From: Jarkko Hietaniemi <jhi@iki.fi>
Date: Thu, 3 Dec 1998 13:39:53 +0000 (+0000)
Subject: Change#2441 aftermath.
X-Git-Url: http://git.shadowcat.co.uk/gitweb/gitweb.cgi?a=commitdiff_plain;h=ef4af2bec631b9236810b0b0f271e06119e370e6;p=p5sagit%2Fp5-mst-13.2.git

Change#2441 aftermath.

p4raw-id: //depot/cfgperl@2443
---

diff --git a/Configure b/Configure
index bba0632..7070d4f 100755
--- a/Configure
+++ b/Configure
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
 
 # $Id: Head.U,v 3.0.1.9 1997/02/28 15:02:09 ram Exp $
 #
-# Generated on Sun Nov 29 18:15:39 EET 1998 [metaconfig 3.0 PL70]
+# Generated on Thu Dec  3 10:57:23 EET 1998 [metaconfig 3.0 PL70]
 # (with additional metaconfig patches by jhi@iki.fi)
 
 cat >/tmp/c1$$ <<EOF
@@ -409,8 +409,8 @@ d_pause=''
 d_pipe=''
 d_poll=''
 d_portable=''
-d_pthread_create_joinable=''
-pthread_create_joinable=''
+d_old_pthread_create_joinable=''
+old_pthread_create_joinable=''
 d_pthread_yield=''
 d_sched_yield=''
 sched_yield=''
@@ -8573,18 +8573,6 @@ eval $setvar
 set nice d_nice
 eval $inlibc
 
-: see if pause exists
-set pause d_pause
-eval $inlibc
-
-: see if pipe exists
-set pipe d_pipe
-eval $inlibc
-
-: see if poll exists
-set poll d_poll
-eval $inlibc
-
 : how to create joinable pthreads
 if test "X$usethreads" = "X$define"; then
 	echo " "
@@ -8598,49 +8586,61 @@ EOCP
 	set try -DJOINABLE=PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE
 	if eval $compile; then
 		echo "You seem to use PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE." >&2
-		val="$undef"
-		set d_pthread_create_joinable
+		val="$undef" # Yes, undef.
+		set d_old_pthread_create_joinable
 		eval $setvar
-		val=0
-		set pthread_create_joinable
+		val=""
+		set old_pthread_create_joinable
 		eval $setvar
 	else
 		set try -DJOINABLE=PTHREAD_CREATE_UNDETACHED
 		if eval $compile; then
 			echo "You seem to use PTHREAD_CREATE_UNDETACHED." >&2
 			val="$define"
-			set d_pthread_create_joinable
+			set d_old_pthread_create_joinable
 			eval $setvar
 			val=PTHREAD_CREATE_UNDETACHED
-			set pthread_create_joinable
+			set old_pthread_create_joinable
 			eval $setvar
 		else		
 			set try -DJOINABLE=__UNDETACHED
 			if eval $compile; then
 				echo "You seem to use __UNDETACHED." >&2
 				val="$define"
-				set d_pthread_create_joinable
+				set d_old_pthread_create_joinable
 				eval $setvar
 				val=__UNDETACHED
-				set pthread_create_joinable
+				set old_pthread_create_joinable
 				eval $setvar
 			else
 				echo "Egads, nothing obvious found.  Guessing that you use 0." >&2
 				val="$define"
-				set d_pthread_create_joinable
+				set d_old_pthread_create_joinable
 				eval $setvar
 				val=0
-				set pthread_create_joinable
+				set old_pthread_create_joinable
 				eval $setvar
 			fi
 		fi
 	fi
 	$rm -f try try.*
 else
-    d_pthread_create_joinable="$undef"
-    pthread_create_joinable=0
+    d_old_pthread_create_joinable="$undef"
+    old_pthread_create_joinable=""
 fi
 
+: see if pause exists
+set pause d_pause
+eval $inlibc
+
+: see if pipe exists
+set pipe d_pipe
+eval $inlibc
+
+: see if poll exists
+set poll d_poll
+eval $inlibc
+
 
