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<meta name="AUTHOR" content="pme@gcc.gnu.org (Phil Edwards)" />
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<meta name="KEYWORDS" content="HOWTO, libstdc++, gcc, g++, libg++, STL" />
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<meta name="DESCRIPTION" content="HOWTO for libstdc++ chapter 17." />
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<meta name="GENERATOR" content="vi and eight fingers" />
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<title>libstdc++-v3 HOWTO: Chapter 17: Library Introduction</title>
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<body>
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<h1 class="centered"><a name="top">Chapter 17: Library Introduction</a></h1>
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<p>Chapter 17 is actually a list of definitions and descriptions used
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in the following chapters of the Standard when describing the actual
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library. Here, we use "Introduction" as an introduction
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to the <em>GNU implementation of</em> the ISO Standard C++ Library.
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</p>
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<!-- ####################################################### -->
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<hr />
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<h1>Contents</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><a href="#2">The Standard C++ header files</a></li>
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<li><a href="#3">The Standard C++ library and multithreading</a></li>
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<li><a href="#4"><code><foo></code> vs <code><foo.h></code></a></li>
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<li><a href="porting-howto.html">Porting HOWTO</a></li>
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<li><a href="#5">Behavior specific to libstdc++-v3</a></li>
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<li><a href="#6">Preprocessor macros controlling the library</a></li>
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</ul>
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<hr />
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<!-- ####################################################### -->
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<h2><a name="2">The Standard C++ header files</a></h2>
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<p>The Standard C++ Library specifies 50 header files that must be
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available to all hosted implementations. Actually, the word
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"files" is a misnomer, since the contents of the headers
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don't necessarily have to be in any kind of external file. The
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only rule is that when you <code>#include</code> a certain header, the
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contents of that header, as defined by the Standard, become
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available to you, no matter how.
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</p>
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<p>The names of the headers can be easily seen in
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<a href="headers_cc.txt"><code>testsuite/17_intro/headers.cc</code></a>,
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which is a small testbed we use to make certain that the headers
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all compile and run.
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</p>
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<hr />
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<h2><a name="3">The Standard C++ library and multithreading</a></h2>
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<p>This section discusses issues surrounding the proper compilation
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of multithreaded applications which use the Standard C++
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library. This information is GCC-specific since the C++
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standard does not address matters of multithreaded applications.
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Unless explicitly prefaced, all information in this section is
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current as of the GCC 3.0 release and all later point releases.
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</p>
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<p>Earlier GCC releases had a somewhat different approach to
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threading configuration and proper compilation. Before GCC 3.0,
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configuration of the threading model was dictated by compiler
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command-line options and macros (both of which were somewhat
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thread-implementation and port-specific). There were no
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guarantees related to being able to link code compiled with one
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set of options and macro setting with another set. For GCC 3.0,
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configuration of the threading model used with libraries and
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user-code is performed when GCC is configured and built using
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the --enable-threads and --disable-threads options. The ABI is
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stable for symbol name-mangling and limited functional
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compatibility exists between code compiled under different
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threading models.
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</p>
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<p>All normal disclaimers aside, multithreaded C++ application are
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only supported when libstdc++ and all user code was built with
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compilers which report (via <code> gcc/g++ -v </code>) the same thread
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model and that model is not <em>single</em>. As long as your
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final application is actually single-threaded, then it should be
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safe to mix user code built with a thread model of
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<em>single</em> with a libstdc++ and other C++ libraries built
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with another thread model useful on the platform. Other mixes
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may or may not work but are not considered supported. (Thus, if
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you distribute a shared C++ library in binary form only, it may
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be best to compile it with a GCC configured with
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--enable-threads for maximal interchangeability and usefulness
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with a user population that may have built GCC with either
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--enable-threads or --disable-threads.)
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</p>
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<p>When you link a multithreaded application, you will probably
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need to add a library or flag to g++. This is a very
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non-standardized area of GCC across ports. Some ports support a
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special flag (the spelling isn't even standardized yet) to add
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all required macros to a compilation (if any such flags are
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required then you must provide the flag for all compilations not
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just linking) and link-library additions and/or replacements at
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link time. The documentation is weak. Here is a quick summary
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to display how ad hoc this is: On Solaris, both -pthreads and
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-threads (with subtly different meanings) are honored. On OSF,
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-pthread and -threads (with subtly different meanings) are
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honored. On Linux/i386, -pthread is honored. On FreeBSD,
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-pthread is honored. Some other ports use other switches.
