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-This file documents non-portable functions and other issues.
-Non-portable functions included in pthreads-win32
--------------------------------------------------
-BOOL
-pthread_win32_test_features_np(int mask)
-	This routine allows an application to check which
-	run-time auto-detected features are available within
-	the library.
-	The possible features are:
-		PTW32_SYSTEM_INTERLOCKED_COMPARE_EXCHANGE
-			Return TRUE if the native version of
-			InterlockedCompareExchange() is being used.
-			This feature is not meaningful in recent
-			library versions as MSVC builds only support
-			system implemented ICE. Note that all Mingw
-			builds use inlined asm versions of all the
-			Interlocked routines.
-		PTW32_ALERTABLE_ASYNC_CANCEL
-			Return TRUE is the QueueUserAPCEx package
-			QUSEREX.DLL is available and the AlertDrv.sys
-			driver is loaded into Windows, providing
-			alertable (pre-emptive) asyncronous threads
-			cancelation. If this feature returns FALSE
-			then the default async cancel scheme is in
-			use, which cannot cancel blocked threads.
-	Features may be Or'ed into the mask parameter, in which case
-	the routine returns TRUE if any of the Or'ed features would
-	return TRUE. At this stage it doesn't make sense to Or features
-	but it may some day.
-void *
-pthread_timechange_handler_np(void *)
-        To improve tolerance against operator or time service
-        initiated system clock changes.
-        This routine can be called by an application when it
-        receives a WM_TIMECHANGE message from the system. At
-        present it broadcasts all condition variables so that
-        waiting threads can wake up and re-evaluate their
-        conditions and restart their timed waits if required.
-        It has the same return type and argument type as a
-        thread routine so that it may be called directly
-        through pthread_create(), i.e. as a separate thread.
-        Parameters
-        Although a parameter must be supplied, it is ignored.
-        The value NULL can be used.
-        Return values
-        It can return an error EAGAIN to indicate that not
-        all condition variables were broadcast for some reason.
-        Otherwise, 0 is returned.
-        If run as a thread, the return value is returned
-        through pthread_join().
-        The return value should be cast to an integer.
-HANDLE
-pthread_getw32threadhandle_np(pthread_t thread);
-	Returns the win32 thread handle that the POSIX
-	thread "thread" is running as.
-	Applications can use the win32 handle to set
-	win32 specific attributes of the thread.
-DWORD
-pthread_getw32threadid_np (pthread_t thread)
-	Returns the Windows native thread ID that the POSIX
-	thread "thread" is running as.
-        Only valid when the library is built where
-        ! (defined(__MINGW64__) || defined(__MINGW32__)) || defined (__MSVCRT__) || defined (__DMC__)
-        and otherwise returns 0.
-int
-pthread_mutexattr_setkind_np(pthread_mutexattr_t * attr, int kind)
-int
-pthread_mutexattr_getkind_np(pthread_mutexattr_t * attr, int *kind)
-        These two routines are included for Linux compatibility
-        and are direct equivalents to the standard routines
-                pthread_mutexattr_settype
-                pthread_mutexattr_gettype
-        pthread_mutexattr_setkind_np accepts the following
-        mutex kinds:
-                PTHREAD_MUTEX_FAST_NP
-                PTHREAD_MUTEX_ERRORCHECK_NP
-                PTHREAD_MUTEX_RECURSIVE_NP
-        These are really just equivalent to (respectively):
-                PTHREAD_MUTEX_NORMAL
-                PTHREAD_MUTEX_ERRORCHECK
-                PTHREAD_MUTEX_RECURSIVE
-int
-pthread_delay_np (const struct timespec *interval);
-        This routine causes a thread to delay execution for a specific period of time.
-        This period ends at the current time plus the specified interval. The routine
-        will not return before the end of the period is reached, but may return an
-        arbitrary amount of time after the period has gone by. This can be due to
-        system load, thread priorities, and system timer granularity.
-        Specifying an interval of zero (0) seconds and zero (0) nanoseconds is
-        allowed and can be used to force the thread to give up the processor or to
-        deliver a pending cancelation request.
-        This routine is a cancelation point.
-        The timespec structure contains the following two fields:
-                tv_sec is an integer number of seconds.
-                tv_nsec is an integer number of nanoseconds.
-        Return Values
-        If an error condition occurs, this routine returns an integer value
-        indicating the type of error. Possible return values are as follows:
-        0          Successful completion.
