 1 created. Trying to create Thread 2\n");
if((err = pthread_create (&thread_tempReading, NULL, task2, NULL))!=0)
{
printf("Thread 2 not created: error %d\n", err);
err_exit((const char)err, "pthread_create error");
}
printf("Thread 2 created. Trying to create Thread 3\n");
if ((err = pthread_create (&thread_platformPost, NULL, task3, NULL))!=0)
{
printf("Thread 3 not created: error %d %d\n", err);
err_exit((const char)err, "pthread_create error");
}
printf("Thread 3 created\n");
/*The main thread must block the SIGALRM but catch SIGINT
SIGQUIT, SIGTERM, SIgkILL*/
sigemptyset(&omask);
sigaddset(&omask, SIGINT);
sigaddset(&omask, SIGQUIT);
sigaddset(&omask, SIGKILL);
sigaddset(&omask, SIGTERM);
pthread_sigmask(SIG_UNBLOCK, &omask, NULL);
printf("Main thread waiting for signal\n");
pause();
printf("Exit signal received: cancelling threads\n");
pthread_mutex_lock(&g_shutdown_mutex);
g_shutdown_task_1_2 = 1;
pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_shutdown_mutex);
pthread_mutex_lock(&g_new_pic_m);
g_shutdown_task_3 = 1;
pthread_cond_signal(&g_new_pic_cond);
pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_new_pic_m);
pthread_kill(thread_tempReading,SIGALRM);
pthread_join(thread_motionSensor, NULL);
pthread_join(thread_tempReading, NULL);
pthread_join(thread_platformPost, NULL);
printf("Exiting from main thread and process\n");
exit(0);
}
void* task1(void *arg)
{
//INITIALIZING
pthread_cleanup_push(exitingThreadTask1, NULL);
while(1)
{
pthread_mutex_lock(&g_shutdown_mutex);
if(g_shutdown_task_1_2) {
pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_shutdown_mutex);
break;
}
pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_shutdown_mutex);
//do stuff1
sleep(1);
}
pthread_cleanup_pop(1);
pthread_exit(0);
}
void* task2(void *arg)
{
static const unsigned char schedule_time = 5;
int signo, err;
/*
We set a local mask with SIGALARM for the function sigwait
All signals have already been blocked
*/
sigset_t alarm_mask;
sigemptyset(&alarm_mask);
sigaddset(&alarm_mask, SIGALRM);
alarm(schedule_time);
pthread_cleanup_push(exitingThreadTask2, NULL);
while (1)
{
pthread_mutex_lock(&g_shutdown_mutex);
if(g_shutdown_task_1_2) {
pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_shutdown_mutex);
break;
}
pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_shutdown_mutex);
err = sigwait(&alarm_mask, &signo); //signo == SIGALRM check
if (err!=0)
err_exit(err, "sigwait failed\n");
pthread_mutex_lock(&g_shutdown_mutex);
if(g_shutdown_task_1_2) {
pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_shutdown_mutex);
break;
}
pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_shutdown_mutex);
//do stuff
alarm(schedule_time);
}
pthread_cleanup_pop(1);
pthread_exit(0);
}
void* task3(void *arg)
{
pthread_cleanup_push(exitingThreadTask3, NULL);
while(1)
{
pthread_mutex_lock(&g_new_pic_m);
if(g_shutdown_task_3) {
pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_new_pic_m);
break;
}
while(g_new_pic_flag==FALSE)
{
if(g_shutdown_task_3) break;
pthread_cond_wait(&g_new_pic_cond, &g_new_pic_m);
if(g_shutdown_task_3) break;
}
if(g_shutdown_task_3) {
pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_new_pic_m);
break;
}
pthread_mutex_unlock(&g_new_pic_m);
//do stuff
}
pthread_cleanup_pop(1);
pthread_exit(0);
}
void exitingThreadTask1(void* arg)
{
printf("Thread of task 1 exiting\n");
//digitalWrite(OUTPIN, LOW);
//digitalWrite(INPIN, LOW);
printf("Pins lowered\n");
}
void exitingThreadTask2(void* arg)
{
printf("Thread of task 2 exiting\n");
//digitalWrite(DHTPIN, LOW);
printf("Pin lowered\n");
}
void exitingThreadTask3(void* arg)
{
printf("Thread of task 3 exiting\n");
}
void sig_handler(int signo)
{
return;
}

Difference between a process signal mask, blocked signal set, and a blocked signal?

Learning about signals, and I was wondering about the subtle differences between the process signal mask, a blocked signal set, a signal handler, and a blocked signal.
