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      1 
      2 ======================
      3 Thread Safety Analysis
      4 ======================
      5 
      6 Introduction
      7 ============
      8 
      9 Clang Thread Safety Analysis is a C++ language extension which warns about
     10 potential race conditions in code.  The analysis is completely static (i.e.
     11 compile-time); there is no run-time overhead.  The analysis is still
     12 under active development, but it is mature enough to be deployed in an
     13 industrial setting.  It is being developed by Google, in collaboration with
     14 CERT/SEI, and is used extensively in Google's internal code base.
     15 
     16 Thread safety analysis works very much like a type system for multi-threaded
     17 programs.  In addition to declaring the *type* of data (e.g. ``int``, ``float``,
     18 etc.), the programmer can (optionally) declare how access to that data is
     19 controlled in a multi-threaded environment.  For example, if ``foo`` is
     20 *guarded by* the mutex ``mu``, then the analysis will issue a warning whenever
     21 a piece of code reads or writes to ``foo`` without first locking ``mu``.
     22 Similarly, if there are particular routines that should only be called by
     23 the GUI thread, then the analysis will warn if other threads call those
     24 routines.
     25 
     26 Getting 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 
     60 This example demonstrates the basic concepts behind the analysis.  The
     61 ``GUARDED_BY`` attribute declares that a thread must lock ``mu`` before it can
     62 read or write to ``balance``, thus ensuring that the increment and decrement
     63 operations are atomic.  Similarly, ``REQUIRES`` declares that
     64 the calling thread must lock ``mu`` before calling ``withdrawImpl``.
     65 Because the caller is assumed to have locked ``mu``, it is safe to modify
     66 ``balance`` within the body of the method.
     67 
     68 The ``depositImpl()`` method does not have ``REQUIRES``, so the
     69 analysis issues a warning.  Thread safety analysis is not inter-procedural, so
     70 caller requirements must be explicitly declared.
     71 There is also a warning in ``transferFrom()``, because although the method
     72 locks ``this->mu``, it does not lock ``b.mu``.  The analysis understands
     73 that these are two separate mutexes, in two different objects.
     74 
     75 Finally, there is a warning in the ``withdraw()`` method, because it fails to
     76 unlock ``mu``.  Every lock must have a corresponding unlock, and the analysis
     77 will detect both double locks, and double unlocks.  A function is allowed to
     78 acquire a lock without releasing it, (or vice versa), but it must be annotated
     79 as such (using ``ACQUIRE``/``RELEASE``).
     80 
     81 
     82 Running The Analysis
     83 --------------------
     84 
     85 To 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 
     91 Note that this example assumes the presence of a suitably annotated
     92 :ref:`mutexheader` that declares which methods perform locking,
     93 unlocking, and so on.
     94 
     95 
     96 Basic Concepts: Capabilities
     97 ============================
     98 
     99 Thread safety analysis provides a way of protecting *resources* with
    100 *capabilities*.  A resource is either a data member, or a function/method
    101 that provides access to some underlying resource.  The analysis ensures that
    102 the calling thread cannot access the *resource* (i.e. call the function, or
    103 read/write the data) unless it has the *capability* to do so.
    104 
    105 Capabilities are associated with named C++ objects which declare specific
    106 methods to acquire and release the capability.  The name of the object serves
    107 to identify the capability.  The most common example is a mutex.  For example,
    108 if ``mu`` is a mutex, then calling ``mu.Lock()`` causes the calling thread
    109 to acquire the capability to access data that is protected by ``mu``. Similarly,
    110 calling ``mu.Unlock()`` releases that capability.
    111 
    112 A thread may hold a capability either *exclusively* or *shared*.  An exclusive
    113 capability can be held by only one thread at a time, while a shared capability
    114 can be held by many threads at the same time.  This mechanism enforces a
    115 multiple-reader, single-writer pattern.  Write operations to protected data
    116 require exclusive access, while read operations require only shared access.
    117 
    118 At any given moment during program execution, a thread holds a specific set of
    119 capabilities (e.g. the set of mutexes that it has locked.)  These act like keys
    120 or tokens that allow the thread to access a given resource.  Just like physical
    121 security keys, a thread cannot make copy of a capability, nor can it destroy
    122 one.  A thread can only release a capability to another thread, or acquire one
    123 from another thread.  The annotations are deliberately agnostic about the
    124 exact mechanism used to acquire and release capabilities; it assumes that the
    125 underlying implementation (e.g. the Mutex implementation) does the handoff in
    126 an appropriate manner.
