Calling pthread_cond_signal without locking mutex
I read somewhere that we should lock the mutex before calling pthread_cond_signal and unlock the mutext after calling it: The pthread_cond_signal() routine is used to signal (or wake up) another thread which is waiting on the condition variable. It should be called after mutex is locked, and must unlock mutex in order for pthread_cond_wait() routine to complete. My question is: isn't it OK to call pthread_cond_signal or pthread_cond_broadcast methods without locking the mutex? If you do not lock the mutex in the codepath that changes the condition and signals, you can lose wakeups. Consider