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AFAIK, none of this is properly documented anywhere other than
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in ``gcc -dumpspecs'' (look at lib and cpp entries).
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</p>
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<p>See <a href="../faq/index.html#3">FAQ</a> (general overview), <a
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href="../23_containers/howto.html#3">23</a> (containers), and <a
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href="../27_io/howto.html#9">27</a> (I/O) for more information.
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</p>
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<p>The libstdc++-v3 library (unlike libstdc++-v2, all of it, not
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just the STL) has been designed so that multithreaded
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applications using it may be written. The first problem is
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finding a <em>fast</em> method of implementation portable to all
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platforms. Due to historical reasons, some of the library is
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written against per-CPU-architecture spinlocks and other parts
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against the gthr.h abstraction layer which is provided by gcc.
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A minor problem that pops up every so often is different
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interpretations of what "thread-safe" means for a
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library (not a general program). We currently use the <a
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href="http://www.sgi.com/tech/stl/thread_safety.html">same
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definition that SGI</a> uses for their STL subset. However, the
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exception for read-only containers only applies to the STL
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components.
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</p>
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<p>Here is a small link farm to threads (no pun) in the mail archives
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that discuss the threading problem. Each link is to the first
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relevant message in the thread; from there you can use
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"Thread Next" to move down the thread. This farm is in
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latest-to-oldest order.
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li>Our threading expert Loren gives a breakdown of
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<a href="http://gcc.gnu.org/ml/libstdc++/2001-10/msg00024.html">the
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six situations involving threads</a> for the 3.0 release series.</li>
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<li><a href="http://gcc.gnu.org/ml/libstdc++/2001-05/msg00384.html">
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This message</a> inspired a recent updating of issues with threading
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and the SGI STL library. It also contains some example
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POSIX-multithreaded STL code.</li>
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</ul>
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<p> (A large selection of links to older messages has been removed; many
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of the messages from 1999 were lost in a disk crash, and the few
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people with access to the backup tapes have been too swamped with work
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to restore them. Many of the points have been superseded anyhow.)
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</p>
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<p>This section will be updated as new and interesting issues come
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to light.
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</p>
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<p>Return <a href="#top">to top of page</a> or
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<a href="../faq/index.html">to the FAQ</a>.
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</p>
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<hr />
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<h2><a name="4"><code><foo></code> vs <code><foo.h></code></a></h2>
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<p>The new-style headers are fully supported in libstdc++-v3. The compiler
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itself fully supports namespaces, including <code>std::</code>.
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</p>
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<p>For those of you new to ISO C++98, no, that isn't a typo, the headers
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really have new names. Marshall Cline's C++ FAQ Lite has a good
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explanation in
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<a href="http://www.parashift.com/c++-faq-lite/coding-standards.html#faq-27.4">item [27.4]</a>.
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</p>
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<p>Return <a href="#top">to top of page</a> or
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<a href="../faq/index.html">to the FAQ</a>.
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</p>
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<hr />
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<h2><a name="5">Behavior specific to libstdc++-v3</a></h2>
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<p>The ISO standard defines the following phrase:
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</p>
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<blockquote><dl>
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<dt><code>[1.3.5] implementation-defined behavior</code></dt>
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<dd>behavior, for a well-formed program construct and correct data, that
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depends on the implementation <strong>and that each implementation
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shall document</strong>.
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</dd>
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</dl></blockquote>
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<p>We do so here, for the C++ library only. Behavior of the compiler,
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linker, runtime loader, and other elements of "the
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implementation" are documented elsewhere. Everything listed in
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Annex B, Implemenation Qualities, are also part of the compiler, not
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the library.
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</p>
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<p>For each entry, we give the section number of the standard, when
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applicable. This list is probably incomplet and inkorrekt.
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</p>
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<p><strong>[1.9]/11 #3</strong> If <code>isatty(3)</code> is true, then
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interactive stream support is implied.
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</p>
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<p><strong>[17.4.4.5]</strong> Non-reentrant functions are probably best
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discussed in the various sections on multithreading (see above).