    127 
    128 The set of capabilities that are actually held by a given thread at a given
    129 point in program execution is a run-time concept.  The static analysis works
    130 by calculating an approximation of that set, called the *capability
    131 environment*.  The capability environment is calculated for every program point,
    132 and describes the set of capabilities that are statically known to be held, or
    133 not held, at that particular point.  This environment is a conservative
    134 approximation of the full set of capabilities that will actually held by a
    135 thread at run-time.
    136 
    137 
    138 Reference Guide
    139 ===============
    140 
    141 The thread safety analysis uses attributes to declare threading constraints.
    142 Attributes must be attached to named declarations, such as classes, methods,
    143 and data members. Users are *strongly advised* to define macros for the various
    144 attributes; example definitions can be found in :ref:`mutexheader`, below.
    145 The following documentation assumes the use of macros.
    146 
    147 For historical reasons, prior versions of thread safety used macro names that
    148 were very lock-centric.  These macros have since been renamed to fit a more
    149 general capability model.  The prior names are still in use, and will be
    150 mentioned under the tag *previously* where appropriate.
    151 
    152 
    153 GUARDED_BY(c) and PT_GUARDED_BY(c)
    154 ----------------------------------
    155 
    156 ``GUARDED_BY`` is an attribute on data members, which declares that the data
    157 member is protected by the given capability.  Read operations on the data
    158 require shared access, while write operations require exclusive access.
    159 
    160 ``PT_GUARDED_BY`` is similar, but is intended for use on pointers and smart
    161 pointers. There is no constraint on the data member itself, but the *data that
    162 it points to* is protected by the given capability.
    163 
    164 .. code-block:: c++
    165 
    166   Mutex mu;
    167   int *p1             GUARDED_BY(mu);
    168   int *p2             PT_GUARDED_BY(mu);
    169   unique_ptr<int> p3  PT_GUARDED_BY(mu);
    170 
    171   void test() {
    172     p1 = 0;             // Warning!
    173 
    174     *p2 = 42;           // Warning!
    175     p2 = new int;       // OK.
    176 
    177     *p3 = 42;           // Warning!
    178     p3.reset(new int);  // OK.
    179   }
    180 
    181 
    182 REQUIRES(...), REQUIRES_SHARED(...)
    183 -----------------------------------
    184 
    185 *Previously*: ``EXCLUSIVE_LOCKS_REQUIRED``, ``SHARED_LOCKS_REQUIRED``
    186 
    187 ``REQUIRES`` is an attribute on functions or methods, which
    188 declares that the calling thread must have exclusive access to the given
    189 capabilities.  More than one capability may be specified.  The capabilities
    190 must be held on entry to the function, *and must still be held on exit*.
    191 
    192 ``REQUIRES_SHARED`` is similar, but requires only shared access.
    193 
    194 .. code-block:: c++
    195 
    196   Mutex mu1, mu2;
    197   int a GUARDED_BY(mu1);
    198   int b GUARDED_BY(mu2);
    199 
    200   void foo() REQUIRES(mu1, mu2) {
    201     a = 0;
    202     b = 0;
    203   }
    204 
    205   void test() {
    206     mu1.Lock();
    207     foo();         // Warning!  Requires mu2.
    208     mu1.Unlock();
    209   }
    210 
    211 
    212 ACQUIRE(...), ACQUIRE_SHARED(...), RELEASE(...), RELEASE_SHARED(...)
    213 --------------------------------------------------------------------
    214 
    215 *Previously*: ``EXCLUSIVE_LOCK_FUNCTION``, ``SHARED_LOCK_FUNCTION``,
    216 ``UNLOCK_FUNCTION``
    217 
    218 ``ACQUIRE`` is an attribute on functions or methods, which
    219 declares that the function acquires a capability, but does not release it.  The
    220 caller must not hold the given capability on entry, and it will hold the
    221 capability on exit.  ``ACQUIRE_SHARED`` is similar.
    222 
    223 ``RELEASE`` and ``RELEASE_SHARED`` declare that the function releases the given
    224 capability.  The caller must hold the capability on entry, and will no longer
    225 hold it on exit. It does not matter whether the given capability is shared or
    226 exclusive.
    227 
    228 .. code-block:: c++
    229 
    230   Mutex mu;
    231   MyClass myObject GUARDED_BY(mu);
    232 
    233   void lockAndInit() ACQUIRE(mu) {
    234     mu.Lock();
    235     myObject.init();
    236   }
    237 
    238   void cleanupAndUnlock() RELEASE(mu) {
    239     myObject.cleanup();
    240   }                          // Warning!  Need to unlock mu.
