std::condition_variable::notify_one

void notify_one();		(since C++11)

If any threads are waiting on *this, calling notify_one unblocks one of the waiting threads.

Parameters

(none)

Return value

(none)

Exceptions

noexcept specification:

noexcept

Notes

The effects of notify_one()/notify_all() and each of the three atomic parts of wait()/wait_for()/wait_until() (unlock+wait, wakeup, and lock) take place in a single total order that can be viewed as modification order of an atomic variable: the order is specific to this individual condition_variable. This makes it impossible for notify_one() to, for example, be delayed and unblock a thread that started waiting just after the call to notify_one() was made.

The notifying thread does not need to hold the lock on the same mutex as the one held by the waiting thread(s); in fact doing so is a pessimization, since the notified thread would immediately block again, waiting for the notifying thread to release the lock. However, some implementations (in particular many implementations of pthreads) recognize this situation and avoid this "hurry up and wait" scenario by transferring the waiting thread from the condition variable's queue directly to the queue of the mutex within the notify call, without waking it up.

Example

Run this code

#include <iostream>
#include <condition_variable>
#include <thread>
#include <chrono>
 
std::condition_variable cv;
std::mutex cv_m;
int i = 0;
bool done = false;
 
void waits()
{
    std::unique_lock<std::mutex> lk(cv_m);
    std::cout << "Waiting... \n";
    cv.wait(lk, []{return i == 1;});
    std::cout << "...finished waiting. i == 1\n";
    done = true;
}
 
void signals()
{
    std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::seconds(1));
    std::cout << "Notifying falsely...\n";
    cv.notify_one(); // waiting thread is notified with i == 0.
                     // cv.wait wakes up, checks i, and goes back to waiting
 
    std::unique_lock<std::mutex> lk(cv_m);
    i = 1;
    while (!done) 
    {
        std::cout << "Notifying true change...\n";
        lk.unlock();
        cv.notify_one(); // waiting thread is notified with i == 1, cv.wait returns
        std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::seconds(1));
        lk.lock();
    }
}
 
int main()
{
    std::thread t1(waits), t2(signals);
    t1.join(); 
    t2.join();
}

Possible output:

Waiting... 
Notifying falsely...
Notifying true change...
...finished waiting. i == 1

Language
Standard library headers
Concepts
Utilities library
Strings library
Containers library
Algorithms library
Iterators library
Numerics library
Input/output library
Localizations library
Regular expressions library (C++11)
Atomic operations library (C++11)
Thread support library (C++11)
Filesystem library (C++17)
Technical Specifications

Member functions
condition_variable::condition_variable
condition_variable::~condition_variable
Notification
condition_variable::notify_one
condition_variable::notify_all
Waiting
condition_variable::wait
condition_variable::wait_for
condition_variable::wait_until
Native handle
condition_variable::native handle