Information for Managers - Understanding pthreads?

dnotj asks: "The boss (who is very technically astute) says: NO to using pthreads in any of our production applications. He wants us to do things the old fashion way (fork(), exec(), shared memory, etc). His reason for this is that he doesn't understand pthreads (by his own admission). Hence, he is limiting us to using methods and techniques that he understands. He is reasonable and would see our side (the developers) if presented with enough understanding in a satisfactory format. What I'm looking for are document technically detailed yet directed more towards management. Not something on the level of 'pthreads for Dummies', but more along the lines of 'pthreads for Managers'. Any suggestions? URLs or Books are fine."

Comments

This sounds to me like a misunderstanding...

[joto]

The boss (who is very technically astute) says: NO to using pthreads in any of our production applications. He wants us to do things the old fashion way (fork(), exec(), shared memory, etc).

I applaud your boss for his decision. There are many disadvantages of using threads, that I'm more than sure your boss knows about. See e.g. this discussion for more detail.

Now, granted, some applications will also benefit enough from threads to outweigh those disadvantages. It is rare, but it happens.

What I'm looking for are document technically detailed yet directed more towards management. Not something on the level of 'pthreads for Dummies', but more along the lines of 'pthreads for Managers'. Any suggestions? URLs or Books are fine."

If you have a boss that already knows enough technical stuff to micromanage your project in this way, I'm sure he is capable of googling out a pthread introduction himself. What you should be focusing on is explaining exactly why your projects needs threads, and why fork()/exec() won't cut it. This may also result in you accepting his decision, but that is as it should be.

Re:But separate processes ARE better.

[sporty]

>>If i need to split off the process once per day, forking is fine.

Bullshit.

Some context switches are cheaper than others :P Point being, fork has had a long running history of more expensive context switches copying code from a written to memory block and process creation vs threads. :P

This is the only time I'll respond to an AC since "bullshit" is apparently an argument now-a-days.