    241 
    242   void test() {
    243     lockAndInit();
    244     myObject.doSomething();
    245     cleanupAndUnlock();
    246     myObject.doSomething();  // Warning, mu is not locked.
    247   }
    248 
    249 If no argument is passed to ``ACQUIRE`` or ``RELEASE``, then the argument is
    250 assumed to be ``this``, and the analysis will not check the body of the
    251 function.  This pattern is intended for use by classes which hide locking
    252 details behind an abstract interface.  For example:
    253 
    254 .. code-block:: c++
    255 
    256   template <class T>
    257   class CAPABILITY("mutex") Container {
    258   private:
    259     Mutex mu;
    260     T* data;
    261 
    262   public:
    263     // Hide mu from public interface.
    264     void Lock()   ACQUIRE() { mu.Lock(); }
    265     void Unlock() RELEASE() { mu.Unlock(); }
    266 
    267     T& getElem(int i) { return data[i]; }
    268   };
    269 
    270   void test() {
    271     Container<int> c;
    272     c.Lock();
    273     int i = c.getElem(0);
    274     c.Unlock();
    275   }
    276 
    277 
    278 EXCLUDES(...)
    279 -------------
    280 
    281 *Previously*: ``LOCKS_EXCLUDED``
    282 
    283 ``EXCLUDES`` is an attribute on functions or methods, which declares that
    284 the caller must *not* hold the given capabilities.  This annotation is
    285 used to prevent deadlock.  Many mutex implementations are not re-entrant, so
    286 deadlock can occur if the function acquires the mutex a second time.
    287 
    288 .. code-block:: c++
    289 
    290   Mutex mu;
    291   int a GUARDED_BY(mu);
    292 
    293   void clear() EXCLUDES(mu) {
    294     mu.Lock();
    295     a = 0;
    296     mu.Unlock();
    297   }
    298 
    299   void reset() {
    300     mu.Lock();
    301     clear();     // Warning!  Caller cannot hold 'mu'.
    302     mu.Unlock();
    303   }
    304 
    305 Unlike ``REQUIRES``, ``EXCLUDES`` is optional.  The analysis will not issue a
    306 warning if the attribute is missing, which can lead to false negatives in some
    307 cases.  This issue is discussed further in :ref:`negative`.
    308 
    309 
    310 NO_THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS
    311 -------------------------
    312 
    313 ``NO_THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS`` is an attribute on functions or methods, which
    314 turns off thread safety checking for that method.  It provides an escape hatch
    315 for functions which are either (1) deliberately thread-unsafe, or (2) are
    316 thread-safe, but too complicated for the analysis to understand.  Reasons for
    317 (2) will be described in the :ref:`limitations`, below.
    318 
    319 .. code-block:: c++
    320 
    321   class Counter {
    322     Mutex mu;
    323     int a GUARDED_BY(mu);
    324 
    325     void unsafeIncrement() NO_THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS { a++; }
    326   };
    327 
    328 Unlike the other attributes, NO_THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS is not part of the
    329 interface of a function, and should thus be placed on the function definition
    330 (in the ``.cc`` or ``.cpp`` file) rather than on the function declaration
    331 (in the header).
    332 
    333 
    334 RETURN_CAPABILITY(c)
    335 --------------------
    336 
    337 *Previously*: ``LOCK_RETURNED``
    338 
    339 ``RETURN_CAPABILITY`` is an attribute on functions or methods, which declares
    340 that the function returns a reference to the given capability.  It is used to
    341 annotate getter methods that return mutexes.
    342 
    343 .. code-block:: c++
    344 
    345   class MyClass {
    346   private:
    347     Mutex mu;
    348     int a GUARDED_BY(mu);
    349 
    350   public:
    351     Mutex* getMu() RETURN_CAPABILITY(mu) { return &mu; }
    352 
    353     // analysis knows that getMu() == mu
    354     void clear() REQUIRES(getMu()) { a = 0; }
    355   };
    356 
    357 
    358 ACQUIRED_BEFORE(...), ACQUIRED_AFTER(...)
    359 -----------------------------------------
    360 
    361 ``ACQUIRED_BEFORE`` and ``ACQUIRED_AFTER`` are attributes on member
    362 declarations, specifically declarations of mutexes or other capabilities.
