Re: Singleton_pattern and Thread Safety

From:
Leigh Johnston <leigh@i42.co.uk>
Newsgroups:
comp.lang.c++
Date:
Fri, 10 Dec 2010 14:23:36 +0000
Message-ID:
<ItOdncr4ttt9qp_QnZ2dnUVZ8gSdnZ2d@giganews.com>
On 10/12/2010 13:59, Fred Zwarts wrote:

"Leigh Johnston"<leigh@i42.co.uk> wrote in message
news:rsudnaHfQqi7tZ_QnZ2dnUVZ8q-dnZ2d@giganews.com

On 10/12/2010 09:52, James Kanze wrote:

On Dec 9, 5:05 pm, Marcel M?ller<news.5.ma...@spamgourmet.com>
wrote:

Pallav singh wrote:

i have a query using given singleton that its not thread Safe ?

Since function getInstance() is returning the static object
singleton class AS far my knowlege, static object is
intialized only first time when control reaches there. The
second time control Thread reached there , compiler skipps
the initialization part.


That's right.

// Source file (.cpp)
Singleton& Singleton::getInstance()
{
    // Static Variables are initialized only first time Thread of
    // Execution reaches here first time.
    static Singleton instance;


This line is not guaranteed to be thread safe. In some
implementation it is safe.


In practice, it will be thread safe *if* the first call to
getInstance occurs before threading starts. If threading
doesn't start before entering main (normally an acceptable
restriction), then just declaring a variable with static
lifetime which is initialized by getInstance() is sufficient,
e.g. (at namespace scope):

      Singleton* dummyForInitialization =&Singleton::getInstance();

    return instance;
}


Note that the above still risks order of destruction issues;
it's more common to not destruct the singleton ever, with
something like:

      namespace {

      Singleton* ourInstance =&Singleton::instance();

      Singleton&
      Singleton::instance()
      {
          if (ourInstance == NULL)
              ourInstance = new Singleton;
          return *ourInstance;
      }
      }

(This solves both problems at once: initializing the variable
with a call to Singleton::instance and ensuring that the
singleton is never destructed.)


James "Cowboy" Kanze's OO designs includes objects that are never
destructed but leak instead? Interesting. What utter laziness
typical of somebody who probably overuses (abuses) the singleton
pattern. Singleton can be considered harmful (use rarely not
routinely).


As far as I can see it does not leak.
Up to the very end of the program the ourInstance pointer keeps pointing to the object
and can be used to access the object.
This is a well known technique to overcome the order of destruction issue.


Of course it is a memory leak the only upside being it is a singular
leak that would be cleaned up by the OS as part of program termination
rather than being an ongoing leak that continues to consume memory. It
is lazy. As far as it being a "well known technique" I have encountered
it before when working on a large project with many team members but
that does not justify its use; it was a consequence of parallel
development of many sub-modules with insufficient time set aside for
proper interop design and too much risk associated with "fixing" it.

Destruction is the opposite of construction; destruction (proper
cleanup) is not an intractable problem. /delete/ what you /new/.

/Leigh

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