Threads Cancellation Types

The pthread_cancel() function sends a cancellation request to a thread.

Whether and when the target thread reacts to the cancellation request depends on two attributes that are under the control of that thread: its cancelability state (enabled/disabled) and type:

• Deferred (default behavior) means that cancellation will be delayed until the thread calls a function pthread_testcancel().

• Asynchronous means that the thread can be cancelled at any time (usually immediately, but the system does not guarantee this).