    363 These declarations enforce a particular order in which the mutexes must be
    364 acquired, in order to prevent deadlock.
    365 
    366 .. code-block:: c++
    367 
    368   Mutex m1;
    369   Mutex m2 ACQUIRED_AFTER(m1);
    370 
    371   // Alternative declaration
    372   // Mutex m2;
    373   // Mutex m1 ACQUIRED_BEFORE(m2);
    374 
    375   void foo() {
    376     m2.Lock();
    377     m1.Lock();  // Warning!  m2 must be acquired after m1.
    378     m1.Unlock();
    379     m2.Unlock();
    380   }
    381 
    382 
    383 CAPABILITY(<string>)
    384 --------------------
    385 
    386 *Previously*: ``LOCKABLE``
    387 
    388 ``CAPABILITY`` is an attribute on classes, which specifies that objects of the
    389 class can be used as a capability.  The string argument specifies the kind of
    390 capability in error messages, e.g. ``"mutex"``.  See the ``Container`` example
    391 given above, or the ``Mutex`` class in :ref:`mutexheader`.
    392 
    393 
    394 SCOPED_CAPABILITY
    395 -----------------
    396 
    397 *Previously*: ``SCOPED_LOCKABLE``
    398 
    399 ``SCOPED_CAPABILITY`` is an attribute on classes that implement RAII-style
    400 locking, in which a capability is acquired in the constructor, and released in
    401 the destructor.  Such classes require special handling because the constructor
    402 and destructor refer to the capability via different names; see the
    403 ``MutexLocker`` class in :ref:`mutexheader`, below.
    404 
    405 
    406 TRY_ACQUIRE(<bool>, ...), TRY_ACQUIRE_SHARED(<bool>, ...)
    407 ---------------------------------------------------------
    408 
    409 *Previously:* ``EXCLUSIVE_TRYLOCK_FUNCTION``, ``SHARED_TRYLOCK_FUNCTION``
    410 
    411 These are attributes on a function or method that tries to acquire the given
    412 capability, and returns a boolean value indicating success or failure.
    413 The first argument must be ``true`` or ``false``, to specify which return value
    414 indicates success, and the remaining arguments are interpreted in the same way
    415 as ``ACQUIRE``.  See :ref:`mutexheader`, below, for example uses.
    416 
    417 
    418 ASSERT_CAPABILITY(...) and ASSERT_SHARED_CAPABILITY(...)
    419 --------------------------------------------------------
    420 
    421 *Previously:*  ``ASSERT_EXCLUSIVE_LOCK``, ``ASSERT_SHARED_LOCK``
    422 
    423 These are attributes on a function or method that does a run-time test to see
    424 whether the calling thread holds the given capability.  The function is assumed
    425 to fail (no return) if the capability is not held.  See :ref:`mutexheader`,
    426 below, for example uses.
    427 
    428 
    429 GUARDED_VAR and PT_GUARDED_VAR
    430 ------------------------------
    431 
    432 Use of these attributes has been deprecated.
    433 
    434 
    435 Warning flags
    436 -------------
    437 
    438 * ``-Wthread-safety``:  Umbrella flag which turns on the following three:
    439 
    440   + ``-Wthread-safety-attributes``: Sanity checks on attribute syntax.
    441   + ``-Wthread-safety-analysis``: The core analysis.
    442   + ``-Wthread-safety-precise``: Requires that mutex expressions match precisely.
    443        This warning can be disabled for code which has a lot of aliases.
    444   + ``-Wthread-safety-reference``: Checks when guarded members are passed by reference.
    445 
    446 
    447 :ref:`negative` are an experimental feature, which are enabled with:
    448 
    449 * ``-Wthread-safety-negative``:  Negative capabilities.  Off by default.
    450 
    451 When new features and checks are added to the analysis, they can often introduce
    452 additional warnings.  Those warnings are initially released as *beta* warnings
    453 for a period of time, after which they are migrated into the standard analysis.
    454 
    455 * ``-Wthread-safety-beta``:  New features.  Off by default.
    456 
    457 
    458 .. _negative:
    459 
    460 Negative Capabilities
    461 =====================
    462 
    463 Thread Safety Analysis is designed to prevent both race conditions and
    464 deadlock.  The GUARDED_BY and REQUIRES attributes prevent race conditions, by
    465 ensuring that a capability is held before reading or writing to guarded data,
    466 and the EXCLUDES attribute prevents deadlock, by making sure that a mutex is
    467 *not* held.
