Subject: pthreads plan
To: None <tech-userlevel@netbsd.org>
From: Michael Graff <explorer@flame.org>
List: tech-userlevel
Date: 11/06/1999 01:23:48
As some of you know, I'm hacking on pthreads.  It hurts a little.
But, I'm also making some bit of progress.

I would like to make pthreads a standard bit of NetBSD again.  As in,
included in src/lib/ somewhere.

My plan:

	Create thread-safe versions of most of libc.  I don't know how
	I'd like to do this exactly.  Some systems create libc_r, but
	I think we can have one libc, but if you compile a header with
	_REENTRANT, you get MT-safe versions, and perhaps warnings
	about non-MT safe bits.

	Sprinkle thread-safe bits throughout header files, probably
	enabled via the same _REENTRANT compile-time flag.

	Clean up libc functions to compile as thread safe or
	non-thread safe.

	Document, in man pages, what functions are and are not thread
	safe.  Initially, nothing would be assumed to be thread safe,
	but as they are examined and/or fixed up, man pages would grow
	a "MULTITHREAD BEHAVIOR" section or something.

Thoughts?

--Michael