pub struct RwLock<T: ?Sized> { /* private fields */ }
Expand description

A reader-writer lock

This type of lock allows a number of readers or at most one writer at any point in time. The write portion of this lock typically allows modification of the underlying data (exclusive access) and the read portion of this lock typically allows for read-only access (shared access).

In comparison, a Mutex does not distinguish between readers or writers that acquire the lock, therefore blocking any threads waiting for the lock to become available. An RwLock will allow any number of readers to acquire the lock as long as a writer is not holding the lock.

The priority policy of the lock is dependent on the underlying operating system’s implementation, and this type does not guarantee that any particular policy will be used. In particular, a writer which is waiting to acquire the lock in write might or might not block concurrent calls to read, e.g.:

Potential deadlock example
// Thread 1             |  // Thread 2
let _rg = lock.read();  |
                        |  // will block
                        |  let _wg = lock.write();
// may deadlock         |
let _rg = lock.read();  |

The type parameter T represents the data that this lock protects. It is required that T satisfies Send to be shared across threads and Sync to allow concurrent access through readers. The RAII guards returned from the locking methods implement Deref (and DerefMut for the write methods) to allow access to the content of the lock.

Poisoning

An RwLock, like Mutex, will become poisoned on a panic. Note, however, that an RwLock may only be poisoned if a panic occurs while it is locked exclusively (write mode). If a panic occurs in any reader, then the lock will not be poisoned.

Examples

use std::sync::RwLock;

let lock = RwLock::new(5);

// many reader locks can be held at once
{
    let r1 = lock.read().unwrap();
    let r2 = lock.read().unwrap();
    assert_eq!(*r1, 5);
    assert_eq!(*r2, 5);
} // read locks are dropped at this point

// only one write lock may be held, however
{
    let mut w = lock.write().unwrap();
    *w += 1;
    assert_eq!(*w, 6);
} // write lock is dropped here

Implementations

Creates a new instance of an RwLock<T> which is unlocked.

Examples
use std::sync::RwLock;

let lock = RwLock::new(5);

Locks this RwLock with shared read access, blocking the current thread until it can be acquired.

The calling thread will be blocked until there are no more writers which hold the lock. There may be other readers currently inside the lock when this method returns. This method does not provide any guarantees with respect to the ordering of whether contentious readers or writers will acquire the lock first.

Returns an RAII guard which will release this thread’s shared access once it is dropped.

Errors

This function will return an error if the RwLock is poisoned. An RwLock is poisoned whenever a writer panics while holding an exclusive lock. The failure will occur immediately after the lock has been acquired.

Panics

This function might panic when called if the lock is already held by the current thread.

Examples
use std::sync::{Arc, RwLock};
use std::thread;

let lock = Arc::new(RwLock::new(1));
let c_lock = Arc::clone(&lock);

let n = lock.read().unwrap();
assert_eq!(*n, 1);

thread::spawn(move || {
    let r = c_lock.read();
    assert!(r.is_ok());
}).join().unwrap();

Attempts to acquire this RwLock with shared read access.

If the access could not be granted at this time, then Err is returned. Otherwise, an RAII guard is returned which will release the shared access when it is dropped.

This function does not block.

This function does not provide any guarantees with respect to the ordering of whether contentious readers or writers will acquire the lock first.

Errors

This function will return the Poisoned error if the RwLock is poisoned. An RwLock is poisoned whenever a writer panics while holding an exclusive lock. Poisoned will only be returned if the lock would have otherwise been acquired.

This function will return the WouldBlock error if the RwLock could not be acquired because it was already locked exclusively.

Examples
use std::sync::RwLock;

let lock = RwLock::new(1);

match lock.try_read() {
    Ok(n) => assert_eq!(*n, 1),
    Err(_) => unreachable!(),
};

Locks this RwLock with exclusive write access, blocking the current thread until it can be acquired.

This function will not return while other writers or other readers currently have access to the lock.

Returns an RAII guard which will drop the write access of this RwLock when dropped.

Errors

This function will return an error if the RwLock is poisoned. An RwLock is poisoned whenever a writer panics while holding an exclusive lock. An error will be returned when the lock is acquired.