-        [EINVAL]   The value specified by interval is invalid.
-int
-pthread_num_processors_np (void)
-        This routine (found on HPUX systems) returns the number of processors
-        in the system. This implementation actually returns the number of
-        processors available to the process, which can be a lower number
-        than the system's number, depending on the process's affinity mask.
-BOOL
-pthread_win32_process_attach_np (void);
-BOOL
-pthread_win32_process_detach_np (void);
-BOOL
-pthread_win32_thread_attach_np (void);
-BOOL
-pthread_win32_thread_detach_np (void);
-	These functions contain the code normally run via dllMain
-	when the library is used as a dll but which need to be
-	called explicitly by an application when the library
-	is statically linked. As of version 2.9.0 of the library, static
-	builds using either MSC or GCC will call pthread_win32_process_*
-	automatically at application startup and exit respectively.
-	Otherwise, you will need to call pthread_win32_process_attach_np()
-	before you can call any pthread routines when statically linking.
-	You should call pthread_win32_process_detach_np() before
-	exiting your application to clean up.
-	pthread_win32_thread_attach_np() is currently a no-op, but
-	pthread_win32_thread_detach_np() is needed to clean up
-	the implicit pthread handle that is allocated to a Win32 thread if
-	it calls any pthreads routines. Call this routine when the
-	Win32 thread exits.
-	Threads created through pthread_create() do not	need to call
-	pthread_win32_thread_detach_np().
-	These functions invariably return TRUE except for
-	pthread_win32_process_attach_np() which will return FALSE
-	if pthreads-win32 initialisation fails.
-int
-pthreadCancelableWait (HANDLE waitHandle);
-int
-pthreadCancelableTimedWait (HANDLE waitHandle, DWORD timeout);
-	These two functions provide hooks into the pthread_cancel
-	mechanism that will allow you to wait on a Windows handle
-	and make it a cancellation point. Both functions block
-	until either the given w32 handle is signaled, or
-	pthread_cancel has been called. It is implemented using
-	WaitForMultipleObjects on 'waitHandle' and a manually
-	reset w32 event used to implement pthread_cancel.
-Non-portable issues
--------------------
-Thread priority
-	POSIX defines a single contiguous range of numbers that determine a
-	thread's priority. Win32 defines priority classes and priority
-	levels relative to these classes. Classes are simply priority base
-	levels that the defined priority levels are relative to such that,
-	changing a process's priority class will change the priority of all
-	of it's threads, while the threads retain the same relativity to each
-	other.
-	A Win32 system defines a single contiguous monotonic range of values
-	that define system priority levels, just like POSIX. However, Win32
-	restricts individual threads to a subset of this range on a
-	per-process basis.
-	The following table shows the base priority levels for combinations
-	of priority class and priority value in Win32.
-	 Process Priority Class               Thread Priority Level
-	 -----------------------------------------------------------------
-	 1 IDLE_PRIORITY_CLASS                THREAD_PRIORITY_IDLE
-	 1 BELOW_NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS        THREAD_PRIORITY_IDLE
-	 1 NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS              THREAD_PRIORITY_IDLE
-	 1 ABOVE_NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS        THREAD_PRIORITY_IDLE
-	 1 HIGH_PRIORITY_CLASS                THREAD_PRIORITY_IDLE
-	 2 IDLE_PRIORITY_CLASS                THREAD_PRIORITY_LOWEST
-	 3 IDLE_PRIORITY_CLASS                THREAD_PRIORITY_BELOW_NORMAL
-	 4 IDLE_PRIORITY_CLASS                THREAD_PRIORITY_NORMAL
-	 4 BELOW_NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS        THREAD_PRIORITY_LOWEST
-	 5 IDLE_PRIORITY_CLASS                THREAD_PRIORITY_ABOVE_NORMAL
-	 5 BELOW_NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS        THREAD_PRIORITY_BELOW_NORMAL
-	 5 Background NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS   THREAD_PRIORITY_LOWEST
-	 6 IDLE_PRIORITY_CLASS                THREAD_PRIORITY_HIGHEST
-	 6 BELOW_NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS        THREAD_PRIORITY_NORMAL