The questions involve (on Debian):
sigprocmask(2)
sigsetops(3) related functions
Each process has it's own signal mask (a long which contains the signals being blocked). And a signal set can be obtained by calling sigprocmask(2) with a NULL argument for the *set variable, will result in the old process mask to be put into *oldset, unchanged:
#include <string.h>
#include <signal.h>
void show_signals(const sigset_t exmask)
{
int exsignals[43];
exsignals[0] = SIGABRT;
exsignals[1] = SIGALRM;
exsignals[2] = SIGBUS;
exsignals[3] = SIGCHLD;
exsignals[4] = SIGCONT;
#ifdef SIGEMT
exsignals[5] = SIGEMT;
#else
exsignals[5] = -1;
#endif
exsignals[6] = SIGFPE;
#ifdef SIGFREEZE
exsignals[7] = SIGFREEZE;
#else
exsignals[7] = -1;
#endif
exsignals[8] = SIGHUP;
exsignals[9] = SIGILL;
#ifdef SIGINFO
exsignals[10] = SIGINFO;
#else
exsignals[10] = -1;
#endif
exsignals[11] = SIGINT;
exsignals[12] = SIGIO;
exsignals[13] = SIGIOT;
#ifdef SIGJVM1
exsignals[14] = SIGJVM1;
#else
exsignals[14] = -1;
#endif
#ifdef SIGJVM2
exsignals[15] = SIGJVM2;
#else
exsignals[15] = -1;
#endif
exsignals[16] = SIGKILL;
#ifdef SIGLOST
exsignals[17] = SIGLOST;
#else
exsignals[17] = -1;
#endif
#ifdef SIGLWP
exsignals[18] = SIGLWP;
#else
exsignals[18] = -1;
#endif
exsignals[19] = SIGPIPE;
exsignals[20] = SIGPOLL;
exsignals[21] = SIGPROF;
exsignals[22] = SIGPWR;
exsignals[23] = SIGQUIT;
exsignals[24] = SIGSEGV;
exsignals[25] = SIGSTKFLT;
exsignals[26] = SIGSTOP;
exsignals[27] = SIGSYS;
exsignals[28] = SIGTERM;
#ifdef SIGTHAW
exsignals[29] = SIGTHAW;
#else
exsignals[29] = -1;
#endif
#ifdef SIGTHR
exsignals[30] = SIGTHR;
#else
exsignals[30] = -1;
#endif
exsignals[31] = SIGTRAP;
exsignals[32] = SIGTSTP;
exsignals[33] = SIGTTIN;
exsignals[34] = SIGTTOU;
exsignals[35] = SIGURG;
exsignals[36] = SIGUSR1;
exsignals[37] = SIGUSR2;
exsignals[38] = SIGVTALRM;
#ifdef SIGWAITING
exsignals[39] = SIGWAITING;
#else
exsignals[39] = -1;
#endif
exsignals[40] = SIGWINCH;
exsignals[41] = SIGXCPU;
exsignals[42] = SIGXFSZ;
#ifdef SIGXRES
exsignals[43] = SIGXRES;
#else
exsignals[43] = -1;
#endif
int exsignals_n = 0;
for (;exsignals_n < 43; exsignals_n++) {
if (exsignals[exsignals_n] == -1) continue;
static char *exsignal_name;
exsignal_name = strsignal(exsignals[exsignals_n]);
switch(sigismember(&exmask, exsignals[exsignals_n]))
{
case 0: break;
case 1: printf("YES %s\n", exsignal_name); break;
case -1: printf("could not obtain signal\n"); break;
default: printf("UNEXPECTED for %s return\n", exsignal_name); break;
}
}
}
const sigset_t getmask(void)
{
static sigset_t retmask;
if ((sigprocmask(SIG_SETMASK, NULL, &retmask)) == -1)
printf("could not obtain process signal mask\n");
return retmask;
}
At the beginning of my program, I realize that the process signal mask, has not blocked any signals. I then place a signal handler into the program.
static void sig_abrt(int signo)
{
printf("Caught SIGABRT\n");
}
int main(void)
{
show_signals(getmask());
signal(SIGABRT, sig_abrt);
show_signals(getmask());
return 0;
}
So now there is a signal handler for SIGABRT, but if I were to call sigprocmask(2) again, as above, SIGABRT will not be in the process signal mask. I tried checking with sigismember(3), but the process signal mask will only be modified once I have called sigaddset(3) or another function which modifies the signal mask.
If I block SIGABRT with sigaddset(3), will the signal handler sig_abrt not receive the call when the SIGABRT is delivered? Does it mean that the signal mask affects which signals are delivered? What is the difference?
Also, is there a way to block a signal in a process without using the sigsetops(3) and sigprocmask(2) functions?
Each process has it's [sic] own signal mask (a long which contains the signals being blocked)
Well, no. The signal mask is actually thread-specific. (In a multithreaded program, you must use pthread_sigmask() to manipulate the signal mask for the current thread; in a single-threaded program, you can use sigprocmask().)
Also, it's not "a long". It is of type sigset_t, which might be an array, structure, or union type. In any case, one should consider it simply as an unordered bit set, one bit per signal.
So now there is a signal handler for SIGABRT, but SIGABRT will not be in the process signal mask.
Correct. Whether or not you have assigned a signal handler or not, does not affect the signal mask at all.
If I block SIGABRT with sigaddset(3), will the signal handler sig_abrt not receive the call when the SIGABRT is delivered? Does it mean that the signal mask affects which signals are delivered? What is the difference?
