ntk/documentation/src/advanced.dox

/**

 \page advanced Advanced FLTK

This chapter explains advanced programming and design topics
that will help you to get the most out of FLTK.

\section advanced_multithreading Multithreading

FLTK supports multithreaded applications using a locking mechanism
based on "pthreads". We do not provide a threading interface as part of
the library.  However a simple example how threads can be implemented
for all supported platforms can be found in \p test/threads.h
and \p test/threads.cxx.

To use the locking mechanism, FLTK must be compiled with
\p --enable-threads set during the \p configure
process. IDE-based versions of FLTK are automatically compiled with
locking enabled if possible.

In \p main(), call
Fl::lock() before
Fl::run() or
Fl::wait() to start the runtime
multithreading support for your program. All callbacks and derived
functions like \p handle() and \p draw() will now be properly
locked:

\code
    int main() {
      Fl::lock();
      /* run thread */
      while (Fl::wait() > 0) {
        if (Fl::thread_message()) {
          /* process your data */
        }
      }
    }
\endcode

You can now start as many threads as you like. From within
a thread (other than the main thread) FLTK calls must be wrapped
with calls to Fl::lock() and Fl::unlock():

\code
    Fl::lock();      // avoid conflicting calls
    ...              // your code here
    Fl::unlock();    // allow other threads to access FLTK again
\endcode

You can send messages from child threads to the main thread
using Fl::awake(void* message):

\code
    void *msg;       // "msg" is a pointer to your message
    Fl::awake(msg);  // send "msg" to main thread
\endcode

A message can be anything you like. The main thread can retrieve
the message by calling Fl::thread_message(). See example above.

You can also tell the main thread to call a function for you
as soon as possible by using
Fl::awake(Fl_Awake_Handler cb, void* userdata):

\code
    void do_something(void *userdata) {
      // running with the main thread
    }

    // running in another thread
    void *data;       // "data" is a pointer to your user data
    Fl::awake(do_something, data);  // call something in main thread
\endcode


FLTK supports multiple platforms, some of which allow only the
main thread to handle system events and open or close windows.
The safe thing to do is to adhere to the following rules for
threads on all operating systems:


\li Don't \p show() or \p hide() anything that contains
    widgets derived from Fl_Window, including dialogs, file
    choosers, subwindows or those using Fl_Gl_Window.

\li Don't call Fl::wait(), Fl::flush() or any
    related methods that will handle system messages

\li Don't start or cancel timers

\li Don't change window decorations or titles

\li The \p make_current() method may or may not work well for
    regular windows, but should always work for a Fl_Gl_Window
    to allow for high speed rendering on graphics cards with multiple
    pipelines

See also:
Fl::awake(void* message),
Fl::lock(),
Fl::thread_message(),
Fl::unlock().


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