-	 6 Background NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS   THREAD_PRIORITY_BELOW_NORMAL
-	 7 BELOW_NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS        THREAD_PRIORITY_ABOVE_NORMAL
-	 7 Background NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS   THREAD_PRIORITY_NORMAL
-	 7 Foreground NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS   THREAD_PRIORITY_LOWEST
- 	 8 BELOW_NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS        THREAD_PRIORITY_HIGHEST
-	 8 NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS              THREAD_PRIORITY_ABOVE_NORMAL
-	 8 Foreground NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS   THREAD_PRIORITY_BELOW_NORMAL
-	 8 ABOVE_NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS        THREAD_PRIORITY_LOWEST
-	 9 NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS              THREAD_PRIORITY_HIGHEST
-	 9 Foreground NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS   THREAD_PRIORITY_NORMAL
-	 9 ABOVE_NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS        THREAD_PRIORITY_BELOW_NORMAL
-	10 Foreground NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS   THREAD_PRIORITY_ABOVE_NORMAL
-	10 ABOVE_NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS        THREAD_PRIORITY_NORMAL
-	11 Foreground NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS   THREAD_PRIORITY_HIGHEST
-	11 ABOVE_NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS        THREAD_PRIORITY_ABOVE_NORMAL
-	11 HIGH_PRIORITY_CLASS                THREAD_PRIORITY_LOWEST
-	12 ABOVE_NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS        THREAD_PRIORITY_HIGHEST
-	12 HIGH_PRIORITY_CLASS                THREAD_PRIORITY_BELOW_NORMAL
-	13 HIGH_PRIORITY_CLASS                THREAD_PRIORITY_NORMAL
-	14 HIGH_PRIORITY_CLASS                THREAD_PRIORITY_ABOVE_NORMAL
-	15 HIGH_PRIORITY_CLASS                THREAD_PRIORITY_HIGHEST
-	15 HIGH_PRIORITY_CLASS                THREAD_PRIORITY_TIME_CRITICAL
-	15 IDLE_PRIORITY_CLASS                THREAD_PRIORITY_TIME_CRITICAL
-	15 BELOW_NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS        THREAD_PRIORITY_TIME_CRITICAL
-	15 NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS              THREAD_PRIORITY_TIME_CRITICAL
-	15 ABOVE_NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS        THREAD_PRIORITY_TIME_CRITICAL
-	16 REALTIME_PRIORITY_CLASS            THREAD_PRIORITY_IDLE
-	17 REALTIME_PRIORITY_CLASS            -7
-	18 REALTIME_PRIORITY_CLASS            -6
-	19 REALTIME_PRIORITY_CLASS            -5
-	20 REALTIME_PRIORITY_CLASS            -4
-	21 REALTIME_PRIORITY_CLASS            -3
-	22 REALTIME_PRIORITY_CLASS            THREAD_PRIORITY_LOWEST
-	23 REALTIME_PRIORITY_CLASS            THREAD_PRIORITY_BELOW_NORMAL
-	24 REALTIME_PRIORITY_CLASS            THREAD_PRIORITY_NORMAL
-	25 REALTIME_PRIORITY_CLASS            THREAD_PRIORITY_ABOVE_NORMAL
-	26 REALTIME_PRIORITY_CLASS            THREAD_PRIORITY_HIGHEST
-	27 REALTIME_PRIORITY_CLASS             3
-	28 REALTIME_PRIORITY_CLASS             4
-	29 REALTIME_PRIORITY_CLASS             5
-	30 REALTIME_PRIORITY_CLASS             6
-	31 REALTIME_PRIORITY_CLASS            THREAD_PRIORITY_TIME_CRITICAL
-	Windows NT:  Values -7, -6, -5, -4, -3, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are not supported.
-	As you can see, the real priority levels available to any individual
-	Win32 thread are non-contiguous.
-	An application using pthreads-win32 should not make assumptions about
-	the numbers used to represent thread priority levels, except that they
-	are monotonic between the values returned by sched_get_priority_min()
-	and sched_get_priority_max(). E.g. Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, XP make
-	available a non-contiguous range of numbers between -15 and 15, while
-	at least one version of WinCE (3.0) defines the minimum priority
-	(THREAD_PRIORITY_LOWEST) as 5, and the maximum priority
-	(THREAD_PRIORITY_HIGHEST) as 1.
-	Internally, pthreads-win32 maps any priority levels between
-	THREAD_PRIORITY_IDLE and THREAD_PRIORITY_LOWEST to THREAD_PRIORITY_LOWEST,
-	or between THREAD_PRIORITY_TIME_CRITICAL and THREAD_PRIORITY_HIGHEST to
-	THREAD_PRIORITY_HIGHEST. Currently, this also applies to
-	REALTIME_PRIORITY_CLASSi even if levels -7, -6, -5, -4, -3, 3, 4, 5, and 6
-	are supported.