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</p>
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<!-- [17.4.4.8]/3 says any function that doesn't have an exception-spec
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can throw whatever we want; see also its footnote. Let's list those
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in the sections where the function itself occurs.
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-->
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<p><strong>[18.1]/4</strong> The type of <code>NULL</code> is described
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<a href="../18_support/howto.html#1">here</a>.
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</p>
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<p><strong>[18.3]/8</strong> Even though it's listed in the library
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sections, libstdc++-v3 has zero control over what the cleanup code hands
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back to the runtime loader. Talk to the compiler people. :-)
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</p>
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<p><strong>[18.4.2.1]/5</strong> (bad_alloc),<br />
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<strong>[18.5.2]/5</strong> (bad_cast),<br />
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<strong>[18.5.3]/5</strong> (bad_typeid),<br />
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<strong>[18.6.1]/8</strong> (exception),<br />
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<strong>[18.6.2.1]/5</strong> (bad_exception): The <code>what()</code>
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member function of class <code>std::exception</code>, and these other
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classes publicly derived from it, simply returns the name of the
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class. But they are the <em>mangled</em> names; you will need to call
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<code>c++filt</code> and pass the names as command-line parameters to
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demangle them, or call a
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<a href="../18_support/howto.html#5">runtime demangler function</a>.
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(The classes in <code><stdexcept></code> have constructors which
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require an argument to use later for <code>what()</code> calls, so the
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problem of <code>what()</code>'s value does not arise in most
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user-defined exceptions.)
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</p>
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<p><strong>[18.5.1]/7</strong> The return value of
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<code>std::type_info::name()</code> is the mangled type name (see the
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previous entry for more).
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</p>
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<p><strong>[20.1.5]/5</strong> <em>"Implementors are encouraged to
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supply libraries that can accept allocators that encapsulate more
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general memory models and that support non-equal instances. In such
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implementations, any requirements imposed on allocators by containers
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beyond those requirements that appear in Table 32, and the semantics
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of containers and algorithms when allocator instances compare
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non-equal, are implementation-defined."</em> As yet we don't
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have any allocators which compare non-equal, so we can't describe how
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they behave.
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</p>
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<p><strong>[21.1.3.1]/3,4</strong>,<br />
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<strong>[21.1.3.2]/2</strong>,<br />
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<strong>[23.*]'s foo::iterator</strong>,<br />
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<strong>[27.*]'s foo::*_type</strong>,<br />
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<strong>others...</strong>
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Nope, these types are called implementation-defined because you
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shouldn't be taking advantage of their underlying types. Listing them
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here would defeat the purpose. :-)
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</p>
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<p><strong>[21.1.3.1]/5</strong> I don't really know about the mbstate_t
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stuff... see the <a href="../22_locale/howto.html">chapter 22 notes</a>
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for what does exist.
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</p>
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<p><strong>[22.*]</strong> Anything and everything we have on locale
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implemenation will be described
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<a href="../22_locale/howto.html">over here</a>.
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</p>
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<p><strong>[26.2.8]/9</strong> I have no idea what
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<code>complex<T></code>'s pow(0,0) returns.
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</p>
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<p><strong>[27.4.2.4]/2</strong> Calling
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<code>std::ios_base::sync_with_stdio</code> after I/O has already been
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performed on the standard stream objects will
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flush the buffers, and <!-- this line might go away -->
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destroy and recreate the underlying buffer instances. Whether or not
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the previously-written I/O is destroyed in this process depends mostly
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on the --enable-libio choice: for stdio, if the written data is
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already in the stdio buffer, the data may be completely safe!
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</p>
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<p><strong>[27.6.1.1.2]</strong>,<br />
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<strong>[27.6.2.3]</strong> The I/O sentry ctor and dtor can perform
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additional work than the minimum required. We are not currently taking
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advantage of this yet.
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</p>
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<p><strong>[27.7.1.3]/16</strong>,<br />
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<strong>[27.8.1.4]/10</strong>
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The effects of <code>pubsetbuf/setbuf</code> are described
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<a href="../27_io/howto.html#2">in this chapter</a>.
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</p>
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<p><strong>[27.8.1.4]/16</strong> Calling <code>fstream::sync</code> when
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a get area exists will... whatever <code>fflush()</code> does, I think.
