Pthread Mutex Lock Linux - linux

Question

I created a simple program that shows the use of mutex lock. Here is the code...
#include <stdio.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <pthread.h>
#define NUM_THREAD 2
pthread_mutex_t mutex;
int call_time;
void *makeCall(void *param)
{
call_time = 10;
pthread_mutex_lock(&mutex);
printf("Hi I'm thread #%u making a call\n", (unsigned int) pthread_self());
do{
printf("%d\n", call_time);
call_time--;
sleep(1);
}
while(call_time > 0);
pthread_mutex_unlock(&mutex);
return 0;
}
int main()
{
int i;
pthread_t thread[NUM_THREAD];
//init mutex
pthread_mutex_init(&mutex, NULL);
//create thread
for(i = 0; i < NUM_THREAD; i++)
pthread_create(&thread[i], NULL, makeCall, NULL);
//join thread
for(i = 0; i < NUM_THREAD; i++)
pthread_join(thread[i], NULL);
pthread_mutex_destroy(&mutex);
return 0;
}
The output is...
Hi I'm thread #3404384000 making a call
10
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
Hi I'm thread #3412776704 making a call
0
However, if I modify the function makeCall and transfer the variable call_time inside the mutex locks...
pthread_mutex_lock(&mutex);
call_time = 10;
/*
*
*
*
*/
pthread_mutex_unlock(&mutex);
The program now gives me the correct output where each of the thread counts down from 10 to 0. I don't understand the difference it makes transferring the variable call_time inside the locks. I hope someone can make me understand this behavior of my program. Cheers!

Answer 1

call_time is a shared variable that is accessed from 2 threads and so must be protected. What is happening is that the first thread starts, sets call_time to 10 and prints the first round.Then the second thread starts, resets call_time back to 10 and waits for the mutex. The first thread now comes back and keeps running with call_time reset to 10. After it is done and frees the mutex, the second thread can now run. call_time is now 0 since the first thread left it at 0, and so it just prints the last round.
Try this program, I think it will demonstrate threads better:
#include <stdio.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <pthread.h>
#define NUM_THREAD 2
pthread_mutex_t mutex;
int call_time;
void *makeCall(void *param)
{
int temp;
do{
pthread_mutex_lock(&mutex);
printf("Hi I'm thread #%u making a call\n", (unsigned int) pthread_self());
printf("%d\n", call_time);
temp = call_time--;
pthread_mutex_unlock(&mutex);
//sleep(1); //try with and without this line and see the difference.
}
while(temp > 0);
return 0;
}
int main()
{
int i;
call_time = 100;
pthread_t thread[NUM_THREAD];
//init mutex
pthread_mutex_init(&mutex, NULL);
//create thread
for(i = 0; i < NUM_THREAD; i++)
pthread_create(&thread[i], NULL, makeCall, NULL);
//join thread
for(i = 0; i < NUM_THREAD; i++)
pthread_join(thread[i], NULL);
pthread_mutex_destroy(&mutex);
return 0;
}