[RFC PATCH v3 9/9] libcamera: process: Remove `ProcessManager` singleton

Laurent Pinchart laurent.pinchart at ideasonboard.com
Wed Mar 26 16:03:25 CET 2025


Hi Barnabás,

Thank you for the patch.

On Tue, Mar 25, 2025 at 07:08:21PM +0100, Barnabás Pőcze wrote:
> The `ProcessManager` is a singleton class to handle `SIGCHLD` signals
> and report the exit status to the particular `Process` instances.
> 
> However, having a singleton in a library is not favourable and it is
> even less favourable if it installs a signal handler.
> 
> Using pidfd it is possible to avoid the need for the signal handler;
> and the `Process` objects can watch their pidfd themselves, eliminating
> the need for the `ProcessManager` class altogether.
> 
> `P_PIDFD` for `waitid()` was introduced in Linux 5.4, so this change
> raises the minimum supported kernel version. `clone3()`, `CLONE_PIDFD`,
> `pidfd_send_signal()` were all introduced earlier.
> 
> Furthermore, the call to the `unshare()` system call can be removed
> as those options can be passed to `clone3()` directly.
> 
> Signed-off-by: Barnabás Pőcze <barnabas.pocze at ideasonboard.com>
> ---
>  include/libcamera/internal/camera_manager.h |   1 -
>  include/libcamera/internal/process.h        |  34 +--
>  meson.build                                 |   2 +-
>  src/libcamera/process.cpp                   | 241 +++++---------------
>  test/ipc/unixsocket_ipc.cpp                 |   2 -
>  test/log/log_process.cpp                    |   2 -
>  test/process/process_test.cpp               |   2 -
>  7 files changed, 55 insertions(+), 229 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/include/libcamera/internal/camera_manager.h b/include/libcamera/internal/camera_manager.h
> index 0150ca61f..5dfbe1f65 100644
> --- a/include/libcamera/internal/camera_manager.h
> +++ b/include/libcamera/internal/camera_manager.h
> @@ -65,7 +65,6 @@ private:
>  	std::unique_ptr<DeviceEnumerator> enumerator_;
>  
>  	std::unique_ptr<IPAManager> ipaManager_;
> -	ProcessManager processManager_;
>  };
>  
>  } /* namespace libcamera */
> diff --git a/include/libcamera/internal/process.h b/include/libcamera/internal/process.h
> index 14391d60a..e600a49f8 100644
> --- a/include/libcamera/internal/process.h
> +++ b/include/libcamera/internal/process.h
> @@ -7,7 +7,6 @@
>  
>  #pragma once
>  
> -#include <signal.h>
>  #include <string>
>  
>  #include <libcamera/base/signal.h>
> @@ -44,41 +43,14 @@ public:
>  private:
>  	LIBCAMERA_DISABLE_COPY_AND_MOVE(Process)
>  
> -	int isolate();
> -	void died(int wstatus);
> -
>  	pid_t pid_;
>  	enum ExitStatus exitStatus_;
>  	int exitCode_;
>  
> -	friend class ProcessManager;
> -};
> -
> -class ProcessManager
> -{
> -public:
> -	ProcessManager();
> -	~ProcessManager();
> -
> -	void registerProcess(Process *proc);
> -
> -	static ProcessManager *instance();
> -
> -	int writePipe() const;
> -
> -	const struct sigaction &oldsa() const;
> -
> -private:
> -	static ProcessManager *self_;
> -
> -	void sighandler();
> -
> -	std::list<Process *> processes_;
> -
> -	struct sigaction oldsa_;
> +	UniqueFD pidfd_;
> +	std::unique_ptr<EventNotifier> pidfdNotify_;
>  
> -	EventNotifier *sigEvent_;
> -	UniqueFD pipe_[2];
> +	void onPidfdNotify();

We declare member functions before member variables.