Panics

This function might panic when called if the lock is already held by the current thread.

Examples
use std::sync::RwLock;

let lock = RwLock::new(1);

let mut n = lock.write().unwrap();
*n = 2;

assert!(lock.try_read().is_err());

Attempts to lock this RwLock with exclusive write access.

If the lock could not be acquired at this time, then Err is returned. Otherwise, an RAII guard is returned which will release the lock when it is dropped.

This function does not block.

This function does not provide any guarantees with respect to the ordering of whether contentious readers or writers will acquire the lock first.

Errors

This function will return the Poisoned error if the RwLock is poisoned. An RwLock is poisoned whenever a writer panics while holding an exclusive lock. Poisoned will only be returned if the lock would have otherwise been acquired.

This function will return the WouldBlock error if the RwLock could not be acquired because it was already locked exclusively.

Examples
use std::sync::RwLock;

let lock = RwLock::new(1);

let n = lock.read().unwrap();
assert_eq!(*n, 1);

assert!(lock.try_write().is_err());

Determines whether the lock is poisoned.

If another thread is active, the lock can still become poisoned at any time. You should not trust a false value for program correctness without additional synchronization.

Examples
use std::sync::{Arc, RwLock};
use std::thread;

let lock = Arc::new(RwLock::new(0));
let c_lock = Arc::clone(&lock);

let _ = thread::spawn(move || {
    let _lock = c_lock.write().unwrap();
    panic!(); // the lock gets poisoned
}).join();
assert_eq!(lock.is_poisoned(), true);

Clear the poisoned state from a lock

If the lock is poisoned, it will remain poisoned until this function is called. This allows recovering from a poisoned state and marking that it has recovered. For example, if the value is overwritten by a known-good value, then the mutex can be marked as un-poisoned. Or possibly, the value could be inspected to determine if it is in a consistent state, and if so the poison is removed.

Examples
#![feature(mutex_unpoison)]

use std::sync::{Arc, RwLock};
use std::thread;

let lock = Arc::new(RwLock::new(0));
let c_lock = Arc::clone(&lock);

let _ = thread::spawn(move || {
    let _lock = c_lock.write().unwrap();
    panic!(); // the mutex gets poisoned
}).join();

assert_eq!(lock.is_poisoned(), true);
let guard = lock.write().unwrap_or_else(|mut e| {
    **e.get_mut() = 1;
    lock.clear_poison();
    e.into_inner()
});
assert_eq!(lock.is_poisoned(), false);
assert_eq!(*guard, 1);

Consumes this RwLock, returning the underlying data.

Errors

This function will return an error if the RwLock is poisoned. An RwLock is poisoned whenever a writer panics while holding an exclusive lock. An error will only be returned if the lock would have otherwise been acquired.

Examples
use std::sync::RwLock;

let lock = RwLock::new(String::new());
{
    let mut s = lock.write().unwrap();
    *s = "modified".to_owned();
}
assert_eq!(lock.into_inner().unwrap(), "modified");

Returns a mutable reference to the underlying data.

Since this call borrows the RwLock mutably, no actual locking needs to take place – the mutable borrow statically guarantees no locks exist.

Errors

This function will return an error if the RwLock is poisoned. An RwLock is poisoned whenever a writer panics while holding an exclusive lock. An error will only be returned if the lock would have otherwise been acquired.

Examples
use std::sync::RwLock;

let mut lock = RwLock::new(0);
*lock.get_mut().unwrap() = 10;
assert_eq!(*lock.read().unwrap(), 10);

Trait Implementations

Formats the value using the given formatter. Read more

Creates a new RwLock<T>, with the Default value for T.

Creates a new instance of an RwLock<T> which is unlocked. This is equivalent to RwLock::new.

Auto Trait Implementations

Blanket Implementations

Gets the TypeId of self. Read more
Immutably borrows from an owned value. Read more
Mutably borrows from an owned value. Read more
Converts to this type from the input type.

Returns the argument unchanged.

Calls U::from(self).

That is, this conversion is whatever the implementation of From<T> for U chooses to do.

The type returned in the event of a conversion error.
Performs the conversion.
The type returned in the event of a conversion error.
Performs the conversion.