 : see whether the various POSIXish _yields exist
 $cat >try.c <<EOP
@@ -10514,8 +10514,8 @@ while $test "$cont"; do
 	if set $ans val -f; eval $csym; $val; then
 		cont=''
 	else
-                dflt=y
-                rp="I cannot find function $ans.  Use that name anyway?"
+		dflt=y
+		rp="I cannot find function $ans. Use that name anyway?"
 		. ./myread
 		dflt=rand
 		case "$ans" in
@@ -12516,6 +12516,7 @@ d_mymalloc='$d_mymalloc'
 d_nextkey64='$d_nextkey64'
 d_nice='$d_nice'
 d_off64t='$d_off64t'
+d_old_pthread_create_joinable='$d_old_pthread_create_joinable'
 d_oldpthreads='$d_oldpthreads'
 d_oldsock='$d_oldsock'
 d_open3='$d_open3'
@@ -12527,7 +12528,6 @@ d_phostname='$d_phostname'
 d_pipe='$d_pipe'
 d_poll='$d_poll'
 d_portable='$d_portable'
-d_pthread_create_joinable='$d_pthread_create_joinable'
 d_pthread_yield='$d_pthread_yield'
 d_pwage='$d_pwage'
 d_pwchange='$d_pwchange'
@@ -12817,6 +12817,7 @@ nonxs_ext='$nonxs_ext'
 nroff='$nroff'
 o_nonblock='$o_nonblock'
 obj_ext='$obj_ext'
+old_pthread_create_joinable='$old_pthread_create_joinable'
 optimize='$optimize'
 orderlib='$orderlib'
 osname='$osname'
@@ -12840,7 +12841,6 @@ prefixexp='$prefixexp'
 privlib='$privlib'
 privlibexp='$privlibexp'
 prototype='$prototype'
-pthread_create_joinable='$pthread_create_joinable'
 ptrsize='$ptrsize'
 randbits='$randbits'
 randfunc='$randfunc'
diff --git a/Porting/Glossary b/Porting/Glossary
index 1aa4f35..cf2076f 100644
--- a/Porting/Glossary
+++ b/Porting/Glossary
@@ -4,11 +4,6 @@ programs (e.g. I_UNISTD) are already described in config_h.SH.  [`configpm'
 generates pod documentation for Config.pm from this file--please try to keep
 the formatting regular.]
 
-Mcc (Loc.U):
-	This variable is be used internally by Configure to determine the
-	full pathname (if any) of the Mcc program.  After Configure runs,
-	the value is reset to a plain "Mcc" and is not useful.
-
 _a (Unix.U):
 	This variable defines the extension used for ordinary libraries.
 	For unix, it is '.a'.  The '.' is included.  Other possible
@@ -257,15 +252,6 @@ csh (Loc.U):
 	full pathname (if any) of the csh program.  After Configure runs,
 	the value is reset to a plain "csh" and is not useful.
 
-d_Gconvert (d_gconvert.U):
-	This variable holds what Gconvert is defined as to convert
-	floating point numbers into strings. It could be 'gconvert'
-	or a more complex macro emulating gconvert with gcvt() or sprintf.
-	Possible values are:
-		d_Gconvert='gconvert((x),(n),(t),(b))'
-		d_Gconvert='gcvt((x),(n),(b))'
-		d_Gconvert='sprintf((b),"%.*g",(n),(x))'
-
 d_access (d_access.U):
 	This variable conditionally defines HAS_ACCESS if the access() system
 	call is available to check for access permissions using real IDs.
@@ -581,6 +567,15 @@ d_ftruncate64 (io64.U):
 	This variable conditionally defines the HAS_FTRUNCATE64 symbol, which
 	indicates to the C program that the ftruncate64() routine is available.
 
