(libc.info.gz) Atomic Data Access

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 24.4.7 Atomic Data Access and Signal Handling
 ---------------------------------------------
 
 Whether the data in your application concerns atoms, or mere text, you
 have to be careful about the fact that access to a single datum is not
 necessarily "atomic".  This means that it can take more than one
 instruction to read or write a single object.  In such cases, a signal
 handler might be invoked in the middle of reading or writing the object.
 
    There are three ways you can cope with this problem.  You can use
 data types that are always accessed atomically; you can carefully
 arrange that nothing untoward happens if an access is interrupted, or
 you can block all signals around any access that had better not be
 interrupted ( Blocking Signals).
 

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* Non-atomic Example          A program illustrating interrupted access.
* Types Atomic Types.          Data types that guarantee no interruption.
* Usage Atomic Usage.          Proving that interruption is harmless.
 

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(libc.info.gz) Nonreentrancy

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