If all your threads block SIGABRT, it will not be delivered until either the signal is unblocked (removed from the signal mask). If the signal is consumed using sigwait(), sigwaitinfo(), or sigtimedwait(), the signal handler will not be invoked at all.
A short summary:
Signals can be directed to a process group (kill() with pid == 0 or pid == -pgid), a specific process (pid), or a specific thread in a specific process (pthread_kill() within the same process, tgkill system call in Linux in general).
If a signal is directed to a process group, each process in that group receives "a copy" of the signal.
The signal mask defines whether signals are blocked, or delivered immediately.
In each process, each signal
can have a signal handler, or
be ignored (SIG_IGN "handler"), or
have the default disposition (ignored (Ign), terminates the process with (Core) or without (Term) a core dump; or it can stop (Stop) or continue (Cont) the execution of the target thread or process). See man 7 signal for details.
If some, but not all threads, block a signal, and the signal is not targeted to a specific thread, the kernel directs the signal to one of the threads that are not blocking the signal (at random).
There are two ways of catching a signal:
Using a signal handler. The signal gets delivered to a signal handler only when the signal is not blocked. If the signal is blocked, the delivery of the signal is pending until not blocked (or caught by the other option below).
sigwait(), sigwaitinfo(), or sigtimedwait(). These functions check if any signals are pending, and if so, "catch" it. The set of signals they check is defined by a function parameter of sigset_t type.
When the kernel sends/forwards a signal to a process, it first checks if the process has a thread that is not blocking that signal. If there is such a thread, it delivers it via that thread. (If the signal has a signal handler, that signal handler gets invoked in that thread; otherwise, the effect is dictated by the signal disposition.)
If the signal is blocked, the kernel leaves it pending for the process.
If the process calls sigwait(), sigwaitinfo(), or sigtimedwait() with the pending signal in the specified signals set, it receives the information on that signal, and the signal is caught. (It will no longer be pending, and it will not cause a signal handler to be invoked; it is "consumed".)
If the process changes its signal mask, so that the pending signal becomes unblocked, it is delivered by the kernel (just as if it was sent at that point in time).
Also, is there a way to block a signal in a process without using the sigsetops(3) and sigprocmask(2) functions?
No. (You can implement your own sigsetops() and a syscall wrapper for sigprocmask(), but that's about it.)
Here is an example program, example.c, you can use for exploring signal handlers, catching signals, and the signal mask, in a single-threaded process:
#define _POSIX_C_SOURCE 200809L
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <signal.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <errno.h>
/* Async-signal safe write-to-standard error function.
Keeps errno unchanged. Do not use stderr otherwise!
*/
static int wrerrpp(const char *ptr, const char *end)
{
const int saved_errno = errno;
ssize_t chars;
while (ptr < end) {
chars = write(STDERR_FILENO, ptr, (size_t)(end - ptr));
if (chars > 0)
ptr += chars;
else
if (chars != -1) {
errno = saved_errno;
return EIO;
} else
if (errno != EINTR) {
const int retval = errno;
errno = saved_errno;
return retval;
}
}
errno = saved_errno;
return 0;
}
/* Write the supplied string to standard error.
Async-signal safe. Keeps errno unchanged.
Do not mix with stderr!
*/
static int wrerr(const char *ptr)
{
if (!ptr)
return 0;
else {
const char *end = ptr;
/* strlen() is not async-signal safe, so
find the end of the string the hard way. */
while (*end)
end++;
return wrerrpp(ptr, end);
}
}
/* Write the supplied long to standard error.
Async-signal safe. Keeps errno unchanged.
Do not mix with stderr!
*/
static int wrerrnum(const long value)
{
unsigned long u = (value < 0) ? (unsigned long)-value : (unsigned long)value;
char buf[40];
char *ptr = buf + sizeof buf;
char *const end = buf + sizeof buf;
do {
*(--ptr) = '0' + (u % 10uL);
u /= 10uL;
} while (u > 0uL);
if (value < 0)
*(--ptr) = '-';
return wrerrpp(ptr, end);
}
/* Async-signal safe variant of strsignal().
Only covers a small subset of all signals.
Returns NULL if the signal name is not known. */
static const char *signal_name(const int signum)
{
switch (signum) {
case SIGHUP: return "HUP";
case SIGINT: return "INT";
case SIGQUIT: return "QUIT";
case SIGKILL: return "KILL";
case SIGSEGV: return "SEGV";
case SIGTERM: return "TERM";
case SIGUSR1: return "USR1";
case SIGUSR2: return "USR2";
case SIGCHLD: return "CHLD";
case SIGCONT: return "CONT";
case SIGSTOP: return "STOP";
default: return NULL;
}
}
/* Signal handler that reports its delivery immediately,
but does nothing else.