-	If it wishes, a Win32 application using pthreads-win32 can use the Win32
-	defined priority macros THREAD_PRIORITY_IDLE through
-	THREAD_PRIORITY_TIME_CRITICAL.
-The opacity of the pthread_t datatype
--------------------------------------
-and possible solutions for portable null/compare/hash, etc
-----------------------------------------------------------
-Because pthread_t is an opague datatype an implementation is permitted to define
-pthread_t in any way it wishes. That includes defining some bits, if it is
-scalar, or members, if it is an aggregate, to store information that may be
-extra to the unique identifying value of the ID. As a result, pthread_t values
-may not be directly comparable.
-If you want your code to be portable you must adhere to the following contraints:
-1) Don't assume it is a scalar data type, e.g. an integer or pointer value. There
-are several other implementations where pthread_t is also a struct. See our FAQ
-Question 11 for our reasons for defining pthread_t as a struct.
-2) You must not compare them using relational or equality operators. You must use
-the API function pthread_equal() to test for equality.
-3) Never attempt to reference individual members.
-The problem
-Certain applications would like to be able to access only the 'pure' pthread_t
-id values, primarily to use as keys into data structures to manage threads or
-thread-related data, but this is not possible in a maximally portable and
-standards compliant way for current POSIX threads implementations.
-For implementations that define pthread_t as a scalar, programmers often employ
-direct relational and equality operators on pthread_t. This code will break when
-ported to an implementation that defines pthread_t as an aggregate type.
-For implementations that define pthread_t as an aggregate, e.g. a struct,
-programmers can use memcmp etc., but then face the prospect that the struct may
-include alignment padding bytes or bits as well as extra implementation-specific
-members that are not part of the unique identifying value.
-[While this is not currently the case for pthreads-win32, opacity also
-means that an implementation is free to change the definition, which should
-generally only require that applications be recompiled and relinked, not
-rewritten.]
-Doesn't the compiler take care of padding?
-The C89 and later standards only effectively guarrantee element-by-element
-equivalence following an assignment or pass by value of a struct or union,
-therefore undefined areas of any two otherwise equivalent pthread_t instances
-can still compare differently, e.g. attempting to compare two such pthread_t
-variables byte-by-byte, e.g. memcmp(&t1, &t2, sizeof(pthread_t) may give an
-incorrect result. In practice I'm reasonably confident that compilers routinely
-also copy the padding bytes, mainly because assignment of unions would be far
-too complicated otherwise. But it just isn't guarranteed by the standard.
-Illustration:
-We have two thread IDs t1 and t2
-pthread_t t1, t2;
-In an application we create the threads and intend to store the thread IDs in an
-ordered data structure (linked list, tree, etc) so we need to be able to compare
-them in order to insert them initially and also to traverse.
-Suppose pthread_t contains undefined padding bits and our compiler copies our
-pthread_t [struct] element-by-element, then for the assignment:
-pthread_t temp = t1;
-temp and t1 will be equivalent and correct but a byte-for-byte comparison such as
-memcmp(&temp, &t1, sizeof(pthread_t)) == 0 may not return true as we expect because
-the undefined bits may not have the same values in the two variable instances.
-Similarly if passing by value under the same conditions.
-If, on the other hand, the undefined bits are at least constant through every
-assignment and pass-by-value then the byte-for-byte comparison
-memcmp(&temp, &t1, sizeof(pthread_t)) == 0 will always return the expected result.
-How can we force the behaviour we need?
-Solutions
-Adding new functions to the standard API or as non-portable extentions is
-the only reliable and portable way to provide the necessary operations.
-Remember also that POSIX is not tied to the C language. The most common
-functions that have been suggested are:
-pthread_null()
-pthread_compare()
-pthread_hash()
-A single more general purpose function could also be defined as a
-basis for at least the last two of the above functions.
-First we need to list the freedoms and constraints with restpect
-to pthread_t so that we can be sure our solution is compatible with the
-standard.
-What is known or may be deduced from the standard:
-1) pthread_t must be able to be passed by value, so it must be a single object.
-2) from (1) it must be copyable so cannot embed thread-state information, locks
-or other volatile objects required to manage the thread it associates with.