    468 
    469 However, EXCLUDES is an optional attribute, and does not provide the same
    470 safety guarantee as REQUIRES.  In particular:
    471 
    472   * A function which acquires a capability does not have to exclude it.
    473   * A function which calls a function that excludes a capability does not
    474     have transitively exclude that capability.
    475 
    476 As a result, EXCLUDES can easily produce false negatives:
    477 
    478 .. code-block:: c++
    479 
    480   class Foo {
    481     Mutex mu;
    482 
    483     void foo() {
    484       mu.Lock();
    485       bar();           // No warning.
    486       baz();           // No warning.
    487       mu.Unlock();
    488     }
    489 
    490     void bar() {       // No warning.  (Should have EXCLUDES(mu)).
    491       mu.Lock();
    492       // ...
    493       mu.Unlock();
    494     }
    495 
    496     void baz() {
    497       bif();           // No warning.  (Should have EXCLUDES(mu)).
    498     }
    499 
    500     void bif() EXCLUDES(mu);
    501   };
    502 
    503 
    504 Negative requirements are an alternative EXCLUDES that provide
    505 a stronger safety guarantee.  A negative requirement uses the  REQUIRES
    506 attribute, in conjunction with the ``!`` operator, to indicate that a capability
    507 should *not* be held.
    508 
    509 For example, using ``REQUIRES(!mu)`` instead of ``EXCLUDES(mu)`` will produce
    510 the appropriate warnings:
    511 
    512 .. code-block:: c++
    513 
    514   class FooNeg {
    515     Mutex mu;
    516 
    517     void foo() REQUIRES(!mu) {   // foo() now requires !mu.
    518       mu.Lock();
    519       bar();
    520       baz();
    521       mu.Unlock();
    522     }
    523 
    524     void bar() {
    525       mu.Lock();       // WARNING!  Missing REQUIRES(!mu).
    526       // ...
    527       mu.Unlock();
    528     }
    529 
    530     void baz() {
    531       bif();           // WARNING!  Missing REQUIRES(!mu).
    532     }
    533 
    534     void bif() REQUIRES(!mu);
    535   };
    536 
    537 
    538 Negative requirements are an experimental feature which is off by default,
    539 because it will produce many warnings in existing code.  It can be enabled
    540 by passing ``-Wthread-safety-negative``.
    541 
    542 
    543 .. _faq:
    544 
    545 Frequently Asked Questions
    546 ==========================
    547 
    548 (Q) Should I put attributes in the header file, or in the .cc/.cpp/.cxx file?
    549 
    550 (A) Attributes are part of the formal interface of a function, and should
    551 always go in the header, where they are visible to anything that includes
    552 the header.  Attributes in the .cpp file are not visible outside of the
    553 immediate translation unit, which leads to false negatives and false positives.
    554 
    555 
    556 (Q) "*Mutex is not locked on every path through here?*"  What does that mean?
    557 
    558 (A) See :ref:`conditional_locks`, below.
    559 
    560 
    561 .. _limitations:
    562 
    563 Known Limitations
    564 =================
    565 
    566 Lexical scope
    567 -------------
    568 
    569 Thread safety attributes contain ordinary C++ expressions, and thus follow
    570 ordinary C++ scoping rules.  In particular, this means that mutexes and other
    571 capabilities must be declared before they can be used in an attribute.
    572 Use-before-declaration is okay within a single class, because attributes are
    573 parsed at the same time as method bodies. (C++ delays parsing of method bodies
    574 until the end of the class.)  However, use-before-declaration is not allowed
    575 between classes, as illustrated below.
    576 
    577 .. code-block:: c++
    578 
    579   class Foo;
    580 
    581   class Bar {
    582     void bar(Foo* f) REQUIRES(f->mu);  // Error: mu undeclared.
    583   };
    584 
    585   class Foo {
    586     Mutex mu;
    587   };
    588 
    589 
    590 Private Mutexes
    591 ---------------
    592 
    593 Good software engineering practice dictates that mutexes should be private
    594 members, because the locking mechanism used by a thread-safe class is part of
    595 its internal implementation.  However, private mutexes can sometimes leak into
    596 the public interface of a class.
    597 Thread safety attributes follow normal C++ access restrictions, so if ``mu``
    598 is a private member of ``c``, then it is an error to write ``c.mu`` in an
    599 attribute.
