Use pthread_create(3THR) to add a new thread of control to the current process.
Prototype: int pthread_create(pthread_t *tid, const pthread_attr_t *tattr, void*(*start_routine)(void *), void *arg);
#include <pthread.h> pthread_attr_t ()tattr; pthread_t tid; extern void *start_routine(void *arg); void *arg; int ret; /* default behavior*/ ret = pthread_create(&tid, NULL, start_routine, arg); /* initialized with default attributes */ ret = pthread_attr_init(&tattr); /* default behavior specified*/ ret = pthread_create(&tid, &tattr, start_routine, arg);
The pthread_create() function is called with attr having the necessary state behavior. start_routine is the function with which the new thread begins execution. When start_routine returns, the thread exits with the exit status set to the value returned by start_routine (see pthread_create(3THR)).
When pthread_create() is successful, the ID of the thread created is stored in the location referred to as tid.
Creating a thread using a NULL attribute argument has the same effect as using a default attribute; both create a default thread. When tattr is initialized, it acquires the default behavior.
pthread_create() returns zero when it completes successfully. Any other return value indicates that an error occurred. When any of the following conditions are detected, pthread_create() fails and returns the corresponding value.