*/
static void report_signal(int signum, siginfo_t *info, void *ctx)
{
const char *sname = signal_name(signum);
wrerr("report_signal(): Received signal ");
if (sname)
wrerr(sname);
else
wrerrnum(signum);
if (info->si_pid) {
wrerr(" from process ");
wrerrnum(info->si_pid);
wrerr(".\n");
} else
wrerr(" from kernel or terminal.\n");
}
/* Install report_signal() handler.
*/
static int install_report_signal(const int signum)
{
struct sigaction act;
memset(&act, 0, sizeof act);
sigemptyset(&act.sa_mask);
act.sa_sigaction = report_signal;
act.sa_flags = SA_SIGINFO;
if (sigaction(signum, &act, NULL) == -1)
return errno;
return 0;
}
int main(void)
{
sigset_t mask;
siginfo_t info;
const char *name;
int signum;
if (install_report_signal(SIGINT) ||
install_report_signal(SIGCONT)) {
const char *errmsg = strerror(errno);
wrerr("Cannot install signal handlers: ");
wrerr(errmsg);
wrerr(".\n");
return EXIT_FAILURE;
}
sigemptyset(&mask);
sigaddset(&mask, SIGUSR1);
sigaddset(&mask, SIGUSR2);
sigaddset(&mask, SIGHUP);
sigaddset(&mask, SIGTERM);
sigprocmask(SIG_SETMASK, &mask, NULL);
printf("Process %ld is ready to receive signals! Run\n", (long)getpid());
printf("\tkill -USR1 %ld\n", (long)getpid());
printf("\tkill -USR2 %ld\n", (long)getpid());
printf("\tkill -HUP %ld\n", (long)getpid());
printf("\tkill -TERM %ld\n", (long)getpid());
printf("in another terminal; press Ctrl+C in this terminal; or press Ctrl+Z and run\n");
printf("\tfg\n");
printf("in this terminal.\n");
fflush(stdout);
/* Almost same as blocked mask, just without SIGUSR1 and SIGUSR2. */
sigemptyset(&mask);
sigaddset(&mask, SIGHUP);
sigaddset(&mask, SIGTERM);
do {
do {
signum = sigwaitinfo(&mask, &info);
} while (signum == -1 && errno == EINTR);
if (signum == -1) {
const char *errmsg = strerror(errno);
wrerr("sigwaitinfo(): ");
wrerr(errmsg);
wrerr(".\n");
return EXIT_FAILURE;
}
name = signal_name(signum);
if (name)
printf("main(): Received signal %s from ", name);
else
printf("main(): Received signal %d from ", signum);
if (info.si_pid == 0)
printf("kernel or terminal.\n");
else
printf("process %ld.\n", (long)info.si_pid);
fflush(stdout);
} while (signum != SIGTERM);
return EXIT_SUCCESS;
}
Compile it using for example
gcc -Wall -O2 example.c -o example
I suggest you prepare two terminals. In one terminal, run the compiled program, using
./example
and observe its output. It will be something like
Process 843 is ready to receive signals! Run
kill -USR1 843
kill -USR2 843
kill -HUP 843
kill -TERM 843
in another terminal; press Ctrl+C in this terminal; or press Ctrl+Z and run
fg
in this terminal.
The KILL and STOP signals cannot be caught. KILL will always kill the process, and STOP will always stop ("pause") the process.
If you press Ctrl+C in that terminal, the kernel will send an INT signal to the process. (This will be delivered via the report_signal() signal handler.)
If you press Ctrl+Z in that terminal, the kernel will send a STOP signal to the process. The shell detects this, pushing ./example under job control, and lets you input new shell commands. The fg command brings ./example back to foreground, with the shell sending it the CONT signal, so that ./example will continue execution.
USR1 and USR2 signals are blocked, so they are never delivered to the report_signal() signal handler.
HUP and TERM signals are also blocked, but they are received by the main thread via sigwaitinfo().
The program exits, when it receives a TERM signal.

signalfd() misses signals

In my program, I am using signalfd to handle signals and combine it with poll for async IO. Below is my code:
#include <signal.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <sys/syscall.h>
#include <sys/signalfd.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <pthread.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <poll.h>
#include <assert.h>
#include <errno.h>
volatile sig_atomic_t cont = 1;
volatile sig_atomic_t usrcnt = 0;
volatile sig_atomic_t susrcnt = 0;
volatile sig_atomic_t wsig = 0;
volatile sig_atomic_t wtid = 0;
int GetCurrentThreadId()
{
return syscall(__NR_gettid);
}
void Segv1(int p1, siginfo_t * p2, void * p3)
{
//printf("SIGSEGV signal on illegal memory access handled by thread: %d\n", GetCurrentThreadId());
wtid = GetCurrentThreadId();
wsig = SIGSEGV;
_exit(SIGSEGV);
}
void Fpe1(int p1 , siginfo_t * p2, void * p3)
{
//printf is only for test.
