Chapter 4: Threads

Chapter 4: Threads
 Overview
 Multithreading Models
 Threading Issues
 Pthreads
 Windows XP Threads
 Linux Threads
 Java Threads

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 Thread
 Thread is a lightweight process, it is apart of process.
 A thread is a flow of control within a process.
 The next slide illustrates the difference between a single-threaded
and multi-threaded processes.
 The process model introduced in chapter three assumed
that a process was an executing program with a single
thread of control.
 We can not run more than one thread at the same time if we have
only one processor.

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 Single and Multithreaded Processes
Files and signals are OS
resources

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 What resources are used when a thread is
created? How do they differ from those used
when a process is created?
 Because a thread is smaller than a process, thread
creation typically uses fewer resources than process creation.
Creating a process requires allocating a process control block
(PCB) (PCB is a large data structure compared with the small
data structure needed for the creation of a thread).
The PCB includes a memory map, list of open files, and
environment variables.
Allocating and managing the memory map is typically The
most time-consuming activity.
Creating either a user or kernel thread involves allocating a
small data structure to hold a register set, stack, and priority.

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 Benefits of threads
 Ex: any application in general is implemented as a separate process with
several threads of control. A word processor may have a thread for displaying
a picture, another thread for responding to keystrokes from the user, and a
third thread to perform spelling and grammar corrections.
 Benefits of threads:
 Responsiveness: multithreading an interactive application such a web
browser could still allow user interaction in one thread while an image was
being loaded in another thread. So the program will continue running even
if part of it is blocked or performing a lengthy process; this increase
responsiveness (response) to the user.
 Resource Sharing: threads shares the same code, files, signals, and
data (see the previous figure).
 Economy: allocation of memory and resources for process creation is
costly, so creating a number of threads that share some resources, then
context-switch between them will be effective in reducing such cost.
 In Solaris creating a process is thirty times slower than is creating a
thread, and context switching is about five times slower.
 Utilization of multiprocessor (MP) Architectures: two or more threads
can be running in parallel on different processors.

Operating System Concepts – 7th edition, Jan 23, 2005 4.6 Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2005
 What’s the difference between a process
starting another copy of itself and
starting another thread?
 A thread has access to the other memory
in the same process.
 Processes have their own distinct memory.

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 User Threads
 We have two types of threads:
 User
 Kernel

 In user threads; thread management done by user-level threads

library, and above the kernel (without its support).
 Three primary thread libraries:
 POSIX Pthreads
 Win32 threads
 Java threads

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 What are differences between user-level
threads and kernel-levelthreads?
 User-level threads are unknown by the kernel, whereas the
kernel is aware of kernel threads
 Kernel threads need not be associated with a process whereas
every user thread belongs to a process.
 Kernel threads are generally more expensive to maintain than user
threads as they must be represented with a kernel data structure.

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 Kernel Threads
 Supported by the Kernel
 Context switching between kernel threads typically requires saving
the value of the CPU registers from the thread being switched out
and restoring the CPU registers of the new thread being scheduled.

 Examples
 Windows XP/2000
 Solaris
 Linux
 Tru64 UNIX
 Mac OS X

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 Multithreading Models
 There must exist a relationship between user and kernel threads,
this relation can be can be established using the following ways:
 Many-to-One

 One-to-One

 Many-to-Many

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 Many-to-One
 Many user-level threads mapped to single kernel thread
 Examples:
 Solaris Green Threads
 Drawbacks:
 Only one thread can access the kernel at a time; so multi
threads are unable to run on multiprocessors.
 If the kernel thread makes a blocking system call then all user
threads will be blocked until the kernel thread is finished.
 Benefits:
 The management for the threads is done by the thread library
in user space, so it is efficient.

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 Many-to-One Model

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 One-to-One
 Each user-level thread maps to kernel thread
 Examples
 Windows NT/XP/2000
 Linux
 Solaris 9 and later
 Drawbacks:
 Creating a user thread requires the creation of a kernel thread
(costly creation) which decrease the performance of the
application.
 Benefits:
 It allows multiple threads to run on parallel on multiprocessors.
 If the kernel thread makes a blocking system call; then only one
user thread will be blocked until the kernel thread is finished,
the other threads can continue executing without any problems.

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 One-to-one Model

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 Many-to-Many Model

 Allows many user level threads to be mapped to many kernel

threads (user threads are always more or equal to kernel
threads).
 Allows the operating system to create a sufficient number of
kernel threads
 Solaris prior to version 9
 Windows NT/2000 with the ThreadFiber package
 Drawbacks:
 No drawbacks
 Benefits:
 It have the benefits of one to many and one to one
schemas.

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 Many-to-Many Model

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 Two-level Model

 Similar to M:M, except that it allows a certain user thread

to be bound exclusively to a kernel thread
 Examples
 IRIX
 HP-UX
 Tru64 UNIX
 Solaris 8 and earlier

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 Two-level Model

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 Java Thread States

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End of Chapter 4