| Inherits from | |
| Conforms to | |
| Framework | /System/Library/Frameworks/Foundation.framework |
| Availability | Available in Mac OS X v10.0 and later. |
| Companion guide | |
| Declared in | NSDistributedLock.h |
The NSDistributedLock class defines an object that multiple applications on multiple hosts can use to restrict access to some shared resource, such as a file.
The lock is implemented by an entry (such as a file or directory) in the file system. For multiple applications to use an NSDistributedLock object to coordinate their activities, the lock must be writable on a file system accessible to all hosts on which the applications might be running.
Use the tryLock method to attempt to acquire a lock. You should generally use the unlock method to release the lock rather than breakLock.
NSDistributedLock doesn’t conform to the NSLocking protocol, nor does it have a lock method. The protocol’s lock method is intended to block the execution of the thread until successful. For an NSDistributedLock object, this could mean polling the file system at some predetermined rate. A better solution is to provide the tryLock method and let you determine the polling frequency that makes sense for your application.
Returns an NSDistributedLock object initialized to use as the locking object the file-system entry specified by a given path.
+ (NSDistributedLock *)lockWithPath:(NSString *)aPath
All of aPath up to the last component itself must exist. You can use NSFileManager to create (and set permissions) for any nonexistent intermediate directories.
An NSDistributedLock object initialized to use as the locking object the file-system entry specified by aPath.
For applications to use the lock, aPath must be accessible to—and writable by—all hosts on which the applications might be running.
NSDistributedLock.hForces the lock to be relinquished.
- (void)breakLock
This method always succeeds unless the lock has been damaged. If another process has already unlocked or broken the lock, this method has no effect. You should generally use unlock rather than breakLock to relinquish a lock.
Warning:
Because breakLock can release another process’s lock, it should be used with great caution.
Even if you break a lock, there’s no guarantee that you will then be able to acquire the lock—another process might get it before your tryLock is invoked.
Raises an NSGenericException if the lock could not be removed.
NSDistributedLock.hInitializes an NSDistributedLock object to use as the lock the file-system entry specified by a given path.
- (id)initWithPath:(NSString *)aPath
All of aPath up to the last component itself must exist. You can use NSFileManager to create (and set permissions) for any nonexistent intermediate directories.
An NSDistributedLock object initialized to use as the locking object the file-system entry specified by aPath.
For applications to use the lock, aPath must be accessible to—and writable by—all hosts on which the applications might be running.
NSDistributedLock.hReturns the time the receiver was acquired by any of the NSDistributedLock objects using the same path.
- (NSDate *)lockDate
The time the receiver was acquired by any of the NSDistributedLock objects using the same path. Returns nil if the lock doesn’t exist.
This method is potentially useful to applications that want to use an age heuristic to decide if a lock is too old and should be broken.
If the creation date on the lock isn’t the date on which you locked it, you’ve lost the lock: it’s been broken since you last checked it.
NSDistributedLock.hAttempts to acquire the receiver and immediately returns a Boolean value that indicates whether the attempt was successful.
- (BOOL)tryLock
YES if the attempt to acquire the receiver was successful, otherwise NO.
Raises NSGenericException if a file-system error occurs.
NSDistributedLock.hRelinquishes the receiver.
- (void)unlock
You should generally use the unlock method rather than breakLock to release a lock.
An NSGenericException is raised if the receiver doesn’t already exist.
NSDistributedLock.hLast updated: 2007-01-22
Mac OS X Reference Library Data Management: Event Handling NSDistributedLock Class Reference