std::atomic_is_lock_free, ATOMIC_xxx_LOCK_FREE

template< class T >
bool atomic_is_lock_free( const volatile std::atomic<T>* obj ) noexcept;

template< class T >
bool atomic_is_lock_free( const std::atomic<T>* obj ) noexcept;

#define ATOMIC_BOOL_LOCK_FREE     /* unspecified */
#define ATOMIC_CHAR_LOCK_FREE     /* unspecified */
#define ATOMIC_CHAR16_T_LOCK_FREE /* unspecified */
#define ATOMIC_CHAR32_T_LOCK_FREE /* unspecified */
#define ATOMIC_WCHAR_T_LOCK_FREE  /* unspecified */
#define ATOMIC_SHORT_LOCK_FREE    /* unspecified */
#define ATOMIC_INT_LOCK_FREE      /* unspecified */
#define ATOMIC_LONG_LOCK_FREE     /* unspecified */
#define ATOMIC_LLONG_LOCK_FREE    /* unspecified */
#define ATOMIC_POINTER_LOCK_FREE  /* unspecified */

#define ATOMIC_CHAR8_T_LOCK_FREE  /* unspecified */

• ​0​ for the built-in atomic types that are never lock-free,
• 1 for the built-in atomic types that are sometimes lock-free,
• 2 for the built-in atomic types that are always lock-free.

Parameters

Return value

true if *obj is a lock-free atomic, false otherwise.

Notes

All atomic types except for std::atomic_flag may be implemented using mutexes or other locking operations, rather than using the lock-free atomic CPU instructions. Atomic types are also allowed to be sometimes lock-free: for example, if only some subarchitectures support lock-free atomic access for a given type (such as the CMPXCHG16B instruction on x86-64), whether atomics are lock-free may not be known until runtime.

The C++ standard recommends (but does not require) that lock-free atomic operations are also address-free, that is, suitable for communication between processes using shared memory.

Example

#include <atomic>
#include <iostream>
#include <utility>
 
struct A { int a[100]; };
struct B { int x, y; };
 
int main()
{
    std::atomic<A> a;
    std::atomic<B> b;
    std::cout << std::boolalpha
              << "std::atomic<A> is lock free? "
              << std::atomic_is_lock_free(&a) << '\n'
              << "std::atomic<B> is lock free? "
              << std::atomic_is_lock_free(&b) << '\n';
}

std::atomic<A> is lock free? false
std::atomic<B> is lock free? true

Defect reports

The following behavior-changing defect reports were applied retroactively to previously published C++ standards.

See also