>  };
>  
>  } /* namespace libcamera */
> diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
> index 00291d628..bd2c88dfa 100644
> --- a/meson.build
> +++ b/meson.build
> @@ -265,7 +265,7 @@ subdir('Documentation')
>  subdir('test')
>  
>  if not meson.is_cross_build()
> -    kernel_version_req = '>= 5.0.0'
> +    kernel_version_req = '>= 5.4.0'
>      kernel_version = run_command('uname', '-r', check : true).stdout().strip()
>      if not kernel_version.version_compare(kernel_version_req)
>          warning('The current running kernel version @0@ is too old to run libcamera.'
> diff --git a/src/libcamera/process.cpp b/src/libcamera/process.cpp
> index 5fa813300..cadf5c43e 100644
> --- a/src/libcamera/process.cpp
> +++ b/src/libcamera/process.cpp
> @@ -10,15 +10,19 @@
>  #include <algorithm>
>  #include <dirent.h>
>  #include <fcntl.h>
> -#include <list>
> +#include <sched.h>
>  #include <signal.h>
>  #include <string.h>
>  #include <sys/socket.h>
> +#include <sys/syscall.h>
>  #include <sys/types.h>
>  #include <sys/wait.h>
>  #include <unistd.h>
>  #include <vector>
>  
> +#include <linux/sched.h>
> +#include <linux/wait.h> /* glibc only provides `P_PIDFD` in `sys/wait.h` since 2.36 */
> +
>  #include <libcamera/base/event_notifier.h>
>  #include <libcamera/base/log.h>
>  #include <libcamera/base/utils.h>
> @@ -32,37 +36,8 @@ namespace libcamera {
>  
>  LOG_DEFINE_CATEGORY(Process)
>  
> -/**
> - * \class ProcessManager
> - * \brief Manager of processes
> - *
> - * The ProcessManager singleton keeps track of all created Process instances,
> - * and manages the signal handling involved in terminating processes.
> - */
> -
>  namespace {
>  
> -void sigact(int signal, siginfo_t *info, void *ucontext)
> -{
> -#pragma GCC diagnostic push
> -#pragma GCC diagnostic ignored "-Wunused-result"
> -	/*
> -	 * We're in a signal handler so we can't log any message, and we need
> -	 * to continue anyway.
> -	 */
> -	char data = 0;
> -	write(ProcessManager::instance()->writePipe(), &data, sizeof(data));
> -#pragma GCC diagnostic pop
> -
> -	const struct sigaction &oldsa = ProcessManager::instance()->oldsa();
> -	if (oldsa.sa_flags & SA_SIGINFO) {
> -		oldsa.sa_sigaction(signal, info, ucontext);
> -	} else {
> -		if (oldsa.sa_handler != SIG_IGN && oldsa.sa_handler != SIG_DFL)
> -			oldsa.sa_handler(signal);
> -	}
> -}
> -
>  void closeAllFdsExcept(Span<const int> fds)
>  {
>  	std::vector<int> v(fds.begin(), fds.end());
> @@ -113,129 +88,6 @@ void closeAllFdsExcept(Span<const int> fds)
>  
>  } /* namespace */
>  
> -void ProcessManager::sighandler()
> -{
> -	char data;
> -	ssize_t ret = read(pipe_[0].get(), &data, sizeof(data));
> -	if (ret < 0) {
> -		LOG(Process, Error)
> -			<< "Failed to read byte from signal handler pipe";
> -		return;
> -	}
> -
> -	for (auto it = processes_.begin(); it != processes_.end();) {
> -		Process *process = *it;
> -
> -		int wstatus;
> -		pid_t pid = waitpid(process->pid_, &wstatus, WNOHANG);
> -		if (process->pid_ != pid) {
> -			++it;
> -			continue;
> -		}
> -
> -		it = processes_.erase(it);
> -		process->died(wstatus);
> -	}
> -}
> -
> -/**
> - * \brief Register process with process manager
> - * \param[in] proc Process to register
> - *
> - * This function registers the \a proc with the process manager. It
> - * shall be called by the parent process after successfully forking, in
> - * order to let the parent signal process termination.
> - */
> -void ProcessManager::registerProcess(Process *proc)
> -{
> -	processes_.push_back(proc);
> -}
> -
> -ProcessManager *ProcessManager::self_ = nullptr;
> -
> -/**
> - * \brief Construct a ProcessManager instance
> - *
> - * The ProcessManager class is meant to only be instantiated once, by the
> - * CameraManager.
> - */
> -ProcessManager::ProcessManager()
> -{
> -	if (self_)
