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 terminates. 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 essential 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  processing  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.1‐2017, <pthread.h>

COPYRIGHT

       Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1-2017, Standard
       for  Information  Technology  --  Portable  Operating  System  Interface  (POSIX),  The  Open  Group Base
       Specifications Issue 7, 2018 Edition, Copyright (C) 2018 by the Institute of Electrical  and  Electronics
       Engineers, Inc and The Open Group.  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.opengroup.org/unix/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.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/reporting_bugs.html .

IEEE/The Open Group                                   2017                                PTHREAD_DETACH(3POSIX)