//printf("FPE signal handled by thread: %d\n", GetCurrentThreadId());
wtid = GetCurrentThreadId();
wsig = SIGFPE;
_exit(SIGFPE);
}
void User1(int p1 , siginfo_t * p2, void * p3)
{
printf("User signal 1 handled by thread: %d\n", GetCurrentThreadId());
++susrcnt;
wtid = GetCurrentThreadId();
wsig = SIGUSR1;
}
void* ThreadFunc (void* d)
{
//Let us use signalfd.
int sfd;
sigset_t mask;
/* We will handle SIGTERM and SIGINT. */
sigemptyset (&mask);
sigaddset (&mask, SIGUSR1);
/* Create a file descriptor from which we will read the signals. */
sfd = signalfd (-1, &mask, 0);
if (sfd < 0) {
printf ("signalfd failed with %d\n", errno);
return NULL;
}
pthread_sigmask(SIG_BLOCK, &mask, NULL);
/* This is the main loop */
struct pollfd pfd[1];
int ret;
ssize_t bytes;
pfd[0].fd = sfd;
pfd[0].events = POLLIN | POLLERR | POLLHUP;
for (;;) {
ret = poll(pfd, 1, -1);
/* Bail on errors (for simplicity) */
assert(ret > 0);
assert(pfd[0].revents & POLLIN);
/* We have a valid signal, read the info from the fd */
struct signalfd_siginfo info;
bytes = read(sfd, &info, sizeof(info));
assert(bytes == sizeof(info));
unsigned sig = info.ssi_signo;
unsigned user = info.ssi_uid;
if (sig == SIGUSR1) {
++usrcnt;
printf ("Got SIGUSR1 by POLL in thread: %d: Handler count: %d, %d\n", GetCurrentThreadId(), susrcnt, usrcnt);
}
}
/* Close the file descriptor if we no longer need it. */
close (sfd);
return NULL;
}
int main()
{
const int numthreads = 1;
sigset_t sset;
struct sigaction act;
int sleepval = 15;
int pid;
int i;
int * a = 0;
//*a = 1;
int c=0;
//c = 0;
int b;
printf("My PID: %d\n", getpid());
printf("SIGSEGV: %d\nSIGFPE: %d\nSIGUSR1: %d\n", SIGSEGV, SIGFPE, SIGUSR1);
//Create a thread for signal
memset(&act, 0, sizeof act);
act.sa_sigaction = User1;
act.sa_flags = SA_SIGINFO;
//Set Handler for SIGUSR1 signal.
if(sigaction(SIGUSR1, &act, NULL)<0) {
fprintf(stderr, "sigaction failed\n");
return 1;
}
//Set handler for SIGSEGV signal.
act.sa_sigaction = Segv1;
sigaction(SIGSEGV, &act, NULL);
//Set handler for SIGFPE (floating point exception) signal.
act.sa_sigaction = Fpe1;
sigaction(SIGFPE, &act, NULL);
sigemptyset(&sset);
sigaddset(&sset, SIGUSR1);
sigprocmask(SIG_UNBLOCK, &sset, NULL);
pthread_t tid[numthreads];
for(i=0;i<numthreads;++i)
pthread_create(&tid[i], NULL, ThreadFunc, NULL);
//Block the signal for main thread so that other thread handles the the signal.
pthread_sigmask(SIG_BLOCK, &sset, NULL);
sleep(numthreads/2);
//Raise user signal SIGUSR1.
//raise(SIGUSR1);
pid = fork();
if(pid) {
while(sleepval) {
sleepval = sleep(sleepval);
if(sleepval)
switch(wsig) {
case SIGSEGV:
printf("[Main] Segmenation fault in thread: %d\n", wtid);
exit(1);
break;
case SIGFPE:
printf("[Main] Floating point exception in thread: %d\n", wtid);
exit(1);
break;
case SIGUSR1:
printf("[Main] User 1 signal in thread: %d\n", wtid);
break;
default:
printf("[Main] Unhandled signal: %d in thread: %d\n", wsig, wtid);
break;
}
}
} else {
sleep(1); //To avoid race between signal handler and signal fd.
for(i=0;i<10;++i) {
//If sleep is not used, signal SIGUSR1 will be handled one time in parent
//as other signals will be ignored while SIGUSR1 is being handled.
sleep(1);
//Problem is here. When the sleep(1) is commented out, it missed the signals.
kill(getppid(), SIGUSR1);
}
return 0;
}
return 0;
}
In the program, process spawns a thread which create signalfd and starts using poll. Then process spawns a child process which sends SIGUSR1 to the parent process. When signals are send at the interval of 1s, then it processes all the signals. However, when sleep is removed, it missed notification.
I would like to know does signalfd also discards signal notification if it is processing the same signal. Also, what is priority order between signal handler and signalfd?
If multiple standard (that is: non real time) signals are pending for a process, the OS might decide to merge several signals of the same type into one.
From POSIX:
2.4.1 Signal Generation and Delivery
[...]
If a subsequent occurrence of a pending signal is generated, it is implementation-defined as to whether the signal is delivered or accepted more than once in circumstances other than those in which queuing is required.
Standard signals are not queued by default. The only way to have a standard signal queued is by issuing them using sigqueue().