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</p>
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<p>Return <a href="#top">to top of page</a> or
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<a href="../faq/index.html">to the FAQ</a>.
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</p>
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<hr />
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<h2><a name="6">Preprocessor macros controlling the library</a></h2>
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<p>Some of the semantics of the libstdc++-v3 implementation are
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controlled by preprocessor macros, both during build/installation and
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during compilation of user code. Many of these choices are made when
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the library is built and installed (actually, during
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<a href="../configopts.html">the configuration step</a>, with the
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various --enable/--disable choices being translated to #define/#undef).
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</p>
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<p>All library macros begin with <code>_GLIBCPP_</code> in earlier
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versions, and <code>_GLIBCXX_</code> in later versions. The fact that
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these symbols start with a leading underscore should give you a clue
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that (by default) they aren't meant to be changed by the user. :-)
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</p>
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<p>These macros are all gathered in the file <code>c++config.h</code>,
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which is generated during installation. <strong>You must assume that
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these macros cannot be redefined by your own code</strong>, unless we
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document otherwise here. Some of the choices control code which has
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already been compiled (i.e., libstdc++.a/.so). If you explicitly
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#define or #undef these macros, the <em>headers</em> may see different
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code paths, but the <em>libraries</em> which you link against will not.
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If you want to experiment with different values, you must change the
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config headers before building/installing the library.
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</p>
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<p>Below are macros which, for 3.1 and later, you may change yourself,
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in your own code with #define/#undef or with -D/-U compiler flags.
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The default state of the symbol is listed. "Configurable"
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(or "Not configurable") means that the symbol is initially
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chosen (or not) based on --enable/--disable options at configure time.
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For 3.1 through 3.3, the prefixes are <code>_GLIBCPP_</code>.
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</p>
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<dl>
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<dt><code>_GLIBCXX_DEPRECATED</code></dt>
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<dd>Undefined by default. Not configurable. Turning this on enables
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older ARM-style iostreams code, and other anachronisms. This may be
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useful in updating old C++ programs which no longer meet the
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requirements of the language.
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</dd>
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<!--
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Can this actually be turned off and still produce a working lib? Must
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check. -pme
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No, it can't. Hmmm. -pme
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<dt><code>_GLIBCPP_RESOLVE_LIB_DEFECTS</code></dt>
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<dd>Defined by default. Not configurable. The library follows
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corrections and updates from the ISO committee, see
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<a href="../faq/index.html#5_2">here</a> and
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<a href="../ext/howto.html#5">here</a> for more on this feature.
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If you have code which depends on the first version of the standard,
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you might try undefining this macro.
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</dd>
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-->
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<dt><code>_GLIBCXX_CONCEPT_CHECKS</code></dt>
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<dd>Undefined by default. Configurable. When defined, performs
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compile-time checking on certain template instantiations to detect
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violations of the requirements of the standard. This is described
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in more detail <a href="../19_diagnostics/howto.html#3">here</a>.
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</dd>
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<dt><code>_GLIBCXX_DEBUG</code></dt>
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<dd>Undefined by default. Configurable. When defined, compiles
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user code using the <a href="../debug.html#safe">libstdc++ debug
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mode</a>.
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</dd>
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<dt><code>_GLIBCXX_DEBUG_PEDANTIC</code></dt>
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<dd>Undefined by default. Configurable. When defined while
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compiling with the <a href="../debug.html#safe">libstdc++ debug
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mode</a>, makes the debug mode extremely picky by making the use
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of libstdc++ extensions and libstdc++-specific behavior into
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errors.
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</dd>
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<!--
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<dt><code></code></dt>
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<dd>
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</dd>
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-->
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</dl>
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<p>Return <a href="#top">to top of page</a> or
|
|
<a href="../faq/index.html">to the FAQ</a>.
|
|
</p>
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|
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<!-- ####################################################### -->
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<hr />
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<p class="fineprint"><em>
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|
See <a href="license.html">license.html</a> for copying conditions.
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Comments and suggestions are welcome, and may be sent to
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<a href="mailto:libstdc++@gcc.gnu.org">the libstdc++ mailing list</a>.
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</em></p>
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</body>
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</html>
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