Is std::vector and boost::vector Thread-Safe?

Thread Safety of std::vector and boost::vector

In multithreaded environments, it's crucial to ensure the thread safety of shared objects. When using std::vector concurrently, the question arises: is it thread safe?

Standard C Library Guarantees

The C standard provides specific threading guarantees for all standard library classes. However, for containers like std::vector, these guarantees may differ from what one might expect.

std::vector Threading Guarantees:

Std::vector ensures that:

1. Multiple threads can concurrently read from the vector.
2. Only one thread can write to the vector at a time, and no other threads can read while writing is occurring.

These guarantees are designed to optimize the containers' performance without unnecessary locking overhead, but they may not align with all use cases.

boost::vector

Introduced in Boost 1.48.0, boost::vector provides similar functionality to std::vector. However, it does not offer any additional threading guarantees beyond those provided by the C standard. Therefore, boost::vector is also not inherently thread-safe.

Conclusion

Neither std::vector nor boost::vector are inherently thread-safe. To ensure thread safety when using these containers concurrently, external locking mechanisms must be implemented. Alternatively, consider using synchronization primitives like std::mutex or boost::shared_mutex to control access to the shared objects. By understanding the threading guarantees of these containers and implementing appropriate synchronization where necessary, you can safely use them in multithreaded environments.

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