Dex – 1: Threads for Blocking APIs
Description: Reference for Dex-1: Threads for Blocking APIs

#### Threads for Blocking APIs

There are often needs to integrate with blocking APIs that do not fit well into the async or future-based models of the GNOME ecosystem. In those cases, you may want to use a dedicated thread for blocking calls so that you do not disrupt main loops, timeouts, or fiber scheduling.

# Creating a Dedicated Thread

Use the `dex_thread_spawn()` function to spawn a new thread. When the thread completes the resulting future will either resolve or reject.

    typedef DexFuture *(*DexThreadFunc) (gpointer user_data);

    DexFuture *future = dex_thread_spawn ("[my-thread]", thread_func, thread_data,
                                          (GDestroyNotify)thread_data_free);

# Waiting for Future Completion

Since dedicated threads do not have a `DexScheduler` on them and are not a fiber, you may not await futures. Awaiting would suspend a fiber stack but there is no such fiber to suspend.

To make integration easier, you may use `dex_thread_wait_for()` to wait for a future to complete. The mechanism used in this case is a mutex and condition variable which will be signaled when the dependent future completes.