Changes

C++ 11 allows the creation of asynchronous threads using the std:async template function part of the <future> header. The function returns a std::future type that will store the expected return value of std::async’s parameter function.

A future is an object that can retrieve a value from some provider object (also known as a promise) or function. Simply put in the case of multithreading, a future object will wait until its associated thread has completed and then store its return value.

To retrieve or construct a future object, these functions may be used.

• Async

• promise::get_future

• packaged_task::get_future

However, a future object can only be used if it is in a valid state. Default future objects constructed from the std::async template function are not valid and must be assigned a valid state during execution.

A std::future references a shared state that cannot be shared to other asynchronous return objects. If multiple threads need to wait for the same shared state, std::shared_future class template should be used.