How do I determine if a pthread is alive?

Question

How do I determine if a detached pthread is still alive ?

I have a communication channel with the thread (a uni-directional queue pointing outwards from the thread) but what happens if the thread dies without a gasp?

Should I resign myself to using process signals or can I probe for thread liveliness somehow?

Answer 1

You can use pthread_kill like this:

int ret = pthread_kill(YOUR_PTHREAD_ID, 0);

If you get a ESRCH value, it might be the case that your thread is dead.