-3) pthread_t may carry additional information, e.g. for debugging or to manage
-itself.
-4) there is an implicit requirement that the size of pthread_t is determinable
-at compile-time and size-invariant, because it must be able to copy the object
-(i.e. through assignment and pass-by-value). Such copies must be genuine
-duplicates, not merely a copy of a pointer to a common instance such as
-would be the case if pthread_t were defined as an array.
-Suppose we define the following function:
-/* This function shall return it's argument */
-pthread_t* pthread_normalize(pthread_t* thread);
-For scalar or aggregate pthread_t types this function would simply zero any bits
-within the pthread_t that don't uniquely identify the thread, including padding,
-such that client code can return consistent results from operations done on the
-result. If the additional bits are a pointer to an associate structure then
-this function would ensure that the memory used to store that associate
-structure does not leak. After normalization the following compare would be
-valid and repeatable:
-memcmp(pthread_normalize(&t1),pthread_normalize(&t2),sizeof(pthread_t))
-Note 1: such comparisons are intended merely to order and sort pthread_t values
-and allow them to index various data structures. They are not intended to reveal
-anything about the relationships between threads, like startup order.
-Note 2: the normalized pthread_t is also a valid pthread_t that uniquely
-identifies the same thread.
-Advantages:
-1) In most existing implementations this function would reduce to a no-op that
-emits no additional instructions, i.e after in-lining or optimisation, or if
-defined as a macro:
-#define pthread_normalise(tptr) (tptr)
-2) This single function allows an application to portably derive
-application-level versions of any of the other required functions.
-3) It is a generic function that could enable unanticipated uses.
-Disadvantages:
-1) Less efficient than dedicated compare or hash functions for implementations
-that include significant extra non-id elements in pthread_t.
-2) Still need to be concerned about padding if copying normalized pthread_t.
-See the later section on defining pthread_t to neutralise padding issues.
-Generally a pthread_t may need to be normalized every time it is used,
-which could have a significant impact. However, this is a design decision
-for the implementor in a competitive environment. An implementation is free
-to define a pthread_t in a way that minimises or eliminates padding or
-renders this function a no-op.
-Hazards:
-1) Pass-by-reference directly modifies 'thread' so the application must
-synchronise access or ensure that the pointer refers to a copy. The alternative
-of pass-by-value/return-by-value was considered but then this requires two copy
-operations, disadvantaging implementations where this function is not a no-op
-in terms of speed of execution. This function is intended to be used in high
-frequency situations and needs to be efficient, or at least not unnecessarily
-inefficient. The alternative also sits awkwardly with functions like memcmp.
-2) [Non-compliant] code that uses relational and equality operators on
-arithmetic or pointer style pthread_t types would need to be rewritten, but it
-should be rewritten anyway.
-C implementation of null/compare/hash functions using pthread_normalize():
-/* In pthread.h */
-pthread_t* pthread_normalize(pthread_t* thread);
-/* In user code */
-/* User-level bitclear function - clear bits in loc corresponding to mask */
-void* bitclear (void* loc, void* mask, size_t count);
-typedef unsigned int hash_t;
-/* User-level hash function */
-hash_t hash(void* ptr, size_t count);
-/*
- * User-level pthr_null function - modifies the origin thread handle.
- * The concept of a null pthread_t is highly implementation dependent
- * and this design may be far from the mark. For example, in an
- * implementation "null" may mean setting a special value inside one
- * element of pthread_t to mean "INVALID". However, if that value was zero and
- * formed part of the id component then we may get away with this design.
- */
-pthread_t* pthr_null(pthread_t* tp)
-{
-  /*
-   * This should have the same effect as memset(tp, 0, sizeof(pthread_t))
-   * We're just showing that we can do it.
