Unix to Windows Porting Dictionary for HPC

header file: pthread.h

int pthread_mutex_init(pthread_mutex_t *restrict mutex,
                       const pthread_mutexattr_t *restrict attr);
      

header file: Windows.h

HANDLE CreateMutex(LPSECURITY_ATTRIBUTES lpMutexAttributes,        
                   BOOL bInitialOwner,  
                   LPCTSTR lpName       
);      
      

The pthread_create_mutex function is used to create a mutex for resource synchronization. If the call completes successfully, the calling program receives the mutex object in the mutex variable. The mutex is initialized and ready for use.

The Windows equivalent function has more functionality than the POSIX version. Using the InitialOwner parameter you can immediately set the ownership of the mutex to the calling thread. If the Name is not supplied, the newly created mutex is unnamed which is in line with the POSIX usage of the mutex.

#include <windows.h>
#include <stdio.h>

#define THREADCOUNT 2

HANDLE ghMutex; 

DWORD WINAPI WriteToDatabase( LPVOID );

void main()
{
    HANDLE aThread[THREADCOUNT];
    DWORD ThreadID;
    int i;

    // Create a mutex with no initial owner

    ghMutex = CreateMutex( 
        NULL,              // default security attributes
        FALSE,             // initially not owned
        NULL);             // unnamed mutex

    if (ghMutex == NULL) 
    {
        printf("CreateMutex error: %d\n", GetLastError());
        return;
    }

    // Create worker threads

    for( i=0; i < THREADCOUNT; i++ )
    {
        aThread[i] = CreateThread( 
                     NULL,       // default security attributes
                     0,          // default stack size
                     (LPTHREAD_START_ROUTINE) WriteToDatabase, 
                     NULL,       // no thread function arguments
                     0,          // default creation flags
                     &ThreadID); // receive thread identifier

        if( aThread[i] == NULL )
        {
            printf("CreateThread error: %d\n", GetLastError());
            return;
        }
    }

    // Wait for all threads to terminate

    WaitForMultipleObjects(THREADCOUNT, aThread, TRUE, INFINITE);

    // Close thread and mutex handles

    for( i=0; i < THREADCOUNT; i++ )
        CloseHandle(aThread[i]);

    CloseHandle(ghMutex);
}

DWORD WINAPI WriteToDatabase( LPVOID lpParam )
{ 
    DWORD dwCount=0, dwWaitResult; 

    // Request ownership of mutex.

    while( dwCount < 20 )
    { 
        dwWaitResult = WaitForSingleObject( 
            ghMutex,    // handle to mutex
            INFINITE);  // no time-out interval
 
        switch (dwWaitResult) 
        {
            // The thread got ownership of the mutex
            case WAIT_OBJECT_0: 
                __try { 
                    // TODO: Write to the database
                    printf("Thread %d writing to database...\n", 
                            GetCurrentThreadId());
                    dwCount++;
                } 

                __finally { 
                    // Release ownership of the mutex object
                    if (! ReleaseMutex(ghMutex)) 
                    { 
                        // Handle error.
                    } 
                } 
                break; 

            // The thread got ownership of an abandoned mutex
            // The database is in an indeterminate state
            case WAIT_ABANDONED: 
                return FALSE; 
        }
    }
    return TRUE; 
}