To thread or not to thread?

[lilsim89]

Any advice appreciated:

I'm writing a C++ (Qt for GUI) application that needs to run a function about every minute, though the GUI should still be responsive throughout.

Simply put, do I need to multithread, or is there some other method that I should look into?

[Alsvha]

I would thread it. It means you can update the UI - keeping it responsive - without having to wait for process intensive functions to run first.

[JVene]

Definitely thread it.

You'll want to create a thread that waits on a signal (consider an autoreset event). You'll signal through the event, which releases the thread to do it's work, then it will wait again.

You can use a timer in the GUI thread to initiate a message that signals the event. You may be tempted to use sleep in the thread instead, and while that's also viable, the signal approach is more widely useful for a wide range of purposes, including a queue of jobs. Using bind from boost or some other wrapper for a functor or pointer to function, the queue can be generalized to service any threaded operation. As a design paradigm, I find it indispensable. If you do it right, it can become a small library applicable to all future threading situations.

[lilsim89]

Thanks you guys, I guess I'm going to find a good threading tutorial and take it from there.

- Simon