1 files changed, 171 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/Doc/library/thread.rst b/Doc/library/thread.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c9be598
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Doc/library/thread.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,171 @@
+
+:mod:`thread` --- Multiple threads of control
+=============================================
+
+.. module:: thread
+   :synopsis: Create multiple threads of control within one interpreter.
+
+
+.. index::
+   single: light-weight processes
+   single: processes, light-weight
+   single: binary semaphores
+   single: semaphores, binary
+
+This module provides low-level primitives for working with multiple threads
+(a.k.a. :dfn:`light-weight processes` or :dfn:`tasks`) --- multiple threads of
+control sharing their global data space.  For synchronization, simple locks
+(a.k.a. :dfn:`mutexes` or :dfn:`binary semaphores`) are provided.
+
+.. index::
+   single: pthreads
+   pair: threads; POSIX
+
+The module is optional.  It is supported on Windows, Linux, SGI IRIX, Solaris
+2.x, as well as on systems that have a POSIX thread (a.k.a. "pthread")
+implementation.  For systems lacking the :mod:`thread` module, the
+:mod:`dummy_thread` module is available. It duplicates this module's interface
+and can be used as a drop-in replacement.
+
+It defines the following constant and functions:
+
+
+.. exception:: error
+
+   Raised on thread-specific errors.
+
+
+.. data:: LockType
+
+   This is the type of lock objects.
+
+
+.. function:: start_new_thread(function, args[, kwargs])
+
+   Start a new thread and return its identifier.  The thread executes the function
+   *function* with the argument list *args* (which must be a tuple).  The optional
+   *kwargs* argument specifies a dictionary of keyword arguments. When the function
+   returns, the thread silently exits.  When the function terminates with an
+   unhandled exception, a stack trace is printed and then the thread exits (but
+   other threads continue to run).
+
+
+.. function:: interrupt_main()
+
+   Raise a :exc:`KeyboardInterrupt` exception in the main thread.  A subthread can
+   use this function to interrupt the main thread.
+
+   .. versionadded:: 2.3
+
+
+.. function:: exit()
+
+   Raise the :exc:`SystemExit` exception.  When not caught, this will cause the
+   thread to exit silently.
+
+.. % \begin{funcdesc}{exit_prog}{status}
+.. % Exit all threads and report the value of the integer argument
+.. % \var{status} as the exit status of the entire program.
+.. % \strong{Caveat:} code in pending \keyword{finally} clauses, in this thread
+.. % or in other threads, is not executed.
+.. % \end{funcdesc}
+
+
+.. function:: allocate_lock()
+
+   Return a new lock object.  Methods of locks are described below.  The lock is
+   initially unlocked.
+
+
+.. function:: get_ident()
+
+   Return the 'thread identifier' of the current thread.  This is a nonzero
+   integer.  Its value has no direct meaning; it is intended as a magic cookie to
+   be used e.g. to index a dictionary of thread-specific data.  Thread identifiers
+   may be recycled when a thread exits and another thread is created.
+
+
+.. function:: stack_size([size])
+
+   Return the thread stack size used when creating new threads.  The optional
+   *size* argument specifies the stack size to be used for subsequently created
+   threads, and must be 0 (use platform or configured default) or a positive
+   integer value of at least 32,768 (32kB). If changing the thread stack size is
+   unsupported, a :exc:`ThreadError` is raised.  If the specified stack size is
+   invalid, a :exc:`ValueError` is raised and the stack size is unmodified.  32kB
+   is currently the minimum supported stack size value to guarantee sufficient
+   stack space for the interpreter itself.  Note that some platforms may have
+   particular restrictions on values for the stack size, such as requiring a
+   minimum stack size > 32kB or requiring allocation in multiples of the system
+   memory page size - platform documentation should be referred to for more
+   information (4kB pages are common; using multiples of 4096 for the stack size is
+   the suggested approach in the absence of more specific information).
+   Availability: Windows, systems with POSIX threads.
+
+   .. versionadded:: 2.5
+
+Lock objects have the following methods:
+
+
+.. method:: lock.acquire([waitflag])
+
+   Without the optional argument, this method acquires the lock unconditionally, if
+   necessary waiting until it is released by another thread (only one thread at a
+   time can acquire a lock --- that's their reason for existence).  If the integer
+   *waitflag* argument is present, the action depends on its value: if it is zero,
+   the lock is only acquired if it can be acquired immediately without waiting,
+   while if it is nonzero, the lock is acquired unconditionally as before.  The
+   return value is ``True`` if the lock is acquired successfully, ``False`` if not.
+
+
+.. method:: lock.release()
+
+   Releases the lock.  The lock must have been acquired earlier, but not
+   necessarily by the same thread.
+
+
+.. method:: lock.locked()
+
+   Return the status of the lock: ``True`` if it has been acquired by some thread,
+   ``False`` if not.
+
+In addition to these methods, lock objects can also be used via the
+:keyword:`with` statement, e.g.::
+
+   from __future__ import with_statement
+   import thread
+
+   a_lock = thread.allocate_lock()
+
+   with a_lock:
+       print "a_lock is locked while this executes"
+
+**Caveats:**
+
+  .. index:: module: signal
+
+* Threads interact strangely with interrupts: the :exc:`KeyboardInterrupt`
+  exception will be received by an arbitrary thread.  (When the :mod:`signal`
+  module is available, interrupts always go to the main thread.)
+
+* Calling :func:`sys.exit` or raising the :exc:`SystemExit` exception is
+  equivalent to calling :func:`exit`.
+
+* Not all built-in functions that may block waiting for I/O allow other threads
+  to run.  (The most popular ones (:func:`time.sleep`, :meth:`file.read`,
+  :func:`select.select`) work as expected.)
+
+* It is not possible to interrupt the :meth:`acquire` method on a lock --- the
+  :exc:`KeyboardInterrupt` exception will happen after the lock has been acquired.
+
+  .. index:: pair: threads; IRIX
+
+* When the main thread exits, it is system defined whether the other threads
+  survive.  On SGI IRIX using the native thread implementation, they survive.  On
+  most other systems, they are killed without executing :keyword:`try` ...
+  :keyword:`finally` clauses or executing object destructors.
+
+* When the main thread exits, it does not do any of its usual cleanup (except
+  that :keyword:`try` ... :keyword:`finally` clauses are honored), and the
+  standard I/O files are not flushed.
+