# lua-llthreads

**Repository Path**: mirrors_LuaDist/lua-llthreads

## Basic Information

- **Project Name**: lua-llthreads
- **Description**: Low-Level threads(pthreads or WIN32 threads) for Lua.
- **Primary Language**: Unknown
- **License**: MIT
- **Default Branch**: master
- **Homepage**: None
- **GVP Project**: No

## Statistics

- **Stars**: 0
- **Forks**: 0
- **Created**: 2020-08-09
- **Last Updated**: 2026-02-21

## Categories & Tags

**Categories**: Uncategorized

**Tags**: None

## README

About
=====

A simple Lua wrapper for pthreads & WIN32 threads.

Each thread gets it's own `lua_State` and there is no shared global state.
The parent thread can pass data to a child thread only as parameters when creating
the child thread.  The child threads can return data back to the parent thread only
when it return (i.e. ends).  The parent needs to call child:join() to get the return
values from a child thread, this call will block until the child thread ends.

The design goals of this module is only provide support for creating new `lua_State`
and running them in a different thread.  This module will not provide any
methods of thread-to-thread data passing between running threads (i.e. no locks, no shared state).

Thread to Thread communication methods
======================================

* The recommend method of passing data between threads is to use [ZeroMQ](http://github.com/Neopallium/lua-zmq).

* Another method is to use sockets library like [LuaSocket](http://w3.impa.br/~diego/software/luasocket) or [Nixio](http://neopallium.github.com/nixio/).

Installation
============

Release 1.2
-----------

lua-llthread 1.2 release:

	$ sudo luarocks install lua-llthreads

Lastest Git Revision
--------------------

With LuaRocks 2.0.4.1:

	$ sudo luarocks install https://github.com/Neopallium/lua-llthreads/raw/master/rockspecs/lua-llthreads-scm-0.rockspec

With CMake:

	$ git clone git://github.com/Neopallium/lua-llthreads.git
	$ cd lua-llthreads ; mkdir build ; cd build
	$ cmake ..
	$ make
	$ sudo make install


Example usage
=============

	local llthreads = require"llthreads"

	local thread_code = [[
		-- print thread's parameter.
		print("CHILD: received params:", ...)
		-- return all thread's parameters back to the parent thread.
		return ...
	]]
	
	-- create child thread.
	local thread = llthreads.new(thread_code, "number:", 1234, "nil:", nil, "bool:", true)
	-- start joinable child thread.
	assert(thread:start())
	print("PARENT: child returned: ", thread:join())