Operating System - Thread Cancellation

What is Thread Cancellation?

Thread cancellation is the process of terminating a thread before it has finished its normal execution.

In a multithreaded environment, sometimes it's necessary to cancel (stop) a thread—for example, when:

• The result is no longer needed.

• The application is shutting down.

• A timeout or error occurs.

 Two Main Types of Thread Cancellation

1. Asynchronous Cancellation

• The target thread is terminated immediately.

• The canceling thread does not wait for the target thread to reach any specific point.

• Can leave shared resources in an inconsistent state if the target is terminated in the middle of an operation.