-   */
-  void* p = (void*) pthread_normalize(tp);
-  return (pthread_t*) bitclear(p, p, sizeof(pthread_t));
-}
-/*
- * Safe user-level pthr_compare function - modifies temporary thread handle copies
- */
-int pthr_compare_safe(pthread_t thread1, pthread_t thread2)
-{
-  return memcmp(pthread_normalize(&thread1), pthread_normalize(&thread2), sizeof(pthread_t));
-}
-/*
- * Fast user-level pthr_compare function - modifies origin thread handles
- */
-int pthr_compare_fast(pthread_t* thread1, pthread_t* thread2)
-{
-  return memcmp(pthread_normalize(&thread1), pthread_normalize(&thread2), sizeof(pthread_t));
-}
-/*
- * Safe user-level pthr_hash function - modifies temporary thread handle copy
- */
-hash_t pthr_hash_safe(pthread_t thread)
-{
-  return hash((void *) pthread_normalize(&thread), sizeof(pthread_t));
-}
-/*
- * Fast user-level pthr_hash function - modifies origin thread handle
- */
-hash_t pthr_hash_fast(pthread_t thread)
-{
-  return hash((void *) pthread_normalize(&thread), sizeof(pthread_t));
-}
-/* User-level bitclear function - modifies the origin array */
-void* bitclear(void* loc, void* mask, size_t count)
-{
-  int i;
-  for (i=0; i < count; i++) {
-    (unsigned char) *loc++ &= ~((unsigned char) *mask++);
-  }
-}
-/* Donald Knuth hash */
-hash_t hash(void* str, size_t count)
-{
-   hash_t hash = (hash_t) count;
-   unsigned int i = 0;
-   for(i = 0; i < len; str++, i++)
-   {
-      hash = ((hash << 5) ^ (hash >> 27)) ^ (*str);
-   }
-   return hash;
-}
-/* Example of advantage point (3) - split a thread handle into its id and non-id values */
-pthread_t id = thread, non-id = thread;
-bitclear((void*) &non-id, (void*) pthread_normalize(&id), sizeof(pthread_t));
-A pthread_t type change proposal to neutralise the effects of padding
-Even if pthread_nornalize() is available, padding is still a problem because
-the standard only garrantees element-by-element equivalence through
-copy operations (assignment and pass-by-value). So padding bit values can
-still change randomly after calls to pthread_normalize().
-[I suspect that most compilers take the easy path and always byte-copy anyway,
-partly because it becomes too complex to do (e.g. unions that contain sub-aggregates)
-but also because programmers can easily design their aggregates to minimise and
-often eliminate padding].
-How can we eliminate the problem of padding bytes in structs? Could
-defining pthread_t as a union rather than a struct provide a solution?
-In fact, the Linux pthread.h defines most of it's pthread_*_t objects (but not
-pthread_t itself) as unions, possibly for this and/or other reasons. We'll
-borrow some element naming from there but the ideas themselves are well known
-- the __align element used to force alignment of the union comes from K&R's
-storage allocator example.
-/* Essentially our current pthread_t renamed */
-typedef struct {
-  struct thread_state_t * __p;
-  long __x; /* sequence counter */
-} thread_id_t;
-Ensuring that the last element in the above struct is a long ensures that the
-overall struct size is a multiple of sizeof(long), so there should be no trailing
-padding in this struct or the union we define below.
-(Later we'll see that we can handle internal but not trailing padding.)
-/* New pthread_t */
-typedef union {
-  char __size[sizeof(thread_id_t)]; /* array as the first element */
-  thread_id_t __tid;
-  long __align;  /* Ensure that the union starts on long boundary */
-} pthread_t;
-This guarrantees that, during an assignment or pass-by-value, the compiler copies
-every byte in our thread_id_t because the compiler guarrantees that the __size
-array, which we have ensured is the equal-largest element in the union, retains
-equivalence.
-This means that pthread_t values stored, assigned and passed by value will at least
-carry the value of any undefined padding bytes along and therefore ensure that
-those values remain consistent. Our comparisons will return consistent results and
-our hashes of [zero initialised] pthread_t values will also return consistent
-results.
-We have also removed the need for a pthread_null() function; we can initialise
-at declaration time or easily create our own const pthread_t to use in assignments
-later:
-const pthread_t null_tid = {0}; /* braces are required */
-pthread_t t;
-...
-t = null_tid;
-Note that we don't have to explicitly make use of the __size array at all. It's
-there just to force the compiler behaviour we want.
-Partial solutions without a pthread_normalize function
-An application-level pthread_null and pthread_compare proposal
-(and pthread_hash proposal by extention)
-In order to deal with the problem of scalar/aggregate pthread_t type disparity in
-portable code I suggest using an old-fashioned union, e.g.:
-Contraints:
-- there is no padding, or padding values are preserved through assignment and
-  pass-by-value (see above);
-- there are no extra non-id values in the pthread_t.
-Example 1: A null initialiser for pthread_t variables...