+d_Gconvert (d_gconvert.U):
+	This variable holds what Gconvert is defined as to convert
+	floating point numbers into strings. It could be 'gconvert'
+	or a more complex macro emulating gconvert with gcvt() or sprintf.
+	Possible values are:
+		d_Gconvert='gconvert((x),(n),(t),(b))'
+		d_Gconvert='gcvt((x),(n),(b))'
+		d_Gconvert='sprintf((b),"%.*g",(n),(x))'
+
 d_getgrent (d_getgrent.U):
 	This variable conditionally defines the HAS_GETGRENT symbol, which
 	indicates to the C program that the getgrent() routine is available
@@ -911,6 +906,10 @@ d_nice (d_nice.U):
 d_off64t (io64.U):
 	This symbol will be defined if the C compiler supports off64_t.
 
+d_old_pthread_create_joinable (d_pthrattrj.U):
+	This variable conditionally defines pthread_create_joinable.
+	undef if pthread.h defines PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE.
+
 d_oldpthreads (usethreads.U):
 	This variable conditionally defines the OLD_PTHREADS_API symbol,
 	and indicates that Perl should be built to use the old
@@ -965,10 +964,6 @@ d_portable (d_portable.U):
 	indicates to the C program that it should not assume that it is
 	running on the machine it was compiled on.
 
-d_pthread_create_joinable (d_pthrattrj.U):
-	This variable conditionally defines pthread_create_joinable.
-	undef if pthread.h defines PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE.
-
 d_pthread_yield (d_pthread_y.U):
 	This variable conditionally defines the HAS_PTHREAD_YIELD
 	symbol if the pthread_yield routine is available to yield
@@ -2176,6 +2171,11 @@ man3ext (man3dir.U):
 	have: one of 'n', 'l', or '3'.  The Makefile must supply the '.'.
 	See man3dir.
 
+Mcc (Loc.U):
+	This variable is be used internally by Configure to determine the
+	full pathname (if any) of the Mcc program.  After Configure runs,
+	the value is reset to a plain "Mcc" and is not useful.
+
 medium (models.U):
 	This variable contains a flag which will tell the C compiler and loader
 	to produce a program running with a medium memory model.  If the
@@ -2292,6 +2292,12 @@ o_nonblock (nblock_io.U):
 obj_ext (Unix.U):
 	This is an old synonym for _o.
 
+old_pthread_create_joinable (d_pthrattrj.U):
+	This variable defines the constant to use for creating joinable
+	(aka undetached) pthreads.  Unused if pthread.h defines
+	PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE.  If used, possible values are
+	PTHREAD_CREATE_UNDETACHED and __UNDETACHED.
+
 optimize (ccflags.U):
 	This variable contains any optimizer/debugger flag that should be used.
 	It is up to the Makefile to use it.
@@ -2403,12 +2409,6 @@ prototype (prototype.U):
 	This variable holds the eventual value of CAN_PROTOTYPE, which
 	indicates the C compiler can handle funciton prototypes.
 
-pthread_create_joinable (d_pthrattrj.U):
-	This variable defines the constant to use for creating joinable
-	(aka undetached) pthreads.  Unused if pthread.h defines
-	PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE.  If used, possible values are
-	PTHREAD_CREATE_UNDETACHED and __UNDETACHED.
-
 ptrsize (ptrsize.U):
 	This variable contains the value of the PTRSIZE symbol, which
 	indicates to the C program how many bytes there are in a pointer.
diff --git a/Porting/config.sh b/Porting/config.sh
index 6caa22d..0c46171 100644
--- a/Porting/config.sh
+++ b/Porting/config.sh
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 
 # Package name      : perl5
 # Source directory  : .
-# Configuration time: Sun Nov 29 18:17:40 EET 1998
+# Configuration time: Thu Dec  3 15:05:16 EET 1998
 # Configured by     : jhi
 # Target system     : osf1 alpha.hut.fi v4.0 878 alpha 
 
