creation of a thread

To create a thread in the C programming language, follow these steps:

  1. Include the necessary header file: Begin by including the "pthread.h" header file in your program. This header file contains the necessary functions and data types for working with threads.

  2. Declare a function: Next, declare a function that will serve as the entry point for the thread. This function should have a void return type and take a void pointer as its single argument. This argument can be used to pass any required data to the thread.

  3. Create a thread identifier variable: Declare a variable of type "pthread_t" to hold the unique identifier of the thread that will be created.

  4. Create the thread: Use the pthread_create() function to create the thread. This function takes four arguments: the address of the thread identifier variable, thread attributes (NULL for default attributes), the function pointer to the entry point function, and the argument to be passed to the entry point function (cast to void pointer).

  5. Join the thread (optional): If you want the main thread to wait for the created thread to complete its execution, you can use the pthread_join() function. This function takes two arguments: the thread identifier and a pointer to a void pointer where the exit status of the thread will be stored.

  6. Compile and run the program: Finally, compile your program with the -lpthread flag to link the pthread library, and then run the executable.

By following these steps, you can successfully create a thread in the C programming language.