Thread: Thread-safe locking: is incoming data ignored during lock?

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    Registered User Chris87's Avatar
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    Thread-safe locking: is incoming data ignored during lock?

    I understand the concept of thread safety is to prevent data races and other undefined behavior. However, when using mutexes and thread locks (say C++'s std::mutex and std::scoped_lock for example), say I have a thread-safe network message queue and need to lock it in order to pop a message. If another message arrives during that lock period, is it waiting in line so to speak, or is it utterly ignored and thus the queue cannot accept incoming data during a lock period? I'm very concerned about possible data loss.

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    I think if your underlying protocol is TCP then you should receive all your messages, in the correct order.
    A little inaccuracy saves tons of explanation. - H.H. Munro

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    Registered User Chris87's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by john.c View Post
    I think if your underlying protocol is TCP then you should receive all your messages, in the correct order.
    That's a relief! Is UDP also the same? Because I'm not sure yet but I think I may use that for some operations.

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    No, UDP is "unreliable". It's used for higher performance. It will not necessarily get the packets to you and when packets do arrive they may be out of order.
    A little inaccuracy saves tons of explanation. - H.H. Munro

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    Registered User Chris87's Avatar
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    I see... Oh well.

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