-typedef union {
-    unsigned char b[sizeof(pthread_t)];
-    pthread_t t;
-} init_t;
-const init_t initial = {0};
-pthread_t tid = initial.t; /* init tid to all zeroes */
-Example 2: A comparison function for pthread_t values
-typedef union {
-   unsigned char b[sizeof(pthread_t)];
-   pthread_t t;
-} pthcmp_t;
-int pthcmp(pthread_t left, pthread_t right)
-{
-  /*
-  * Compare two pthread handles in a way that imposes a repeatable but arbitrary
-  * ordering on them.
-  * I.e. given the same set of pthread_t handles the ordering should be the same
-  * each time but the order has no particular meaning other than that. E.g.
-  * the ordering does not imply the thread start sequence, or any other
-  * relationship between threads.
-  *
-  * Return values are:
-  * 1 : left is greater than right
-  * 0 : left is equal to right
-  * -1 : left is less than right
-  */
-  int i;
-  pthcmp_t L, R;
-  L.t = left;
-  R.t = right;
-  for (i = 0; i < sizeof(pthread_t); i++)
-  {
-    if (L.b[i] > R.b[i])
-      return 1;
-    else if (L.b[i] < R.b[i])
-      return -1;
-  }
-  return 0;
-}
-It has been pointed out that the C99 standard allows for the possibility that
-integer types also may include padding bits, which could invalidate the above
-method. This addition to C99 was specifically included after it was pointed
-out that there was one, presumably not particularly well known, architecture
-that included a padding bit in it's 32 bit integer type. See section 6.2.6.2
-of both the standard and the rationale, specifically the paragraph starting at
-line 16 on page 43 of the rationale.
-An aside
-Certain compilers, e.g. gcc and one of the IBM compilers, include a feature
-extention: provided the union contains a member of the same type as the
-object then the object may be cast to the union itself.
-We could use this feature to speed up the pthrcmp() function from example 2
-above by casting rather than assigning the pthread_t arguments to the union, e.g.:
-int pthcmp(pthread_t left, pthread_t right)
-{
-  /*
-  * Compare two pthread handles in a way that imposes a repeatable but arbitrary
-  * ordering on them.
-  * I.e. given the same set of pthread_t handles the ordering should be the same
-  * each time but the order has no particular meaning other than that. E.g.
-  * the ordering does not imply the thread start sequence, or any other
-  * relationship between threads.
-  *
-  * Return values are:
-  * 1 : left is greater than right
-  * 0 : left is equal to right
-  * -1 : left is less than right
-  */
-  int i;
-  for (i = 0; i < sizeof(pthread_t); i++)
-  {
-    if (((pthcmp_t)left).b[i] > ((pthcmp_t)right).b[i])
-      return 1;
-    else if (((pthcmp_t)left).b[i] < ((pthcmp_t)right).b[i])
-      return -1;
-  }
-  return 0;
-}
-Result thus far
-We can't remove undefined bits if they are there in pthread_t already, but we have
-attempted to render them inert for comparison and hashing functions by making them
-consistent through assignment, copy and pass-by-value.
-Note: Hashing pthread_t values requires that all pthread_t variables be initialised
-to the same value (usually all zeros) before being assigned a proper thread ID, i.e.
-to ensure that any padding bits are zero, or at least the same value for all
-pthread_t. Since all pthread_t values are generated by the library in the first
-instance this need not be an application-level operation.
-Conclusion
-I've attempted to resolve the multiple issues of type opacity and the possible
-presence of undefined bits and bytes in pthread_t values, which prevent
-applications from comparing or hashing pthread handles.
-Two complimentary partial solutions have been proposed, one an application-level
-scheme to handle both scalar and aggregate pthread_t types equally, plus a
-definition of pthread_t itself that neutralises padding bits and bytes by
-coercing semantics out of the compiler to eliminate variations in the values of
-padding bits.
-I have not provided any solution to the problem of handling extra values embedded
-in pthread_t, e.g. debugging or trap information that an implementation is entitled
-to include. Therefore none of this replaces the portability and flexibility of API
-functions but what functions are needed? The threads standard is unlikely to
-include that can be implemented by a combination of existing features and more
-generic functions (several references in the threads rationale suggest this.
-Therefore I propose that the following function could replace the several functions
-that have been suggested in conversations:
-pthread_t * pthread_normalize(pthread_t * handle);
-For most existing pthreads implementations this function, or macro, would reduce to
-a no-op with zero call overhead.