    600 
    601 One workaround is to (ab)use the ``RETURN_CAPABILITY`` attribute to provide a
    602 public *name* for a private mutex, without actually exposing the underlying
    603 mutex.  For example:
    604 
    605 .. code-block:: c++
    606 
    607   class MyClass {
    608   private:
    609     Mutex mu;
    610 
    611   public:
    612     // For thread safety analysis only.  Does not actually return mu.
    613     Mutex* getMu() RETURN_CAPABILITY(mu) { return 0; }
    614 
    615     void doSomething() REQUIRES(mu);
    616   };
    617 
    618   void doSomethingTwice(MyClass& c) REQUIRES(c.getMu()) {
    619     // The analysis thinks that c.getMu() == c.mu
    620     c.doSomething();
    621     c.doSomething();
    622   }
    623 
    624 In the above example, ``doSomethingTwice()`` is an external routine that
    625 requires ``c.mu`` to be locked, which cannot be declared directly because ``mu``
    626 is private.  This pattern is discouraged because it
    627 violates encapsulation, but it is sometimes necessary, especially when adding
    628 annotations to an existing code base.  The workaround is to define ``getMu()``
    629 as a fake getter method, which is provided only for the benefit of thread
    630 safety analysis.
    631 
    632 
    633 .. _conditional_locks:
    634 
    635 No conditionally held locks.
    636 ----------------------------
    637 
    638 The analysis must be able to determine whether a lock is held, or not held, at
    639 every program point.  Thus, sections of code where a lock *might be held* will
    640 generate spurious warnings (false positives).  For example:
    641 
    642 .. code-block:: c++
    643 
    644   void foo() {
    645     bool b = needsToLock();
    646     if (b) mu.Lock();
    647     ...  // Warning!  Mutex 'mu' is not held on every path through here.
    648     if (b) mu.Unlock();
    649   }
    650 
    651 
    652 No checking inside constructors and destructors.
    653 ------------------------------------------------
    654 
    655 The analysis currently does not do any checking inside constructors or
    656 destructors.  In other words, every constructor and destructor is treated as
    657 if it was annotated with ``NO_THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS``.
    658 The reason for this is that during initialization, only one thread typically
    659 has access to the object which is being initialized, and it is thus safe (and
    660 common practice) to initialize guarded members without acquiring any locks.
    661 The same is true of destructors.
    662 
    663 Ideally, the analysis would allow initialization of guarded members inside the
    664 object being initialized or destroyed, while still enforcing the usual access
    665 restrictions on everything else.  However, this is difficult to enforce in
    666 practice, because in complex pointer-based data structures, it is hard to
    667 determine what data is owned by the enclosing object.
    668 
    669 No inlining.
    670 ------------
    671 
    672 Thread safety analysis is strictly intra-procedural, just like ordinary type
    673 checking.  It relies only on the declared attributes of a function, and will
    674 not attempt to inline any method calls.  As a result, code such as the
    675 following will not work:
    676 
    677 .. code-block:: c++
    678 
    679   template<class T>
    680   class AutoCleanup {
    681     T* object;
    682     void (T::*mp)();
    683 
    684   public:
    685     AutoCleanup(T* obj, void (T::*imp)()) : object(obj), mp(imp) { }
    686     ~AutoCleanup() { (object->*mp)(); }
    687   };
    688 
    689   Mutex mu;
    690   void foo() {
    691     mu.Lock();
    692     AutoCleanup<Mutex>(&mu, &Mutex::Unlock);
    693     // ...
    694   }  // Warning, mu is not unlocked.
    695 
    696 In this case, the destructor of ``Autocleanup`` calls ``mu.Unlock()``, so
    697 the warning is bogus.  However,
    698 thread safety analysis cannot see the unlock, because it does not attempt to
    699 inline the destructor.  Moreover, there is no way to annotate the destructor,
    700 because the destructor is calling a function that is not statically known.
    701 This pattern is simply not supported.
    702 
    703 
    704 No alias analysis.
    705 ------------------
    706 
    707 The analysis currently does not track pointer aliases.  Thus, there can be
    708 false positives if two pointers both point to the same mutex.