@@ -30,10 +30,10 @@ afs='false'
 alignbytes='8'
 ansi2knr=''
 aphostname=''
-apiversion='5.00553'
+apiversion='5.00554'
 ar='ar'
-archlib='/opt/perl/lib/5.00553/alpha-dec_osf-thread'
-archlibexp='/opt/perl/lib/5.00553/alpha-dec_osf-thread'
+archlib='/opt/perl/lib/5.00554/alpha-dec_osf-thread'
+archlibexp='/opt/perl/lib/5.00554/alpha-dec_osf-thread'
 archname64=''
 archname='alpha-dec_osf-thread'
 archobjs=''
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ ccdlflags=' '
 ccflags='-pthread -std -D__LANGUAGE_C__'
 cf_by='jhi'
 cf_email='yourname@yourhost.yourplace.com'
-cf_time='Sun Nov 29 18:17:40 EET 1998'
+cf_time='Thu Dec  3 15:05:16 EET 1998'
 chgrp=''
 chmod=''
 chown=''
@@ -219,6 +219,7 @@ d_mymalloc='undef'
 d_nextkey64='undef'
 d_nice='define'
 d_off64t='undef'
+d_old_pthread_create_joinable='undef'
 d_oldpthreads='undef'
 d_oldsock='undef'
 d_open3='define'
@@ -230,7 +231,6 @@ d_phostname='undef'
 d_pipe='define'
 d_poll='define'
 d_portable='define'
-d_pthread_create_joinable='undef'
 d_pthread_yield='undef'
 d_pwage='undef'
 d_pwchange='undef'
@@ -446,14 +446,14 @@ i_vfork='undef'
 ignore_versioned_solibs=''
 incpath=''
 inews=''
-installarchlib='/opt/perl/lib/5.00553/alpha-dec_osf-thread'
+installarchlib='/opt/perl/lib/5.00554/alpha-dec_osf-thread'
 installbin='/opt/perl/bin'
 installman1dir='/opt/perl/man/man1'
 installman3dir='/opt/perl/man/man3'
-installprivlib='/opt/perl/lib/5.00553'
+installprivlib='/opt/perl/lib/5.00554'
 installscript='/opt/perl/bin'
-installsitearch='/opt/perl/lib/site_perl/5.00553/alpha-dec_osf-thread'
-installsitelib='/opt/perl/lib/site_perl/5.00553'
+installsitearch='/opt/perl/lib/site_perl/5.00554/alpha-dec_osf-thread'
+installsitelib='/opt/perl/lib/site_perl/5.00554'
 intsize='4'
 known_extensions='B DB_File Data/Dumper Devel/Peek Fcntl GDBM_File IO IPC/SysV NDBM_File ODBM_File Opcode POSIX SDBM_File Socket Thread attrs re'
 ksh=''
@@ -520,6 +520,7 @@ nonxs_ext='Errno'
 nroff='nroff'
 o_nonblock='O_NONBLOCK'
 obj_ext='.o'
+old_pthread_create_joinable=''
 optimize='-O'
 orderlib='false'
 osname='dec_osf'
@@ -540,10 +541,9 @@ pmake=''
 pr=''
 prefix='/opt/perl'
 prefixexp='/opt/perl'
-privlib='/opt/perl/lib/5.00553'
-privlibexp='/opt/perl/lib/5.00553'
+privlib='/opt/perl/lib/5.00554'
+privlibexp='/opt/perl/lib/5.00554'
 prototype='define'
-pthread_create_joinable='0'
 ptrsize='8'
 randbits='48'
 randfunc='drand48'
@@ -573,10 +573,10 @@ sig_name_init='"ZERO", "HUP", "INT", "QUIT", "ILL", "TRAP", "ABRT", "EMT", "FPE"
 sig_num='0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 6 6 16 20 23 23 23 29 48 '
 sig_num_init='0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 6, 6, 16, 20, 23, 23, 23, 29, 48, 0'
 signal_t='void'
-sitearch='/opt/perl/lib/site_perl/5.00553/alpha-dec_osf-thread'
-sitearchexp='/opt/perl/lib/site_perl/5.00553/alpha-dec_osf-thread'
-sitelib='/opt/perl/lib/site_perl/5.00553'
-sitelibexp='/opt/perl/lib/site_perl/5.00553'
+sitearch='/opt/perl/lib/site_perl/5.00554/alpha-dec_osf-thread'
+sitearchexp='/opt/perl/lib/site_perl/5.00554/alpha-dec_osf-thread'
+sitelib='/opt/perl/lib/site_perl/5.00554'
+sitelibexp='/opt/perl/lib/site_perl/5.00554'
 sizetype='size_t'
 sleep=''
 smail=''
@@ -601,7 +601,7 @@ stdio_filbuf=''
 stdio_ptr='((fp)->_ptr)'
 strings='/usr/include/string.h'
 submit=''
-subversion='53'
+subversion='54'
 sysman='/usr/man/man1'
 tail=''
 tar=''
@@ -631,7 +631,7 @@ usethreads='define'
 usevfork='false'
 usrinc='/usr/include'
 uuname=''
-version='5.00553'
+version='5.00554'
 vi=''
 voidflags='15'
 xlibpth='/usr/lib/386 /lib/386'
@@ -652,7 +652,7 @@ config_arg8='-Dmydomain=.yourplace.com'
 config_arg9='-Dmyhostname=yourhost'
 config_arg10='-dE'
 PATCHLEVEL=5
-SUBVERSION=53
+SUBVERSION=54
 CONFIG=true
 # Variables propagated from previous config.sh file.
 pp_sys_cflags='ccflags="$ccflags -DNO_EFF_ONLY_OK"'
diff --git a/Porting/config_H b/Porting/config_H
index 5420ae8..c343f44 100644
--- a/Porting/config_H
+++ b/Porting/config_H
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 /*
  * Package name      : perl5
  * Source directory  : .
- * Configuration time: Sun Nov 29 18:17:40 EET 1998
+ * Configuration time: Thu Dec  3 15:05:16 EET 1998
  * Configured by     : jhi
  * Target system     : osf1 alpha.hut.fi v4.0 878 alpha 
  */
@@ -2001,8 +2001,8 @@
  *	This symbol contains the ~name expanded version of ARCHLIB, to be used
  *	in programs that are not prepared to deal with ~ expansion at run-time.
  */
-#define ARCHLIB "/opt/perl/lib/5.00553/alpha-dec_osf-thread"		/**/
-#define ARCHLIB_EXP "/opt/perl/lib/5.00553/alpha-dec_osf-thread"		/**/
+#define ARCHLIB "/opt/perl/lib/5.00554/alpha-dec_osf-thread"		/**/
+#define ARCHLIB_EXP "/opt/perl/lib/5.00554/alpha-dec_osf-thread"		/**/
 