So here if change the signal > 32, it works:
If the signal < 32, happened multiple times only trigger once before the signal already handled.
If the signal >= 32 and also valid, like here is 34, will create a list to cache every trigger.
#include <assert.h>
#include <errno.h>
+ #undef SIGUSR1
+ #define SIGUSR1 34
volatile sig_atomic_t cont = 1;
volatile sig_atomic_t usrcnt = 0;
volatile sig_atomic_t susrcnt = 0;
The following patch just force flush printf:
int b;
+ setbuf(stdout, NULL);
printf("My PID: %d\n", getpid());
Tested on Ubuntu 14.04, the output:
My PID: 5249
SIGSEGV: 11
SIGFPE: 8
SIGUSR1: 34
Got SIGUSR1 by POLL in thread: 5250: Handler count: 0, 1
Got SIGUSR1 by POLL in thread: 5250: Handler count: 0, 2
Got SIGUSR1 by POLL in thread: 5250: Handler count: 0, 3
Got SIGUSR1 by POLL in thread: 5250: Handler count: 0, 4
Got SIGUSR1 by POLL in thread: 5250: Handler count: 0, 5
Got SIGUSR1 by POLL in thread: 5250: Handler count: 0, 6
Got SIGUSR1 by POLL in thread: 5250: Handler count: 0, 7
Got SIGUSR1 by POLL in thread: 5250: Handler count: 0, 8
Got SIGUSR1 by POLL in thread: 5250: Handler count: 0, 9
Got SIGUSR1 by POLL in thread: 5250: Handler count: 0, 10

sigwait() and signal handler

If I setup and signal handler for SIGABRT and meanwhile I have a thread that waits on sigwait() for SIGABRT to come (I have a blocked SIGABRT in other threads by pthread_sigmask).
So which one will be processed first ? Signal handler or sigwait() ?
[I am facing some issues that sigwait() is get blocked for ever. I am debugging it currently]
main()
{
sigset_t signal_set;
sigemptyset(&signal_set);
sigaddset(&signal_set, SIGABRT);
sigprocmask(SIG_BLOCK, &signal_set, NULL);
// Dont deliver SIGABORT while running this thread and it's kids.
pthread_sigmask(SIG_BLOCK, &signal_set, NULL);
pthread_create(&tAbortWaitThread, NULL, WaitForAbortThread, NULL);
..
Create all other threads
...
}
static void* WaitForAbortThread(void* v)
{
sigset_t signal_set;
int stat;
int sig;
sigfillset( &signal_set);
pthread_sigmask( SIG_BLOCK, &signal_set, NULL ); // Dont want any signals
sigemptyset(&signal_set);
sigaddset(&signal_set, SIGABRT); // Add only SIGABRT
// This thread while executing , will handle the SIGABORT signal via signal handler.
pthread_sigmask(SIG_UNBLOCK, &signal_set, NULL);
stat= sigwait( &signal_set, &sig ); // lets wait for signal handled in CatchAbort().
while (stat == -1)
{
stat= sigwait( &signal_set, &sig );
}
TellAllThreadsWeAreGoingDown();
sleep(10);
return null;
}
// Abort signal handler executed via sigaction().
static void CatchAbort(int i, siginfo_t* info, void* v)
{
sleep(20); // Dont return , hold on till the other threads are down.
}
Here at sigwait(), i will come to know that SIGABRT is received. I will tell other threads about it. Then will hold abort signal handler so that process is not terminated.
I wanted to know the interaction of sigwait() and the signal handler.
From sigwait() documentation :
The sigwait() function suspends execution of the calling thread until
one of the signals specified in the signal set becomes pending.
A pending signal means a blocked signal waiting to be delivered to one of the thread/process. Therefore, you need not to unblock the signal like you did with your pthread_sigmask(SIG_UNBLOCK, &signal_set, NULL) call.
This should work :
static void* WaitForAbortThread(void* v){
sigset_t signal_set;
sigemptyset(&signal_set);
sigaddset(&signal_set, SIGABRT);
sigwait( &signal_set, &sig );
TellAllThreadsWeAreGoingDown();
sleep(10);
return null;
}
I got some information from this <link>
It says :
To allow a thread to wait for asynchronously generated signals, the threads library provides the sigwait subroutine. The sigwait subroutine blocks the calling thread until one of the awaited signals is sent to the process or to the thread. There must not be a signal handler installed on the awaited signal using the sigwait subroutine.
I will remove the sigaction() handler and try only sigwait().
From the code snippet you've posted, it seems you got the use of sigwait() wrong. AFAIU, you need WaitForAbortThread like below:
sigemptyset( &signal_set); // change it from sigfillset()
for (;;) {
stat = sigwait(&signal_set, &sig);
if (sig == SIGABRT) {
printf("here's sigbart.. do whatever you want.\n");
pthread_kill(tid, signal); // thread id and signal
}
}
I don't think pthread_sigmask() is really needed. Since you only want to handle SIGABRT, first init signal_set as empty then simply add SIGABRT, then jump into the infinite loop, sigwait will wait for the particular signal that you're looking for, you check the signal if it's SIGABRT, if yes - do whatever you want. NOTE the uses of pthread_kill(), use it to sent any signal to other threads specified via tid and the signal you want to sent, make sure you know the tid of other threads you want to sent signal. Hope this will help!