    709 
    710 
    711 .. code-block:: c++
    712 
    713   class MutexUnlocker {
    714     Mutex* mu;
    715 
    716   public:
    717     MutexUnlocker(Mutex* m) RELEASE(m) : mu(m)  { mu->Unlock(); }
    718     ~MutexUnlocker() ACQUIRE(mu) { mu->Lock(); }
    719   };
    720 
    721   Mutex mutex;
    722   void test() REQUIRES(mutex) {
    723     {
    724       MutexUnlocker munl(&mutex);  // unlocks mutex
    725       doSomeIO();
    726     }                              // Warning: locks munl.mu
    727   }
    728 
    729 The MutexUnlocker class is intended to be the dual of the MutexLocker class,
    730 defined in :ref:`mutexheader`.  However, it doesn't work because the analysis
    731 doesn't know that munl.mu == mutex.  The SCOPED_CAPABILITY attribute handles
    732 aliasing for MutexLocker, but does so only for that particular pattern.
    733 
    734 
    735 ACQUIRED_BEFORE(...) and ACQUIRED_AFTER(...) are currently unimplemented.
    736 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    737 
    738 To be fixed in a future update.
    739 
    740 
    741 .. _mutexheader:
    742 
    743 mutex.h
    744 =======
    745 
    746 Thread safety analysis can be used with any threading library, but it does
    747 require that the threading API be wrapped in classes and methods which have the
    748 appropriate annotations.  The following code provides ``mutex.h`` as an example;
    749 these methods should be filled in to call the appropriate underlying
    750 implementation.
    751 
    752 
    753 .. code-block:: c++
    754 
    755 
    756   #ifndef THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS_MUTEX_H
    757   #define THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS_MUTEX_H
    758 
    759   // Enable thread safety attributes only with clang.
    760   // The attributes can be safely erased when compiling with other compilers.
    761   #if defined(__clang__) && (!defined(SWIG))
    762   #define THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(x)   __attribute__((x))
    763   #else
    764   #define THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(x)   // no-op
    765   #endif
    766 
    767   #define CAPABILITY(x) \
    768     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(capability(x))
    769 
    770   #define SCOPED_CAPABILITY \
    771     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(scoped_lockable)
    772 
    773   #define GUARDED_BY(x) \
    774     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(guarded_by(x))
    775 
    776   #define PT_GUARDED_BY(x) \
    777     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(pt_guarded_by(x))
    778 
    779   #define ACQUIRED_BEFORE(...) \
    780     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(acquired_before(__VA_ARGS__))
    781 
    782   #define ACQUIRED_AFTER(...) \
    783     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(acquired_after(__VA_ARGS__))
    784 
    785   #define REQUIRES(...) \
    786     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(requires_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
    787 
    788   #define REQUIRES_SHARED(...) \
    789     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(requires_shared_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
    790 
    791   #define ACQUIRE(...) \
    792     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(acquire_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
    793 
    794   #define ACQUIRE_SHARED(...) \
    795     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(acquire_shared_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
    796 
    797   #define RELEASE(...) \
    798     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(release_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
    799 
    800   #define RELEASE_SHARED(...) \
    801     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(release_shared_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
    802 
    803   #define TRY_ACQUIRE(...) \
    804     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(try_acquire_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
    805 
    806   #define TRY_ACQUIRE_SHARED(...) \
    807     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(try_acquire_shared_capability(__VA_ARGS__))
    808 
    809   #define EXCLUDES(...) \
    810     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(locks_excluded(__VA_ARGS__))
    811 
    812   #define ASSERT_CAPABILITY(x) \
    813     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(assert_capability(x))
    814 
    815   #define ASSERT_SHARED_CAPABILITY(x) \
    816     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(assert_shared_capability(x))
    817 
    818   #define RETURN_CAPABILITY(x) \
    819     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(lock_returned(x))
    820 
    821   #define NO_THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS \
    822     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(no_thread_safety_analysis)
    823 
    824 
    825   // Defines an annotated interface for mutexes.
    826   // These methods can be implemented to use any internal mutex implementation.
    827   class CAPABILITY("mutex") Mutex {
    828   public:
    829     // Acquire/lock this mutex exclusively.  Only one thread can have exclusive
    830     // access at any one time.  Write operations to guarded data require an
    831     // exclusive lock.
    832     void Lock() ACQUIRE();
    833 
    834     // Acquire/lock this mutex for read operations, which require only a shared
    835     // lock.  This assumes a multiple-reader, single writer semantics.  Multiple
    836     // threads may acquire the mutex simultaneously as readers, but a writer
    837     // must wait for all of them to release the mutex before it can acquire it
    838     // exclusively.
    839     void ReaderLock() ACQUIRE_SHARED();
    840 
    841     // Release/unlock an exclusive mutex.
    842     void Unlock() RELEASE();
    843 
    844     // Release/unlock a shared mutex.