 /* DLSYM_NEEDS_UNDERSCORE:
  *	This symbol, if defined, indicates that we need to prepend an
@@ -2190,8 +2190,8 @@
  *	This symbol contains the ~name expanded version of PRIVLIB, to be used
  *	in programs that are not prepared to deal with ~ expansion at run-time.
  */
-#define PRIVLIB "/opt/perl/lib/5.00553"		/**/
-#define PRIVLIB_EXP "/opt/perl/lib/5.00553"		/**/
+#define PRIVLIB "/opt/perl/lib/5.00554"		/**/
+#define PRIVLIB_EXP "/opt/perl/lib/5.00554"		/**/
 
 /* SELECT_MIN_BITS:
  *	This symbol holds the minimum number of bits operated by select.
@@ -2215,8 +2215,8 @@
  *	This symbol contains the ~name expanded version of SITEARCH, to be used
  *	in programs that are not prepared to deal with ~ expansion at run-time.
  */
-#define SITEARCH "/opt/perl/lib/site_perl/5.00553/alpha-dec_osf-thread"		/**/
-#define SITEARCH_EXP "/opt/perl/lib/site_perl/5.00553/alpha-dec_osf-thread"		/**/
+#define SITEARCH "/opt/perl/lib/site_perl/5.00554/alpha-dec_osf-thread"		/**/
+#define SITEARCH_EXP "/opt/perl/lib/site_perl/5.00554/alpha-dec_osf-thread"		/**/
 