I know this question is about a year old, but I often use a pattern, which solves exactly this issue using pthreads and signals. It is a little length but takes care of any issues I am aware of.
I recently used in combination with a library wrapped with SWIG and called from within Python. An annoying issue was that my IRQ thread waiting for SIGINT using sigwait never received the SIGINT signal. The same library worked perfectly when called from Matlab, which didn't capture the SIGINT signal.
The solution was to install a signal handler
#define _NTHREADS 8
#include <signal.h>
#include <pthread.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <sched.h>
#include <linux/unistd.h>
#include <sys/signal.h>
#include <sys/syscall.h>
#include <setjmp.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <errno.h>
#include <string.h> // strerror
#define CallErr(fun, arg) { if ((fun arg)<0) \
FailErr(#fun) }
#define CallErrExit(fun, arg, ret) { if ((fun arg)<0) \
FailErrExit(#fun,ret) }
#define FailErrExit(msg,ret) { \
(void)fprintf(stderr, "FAILED: %s(errno=%d strerror=%s)\n", \
msg, errno, strerror(errno)); \
(void)fflush(stderr); \
return ret; }
#define FailErr(msg) { \
(void)fprintf(stderr, "FAILED: %s(errno=%d strerror=%s)\n", \
msg, errno, strerror(errno)); \
(void)fflush(stderr);}
typedef struct thread_arg {
int cpu_id;
int thread_id;
} thread_arg_t;
static jmp_buf jmp_env;
static struct sigaction act;
static struct sigaction oact;
size_t exitnow = 0;
pthread_mutex_t exit_mutex;
pthread_attr_t attr;
pthread_t pids[_NTHREADS];
pid_t tids[_NTHREADS+1];
static volatile int status[_NTHREADS]; // 0: suspended, 1: interrupted, 2: success
sigset_t mask;
static pid_t gettid( void );
static void *thread_function(void *arg);
static void signalHandler(int);
int main() {
cpu_set_t cpuset;
int nproc;
int i;
thread_arg_t thread_args[_NTHREADS];
int id;
CPU_ZERO( &cpuset );
CallErr(sched_getaffinity,
(gettid(), sizeof( cpu_set_t ), &cpuset));
nproc = CPU_COUNT(&cpuset);
for (i=0 ; i < _NTHREADS ; i++) {
thread_args[i].cpu_id = i % nproc;
thread_args[i].thread_id = i;
status[i] = 0;
}
pthread_attr_init(&attr);
pthread_attr_setdetachstate(&attr, PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE);
pthread_mutex_init(&exit_mutex, NULL);
// We pray for no locks on buffers and setbuf will work, if not we
// need to use filelock() on on FILE* access, tricky
setbuf(stdout, NULL);
setbuf(stderr, NULL);
act.sa_flags = SA_NOCLDSTOP | SA_NOCLDWAIT;
act.sa_handler = signalHandler;
sigemptyset(&act.sa_mask);
sigemptyset(&mask);
sigaddset(&mask, SIGINT);
if (setjmp(jmp_env)) {
if (gettid()==tids[0]) {
// Main Thread
printf("main thread: waiting for clients to terminate\n");
for (i = 0; i < _NTHREADS; i++) {
CallErr(pthread_join, (pids[i], NULL));
if (status[i] == 1)
printf("thread %d: terminated\n",i+1);
}
// On linux this can be done immediate after creation
CallErr(pthread_attr_destroy, (&attr));
CallErr(pthread_mutex_destroy, (&exit_mutex));
return 0;
}
else {
// Should never happen
printf("worker thread received signal");
}
return -1;
}
// Install handler
CallErr(sigaction, (SIGINT, &act, &oact));
// Block SIGINT
CallErr(pthread_sigmask, (SIG_BLOCK, &mask, NULL));
tids[0] = gettid();
srand ( time(NULL) );
for (i = 0; i < _NTHREADS; i++) {
// Inherits main threads signal handler, they are blocking
CallErr(pthread_create,
(&pids[i], &attr, thread_function,
(void *)&thread_args[i]));
}
if (pthread_sigmask(SIG_UNBLOCK, &mask, NULL)) {
fprintf(stderr, "main thread: can't block SIGINT");
}
printf("Infinite loop started - CTRL-C to exit\n");
for (i = 0; i < _NTHREADS; i++) {
CallErr(pthread_join, (pids[i], NULL));
//printf("%d\n",status[i]);
if (status[i] == 2)
printf("thread %d: finished succesfully\n",i+1);
}
// Clean up and exit
CallErr(pthread_attr_destroy, (&attr));
CallErr(pthread_mutex_destroy, (&exit_mutex));
return 0;
}
static void signalHandler(int sig) {
int i;
pthread_t id;
id = pthread_self();
for (i = 0; i < _NTHREADS; i++)
if (pids[i] == id) {
// Exits if worker thread
printf("Worker thread caught signal");
break;
}
if (sig==2) {
sigaction(SIGINT, &oact, &act);
}
pthread_mutex_lock(&exit_mutex);
if (!exitnow)
exitnow = 1;
pthread_mutex_unlock(&exit_mutex);
longjmp(jmp_env, 1);
}
void *thread_function(void *arg) {
cpu_set_t set;
thread_arg_t* threadarg;