    845     void ReaderUnlock() RELEASE_SHARED();
    846 
    847     // Try to acquire the mutex.  Returns true on success, and false on failure.
    848     bool TryLock() TRY_ACQUIRE(true);
    849 
    850     // Try to acquire the mutex for read operations.
    851     bool ReaderTryLock() TRY_ACQUIRE_SHARED(true);
    852 
    853     // Assert that this mutex is currently held by the calling thread.
    854     void AssertHeld() ASSERT_CAPABILITY(this);
    855 
    856     // Assert that is mutex is currently held for read operations.
    857     void AssertReaderHeld() ASSERT_SHARED_CAPABILITY(this);
    858     
    859     // For negative capabilities.
    860     const Mutex& operator!() const { return *this; }
    861   };
    862 
    863 
    864   // MutexLocker is an RAII class that acquires a mutex in its constructor, and
    865   // releases it in its destructor.
    866   class SCOPED_CAPABILITY MutexLocker {
    867   private:
    868     Mutex* mut;
    869 
    870   public:
    871     MutexLocker(Mutex *mu) ACQUIRE(mu) : mut(mu) {
    872       mu->Lock();
    873     }
    874     ~MutexLocker() RELEASE() {
    875       mut->Unlock();
    876     }
    877   };
    878 
    879 
    880   #ifdef USE_LOCK_STYLE_THREAD_SAFETY_ATTRIBUTES
    881   // The original version of thread safety analysis the following attribute
    882   // definitions.  These use a lock-based terminology.  They are still in use
    883   // by existing thread safety code, and will continue to be supported.
    884 
    885   // Deprecated.
    886   #define PT_GUARDED_VAR \
    887     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(pt_guarded_var)
    888 
    889   // Deprecated.
    890   #define GUARDED_VAR \
    891     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(guarded_var)
    892 
    893   // Replaced by REQUIRES
    894   #define EXCLUSIVE_LOCKS_REQUIRED(...) \
    895     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(exclusive_locks_required(__VA_ARGS__))
    896 
    897   // Replaced by REQUIRES_SHARED
    898   #define SHARED_LOCKS_REQUIRED(...) \
    899     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(shared_locks_required(__VA_ARGS__))
    900 
    901   // Replaced by CAPABILITY
    902   #define LOCKABLE \
    903     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(lockable)
    904 
    905   // Replaced by SCOPED_CAPABILITY
    906   #define SCOPED_LOCKABLE \
    907     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(scoped_lockable)
    908 
    909   // Replaced by ACQUIRE
    910   #define EXCLUSIVE_LOCK_FUNCTION(...) \
    911     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(exclusive_lock_function(__VA_ARGS__))
    912 
    913   // Replaced by ACQUIRE_SHARED
    914   #define SHARED_LOCK_FUNCTION(...) \
    915     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(shared_lock_function(__VA_ARGS__))
    916 
    917   // Replaced by RELEASE and RELEASE_SHARED
    918   #define UNLOCK_FUNCTION(...) \
    919     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(unlock_function(__VA_ARGS__))
    920 
    921   // Replaced by TRY_ACQUIRE
    922   #define EXCLUSIVE_TRYLOCK_FUNCTION(...) \
    923     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(exclusive_trylock_function(__VA_ARGS__))
    924 
    925   // Replaced by TRY_ACQUIRE_SHARED
    926   #define SHARED_TRYLOCK_FUNCTION(...) \
    927     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(shared_trylock_function(__VA_ARGS__))
    928 
    929   // Replaced by ASSERT_CAPABILITY
    930   #define ASSERT_EXCLUSIVE_LOCK(...) \
    931     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(assert_exclusive_lock(__VA_ARGS__))
    932 
    933   // Replaced by ASSERT_SHARED_CAPABILITY
    934   #define ASSERT_SHARED_LOCK(...) \
    935     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(assert_shared_lock(__VA_ARGS__))
    936 
    937   // Replaced by EXCLUDE_CAPABILITY.
    938   #define LOCKS_EXCLUDED(...) \
    939     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(locks_excluded(__VA_ARGS__))
    940 
    941   // Replaced by RETURN_CAPABILITY
    942   #define LOCK_RETURNED(x) \
    943     THREAD_ANNOTATION_ATTRIBUTE__(lock_returned(x))
    944 
    945   #endif  // USE_LOCK_STYLE_THREAD_SAFETY_ATTRIBUTES
    946 
    947   #endif  // THREAD_SAFETY_ANALYSIS_MUTEX_H
    948 
    949