 /* SITELIB:
  *	This symbol contains the name of the private library for this package.
@@ -2231,8 +2231,8 @@
  *	This symbol contains the ~name expanded version of SITELIB, to be used
  *	in programs that are not prepared to deal with ~ expansion at run-time.
  */
-#define SITELIB "/opt/perl/lib/site_perl/5.00553"		/**/
-#define SITELIB_EXP "/opt/perl/lib/site_perl/5.00553"		/**/
+#define SITELIB "/opt/perl/lib/site_perl/5.00554"		/**/
+#define SITELIB_EXP "/opt/perl/lib/site_perl/5.00554"		/**/
 
 /* STARTPERL:
  *	This variable contains the string to put in front of a perl
@@ -2378,14 +2378,15 @@
  */
 #define ARCHNAME "alpha-dec_osf-thread"		/**/
 
-/* PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE:
+/* OLD_PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE:
  *	This symbol, if defined, indicates how to create pthread
- *	in joinable (aka undetached) state.  Not defined here if
- *	pthread.h already has defined PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE.
+ *	in joinable (aka undetached) state.  NOTE: not defined
+ *	if pthread.h already has defined PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE
+ *	(the new version of the constant).
  *	If defined, possible values are PTHREAD_CREATE_UNDETACHED
  *	and __UNDETACHED.
  */
-/*#define PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE 0 / **/
+/*#define OLD_PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE  / **/
 
 /* HAS_PTHREAD_YIELD:
  *	This symbol, if defined, indicates that the pthread_yield 
diff --git a/config_h.SH b/config_h.SH
index 865d43e..d286068 100644
--- a/config_h.SH
+++ b/config_h.SH
@@ -261,10 +261,7 @@ sed <<!GROK!THIS! >config.h -e 's!^#undef\(.*/\)\*!/\*#define\1 \*!' -e 's!^#un-
  */
 #$d_gethname HAS_GETHOSTNAME	/**/
 #$d_uname HAS_UNAME		/**/
-#$d_phostname HAS_PHOSTNAME
-#ifdef PHOSTNAME
 #$d_phostname PHOSTNAME "$aphostname"	/* How to get the host name */
-#endif
 
 /* HAS_GETLOGIN:
  *	This symbol, if defined, indicates that the getlogin routine is
@@ -2395,17 +2392,15 @@ sed <<!GROK!THIS! >config.h -e 's!^#undef\(.*/\)\*!/\*#define\1 \*!' -e 's!^#un-
  */
 #define ARCHNAME "$archname"		/**/
 
-/* PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE:
+/* OLD_PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE:
  *	This symbol, if defined, indicates how to create pthread
- *	in joinable (aka undetached) state.  Not defined here if
- *	pthread.h already has defined PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE.
+ *	in joinable (aka undetached) state.  NOTE: not defined
+ *	if pthread.h already has defined PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE
+ *	(the new version of the constant).
  *	If defined, possible values are PTHREAD_CREATE_UNDETACHED
  *	and __UNDETACHED.
  */
-#$d_pthread_create_joinable HAS_PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE
-#ifdef HAS_PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE
-#$d_pthread_create_joinable PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE $pthread_create_joinable /**/
-#endif
+#$d_old_pthread_create_joinable OLD_PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE $old_pthread_create_joinable /**/
 
 /* HAS_PTHREAD_YIELD:
  *	This symbol, if defined, indicates that the pthread_yield 
diff --git a/thread.h b/thread.h
index 1455683..695f288 100644
--- a/thread.h
+++ b/thread.h
@@ -50,6 +50,14 @@ struct perl_thread *getTHR _((void));
 #  define PTHREAD_ATTR_SETDETACHSTATE(a,s) pthread_attr_setdetachstate(a,s)
 #endif
 
+#ifndef PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE
+#  ifdef OLD_PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE
+#    define PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE OLD_PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE
+#  else
+#    define PTHREAD_CREATE_JOINABLE 0 /* Panic?  No, guess. */
+#  endif
+#endif
+
 #ifdef I_MACH_CTHREADS
 
 /* cthreads interface */