Advantage of std::thread over pthread in C++

Question

I have seen code that uses pthread to write multi-threaded programs in C++ and other codes that use the std::thread library. What is the advantage of using the thread library instead of pthread?

Solution

There are multiple adavantages. Listing those, not neccessarily in the order of importance.

1. It is cross-platform. For instance, pthreads library by default is not available on Windows. Using thread guarantees that available implementation will be used.
2. C++ threads enforce proper behaviour. For instance, an attempt to destruct a handle of not-joined, not-detached thread causes a program to abort. This is a very good thing, as it makes people aware of what they are doing.
3. C++ threads are fully incorporated into C++ as a language. No longer you have to resort to allocating your arguments in some sort of struct and passing address of this struct as a void* to your pthread routine. By using variadic templates, C++ thread library allows you to provide any number of arguments you want to your thread start routine, and does type check for you.
4. C++ threads have a nice set of surrounding classes, such as promise. Now you can actually throw exceptions from your threads without causing the whole program to crash!

Comments

[Chris]

@SergeyA as a newbie C++ user...should I fully embrace this, or should I go through the pain of learning this pointer(pointer){function(&pointer)} system of pthreads? Would it be worth my time? Or is it just a waste of time? (In a class, limited learning time...)

[SergeyA]

@bordeo, I am not in favor of giving such broad suggestions. I believe, pointer-to-functions style is still relevant in C++, but obviously it is getting more and more out of favor and deprecated. I'd say, learn about it, understand how it works and never use it :)