int thread_id;
threadarg = (thread_arg_t*) arg;
thread_id = threadarg->thread_id+1;
tids[thread_id] = gettid();
CPU_ZERO( &set );
CPU_SET( threadarg->cpu_id, &set );
CallErrExit(sched_setaffinity, (gettid(), sizeof(cpu_set_t), &set ),
NULL);
int k = 8;
// While loop waiting for exit condition
while (k>0) {
sleep(rand() % 3);
pthread_mutex_lock(&exit_mutex);
if (exitnow) {
status[threadarg->thread_id] = 1;
pthread_mutex_unlock(&exit_mutex);
pthread_exit(NULL);
}
pthread_mutex_unlock(&exit_mutex);
k--;
}
status[threadarg->thread_id] = 2;
pthread_exit(NULL);
}
static pid_t gettid( void ) {
pid_t pid;
CallErr(pid = syscall, (__NR_gettid));
return pid;
}
I run serveral tests and the conbinations and results are:
For all test cases, I register a signal handler by calling sigaction in the main thread.
main thread block target signal, thread A unblock target signal by calling pthread_sigmask, thread A sleep, send target signal.
result: signal handler is executed in thread A.
main thread block target signal, thread A unblock target signal by calling pthread_sigmask, thread A calls sigwait, send target signal.
result: sigwait is executed.
main thread does not block target signal, thread A does not block target signal, thread A calls sigwait, send target signal.
result: main thread is chosen and the registered signal handler is executed in the main thread.
As you can see, conbination 1 and 2 are easy to understand and conclude.
It is:
If a signal is blocked by a thread, then the process-wide signal handler registered by sigaction just can't catch or even know it.
If a signal is not blocked, and it's sent before calling sigwait, the process-wide signal handler wins. And that's why APUE the books require us to block the target signal before calling sigwait. Here I use sleep in thread A to simulate a long "window time".
If a signal is not blocked, and it's sent when sigwait has already been waiting, sigwait wins.
But you should notice that for test case 1 and 2, main thread is designed to block the target signal.
At last for test case 3, when main thread is not blocked the target signal, and sigwait in thread A is also waiting, the signal handler is executed in the main thread.
I believe the behaviour of test case 3 is what APUE talks about:
From APUE ยง12.8:
If a signal is being caught (the process has established a signal
handler by using sigaction, for example) and a thread is waiting for
the same signal in a call to sigwait, it is left up to the
implementation to decide which way to deliver the signal. The
implementation could either allow sigwait to return or invoke the
signal handler, but not both.
Above all, if you want to accomplish one thread <-> one signal model, you should:
block all signals in the main thread with pthread_sigmask (subsequent thread created in main thread inheris the signal mask)
create threads and call sigwait(target_signal) with target signal.
test code
#define _POSIX_C_SOURCE 200809L
#include <signal.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <pthread.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <fcntl.h>
FILE* file;
void* threadA(void* argv){
fprintf(file, "%ld\n", pthread_self());
sigset_t m;
sigemptyset(&m);
sigaddset(&m, SIGUSR1);
int signo;
int err;
// sigset_t q;
// sigemptyset(&q);
// pthread_sigmask(SIG_SETMASK, &q, NULL);
// sleep(50);
fprintf(file, "1\n");
err = sigwait(&m, &signo);
if (err != 0){
fprintf(file, "sigwait error\n");
exit(1);
}
switch (signo)
{
case SIGUSR1:
fprintf(file, "SIGUSR1 received\n");
break;
default:
fprintf(file, "?\n");
break;
}
fprintf(file, "2\n");
}
void hello(int signo){
fprintf(file, "%ld\n", pthread_self());
fprintf(file, "hello\n");
}
int main(){
file = fopen("daemon", "wb");
setbuf(file, NULL);
struct sigaction sa;
sigemptyset(&sa.sa_mask);
sa.sa_handler = hello;
sigaction(SIGUSR1, &sa, NULL);
sigset_t n;
sigemptyset(&n);
sigaddset(&n, SIGUSR1);
// pthread_sigmask(SIG_BLOCK, &n, NULL);
pthread_t pid;
int err;
err = pthread_create(&pid, NULL, threadA, NULL);
if(err != 0){
fprintf(file, "create thread error\n");
exit(1);
}
pause();
fprintf(file, "after pause\n");
fclose(file);
return 0;
}
run with ./a.out & (run in the background), and use kill -SIGUSR1 pid to test. Do not use raise. raise, sleep, pause are thread-wide.

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