Why the child thread block in my code? - pthreads

Question

I was trying to test the pthread by using mutex:
#include <stdio.h>
#include <pthread.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <unistd.h>
pthread_mutex_t mutex1 = PTHREAD_MUTEX_INITIALIZER;
int global = 0;
void thread_set();
void thread_read();
int main(void){
pthread_t thread1, thread2;
int re_value1, re_value2;
int i;
for(i = 0; i < 5; i++){
re_value1 = pthread_create(&thread1,NULL, (void*)&thread_set,NULL);
re_value2 = pthread_create(&thread2,NULL,(void*)&thread_read,NULL);
}
pthread_join(thread1,NULL);
pthread_join(thread2,NULL);
/* sleep(2); */ // without it the 5 iteration couldn't finish
printf("exsiting\n");
exit(0);
}
void thread_set(){
pthread_mutex_lock(&mutex1);
printf("Setting data\t");
global = rand();
pthread_mutex_unlock(&mutex1);
}
void thread_read(){
int data;
pthread_mutex_lock(&mutex1);
data = global;
printf("the value is: %d\n",data);
pthread_mutex_unlock(&mutex1);
}
without the sleep(), the code won't finish the 5 iteration:
Setting data the value is: 1804289383
the value is: 1804289383
Setting data the value is: 846930886
exsiting
Setting data the value is: 1804289383
Setting data the value is: 846930886
the value is: 846930886
exsiting
It works only add the sleep() to the main thread, I think it should work without the sleep(), because the join() function wait for each child thread terminate
Any one can tell me why is it?

Answer 1

Your use of mutex objects looks fine, but this loop
for(i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
re_value1 = pthread_create(&thread1,NULL, (void*)&thread_set,NULL);
re_value2 = pthread_create(&thread2,NULL,(void*)&thread_read,NULL);
}
is asking for trouble as you are reusing the same thread instances thread1 and thread2 for each iteration of your loop. Internally this must be causing problems although I do not know exactly how it would manifest itself. You should really use a separate instance of thread object per thread you want to ensure reliable running. I do not know what would happen if you called pthread_create using an instance of a thread object that is already running but I suspect it is not a wise thing to do. I would suspect that at best it will block until the thread function has exited.
Also you are not cheking the return values from pthread_create() either which might be a good idea. In summary I would use a separate instance of thread objects, or add the pthread_join calls to the inside of your loop so that you are certain that the threads are finished running before the next call to pthread_create().
Finally the function signature for functions passed to pthread_create() are of the type
void* thread_function(void*);
and not
void thead_function()
like you have in your code.

Answer 2

You are creating 10 threads (5 iterations of two threads each), but only joining the last two you create (as mathematician1975 notes, you're re-using the thread handle variables, so the values from the last iteration are the only ones you have available to join on). Without the sleep(), it's quite possible that the scheduler has not started executing the first 8 threads before you hit exit(), which automatically terminates all threads, whether they have had a chance to run yet or not.