> -		LOG(Process, Fatal)
> -			<< "Multiple ProcessManager objects are not allowed";
> -
> -	sigaction(SIGCHLD, NULL, &oldsa_);
> -
> -	struct sigaction sa;
> -	memset(&sa, 0, sizeof(sa));
> -	sa.sa_sigaction = &sigact;
> -	memcpy(&sa.sa_mask, &oldsa_.sa_mask, sizeof(sa.sa_mask));
> -	sigaddset(&sa.sa_mask, SIGCHLD);
> -	sa.sa_flags = oldsa_.sa_flags | SA_SIGINFO;
> -
> -	sigaction(SIGCHLD, &sa, NULL);
> -
> -	int pipe[2];
> -	if (pipe2(pipe, O_CLOEXEC | O_DIRECT | O_NONBLOCK))
> -		LOG(Process, Fatal)
> -			<< "Failed to initialize pipe for signal handling";
> -
> -	pipe_[0] = UniqueFD(pipe[0]);
> -	pipe_[1] = UniqueFD(pipe[1]);
> -
> -	sigEvent_ = new EventNotifier(pipe_[0].get(), EventNotifier::Read);
> -	sigEvent_->activated.connect(this, &ProcessManager::sighandler);
> -
> -	self_ = this;
> -}
> -
> -ProcessManager::~ProcessManager()
> -{
> -	sigaction(SIGCHLD, &oldsa_, NULL);
> -
> -	delete sigEvent_;
> -
> -	self_ = nullptr;
> -}
> -
> -/**
> - * \brief Retrieve the Process manager instance
> - *
> - * The ProcessManager is constructed by the CameraManager. This function shall
> - * be used to retrieve the single instance of the manager.
> - *
> - * \return The Process manager instance
> - */
> -ProcessManager *ProcessManager::instance()
> -{
> -	return self_;
> -}
> -
> -/**
> - * \brief Retrieve the Process manager's write pipe
> - *
> - * This function is meant only to be used by the static signal handler.
> - *
> - * \return Pipe for writing
> - */
> -int ProcessManager::writePipe() const
> -{
> -	return pipe_[1].get();
> -}
> -
> -/**
> - * \brief Retrive the old signal action data
> - *
> - * This function is meant only to be used by the static signal handler.
> - *
> - * \return The old signal action data
> - */
> -const struct sigaction &ProcessManager::oldsa() const
> -{
> -	return oldsa_;
> -}
> -
>  /**
>   * \class Process
>   * \brief Process object
> @@ -286,8 +138,6 @@ int Process::start(const std::string &path,
>  		   Span<const std::string> args,
>  		   Span<const int> fds)
>  {
> -	int ret;
> -
>  	if (pid_ > 0)
>  		return -EBUSY;
>  
> @@ -296,20 +146,26 @@ int Process::start(const std::string &path,
>  			return -EINVAL;
>  	}
>  
> -	int childPid = fork();
> -	if (childPid == -1) {
> -		ret = -errno;
> +	int pidfd;
> +	clone_args cargs = {};
> +
> +	cargs.flags = CLONE_CLEAR_SIGHAND | CLONE_PIDFD | CLONE_NEWUSER | CLONE_NEWNET;
> +	cargs.pidfd = reinterpret_cast<uintptr_t>(&pidfd);
> +	cargs.exit_signal = SIGCHLD;
> +
> +	long childPid = syscall(SYS_clone3, &cargs, sizeof(cargs));
> +	if (childPid < 0) {
> +		int ret = -errno;
>  		LOG(Process, Error) << "Failed to fork: " << strerror(-ret);
>  		return ret;
> -	} else if (childPid) {
> -		pid_ = childPid;
> -		ProcessManager::instance()->registerProcess(this);
> +	}
>  
> -		return 0;
> +	if (childPid) {
> +		pid_ = childPid;
> +		pidfd_ = UniqueFD(pidfd);
> +		pidfdNotify_ = std::make_unique<EventNotifier>(pidfd_.get(), EventNotifier::Type::Read);
> +		pidfdNotify_->activated.connect(this, &Process::onPidfdNotify);
>  	} else {
> -		if (isolate())
> -			_exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
> -
>  		closeAllFdsExcept(fds);
>  
>  		const char *file = utils::secure_getenv("LIBCAMERA_LOG_FILE");
> @@ -328,35 +184,40 @@ int Process::start(const std::string &path,
>  
>  		exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
>  	}
> -}
> -
> -int Process::isolate()
> -{
> -	int ret = unshare(CLONE_NEWUSER | CLONE_NEWNET);
> -	if (ret) {
> -		ret = -errno;
> -		LOG(Process, Error) << "Failed to unshare execution context: "
> -				    << strerror(-ret);
> -		return ret;
> -	}
>  
>  	return 0;
>  }
>  
> -/**
> - * \brief SIGCHLD handler
> - * \param[in] wstatus The status as output by waitpid()
> - *
> - * This function is called when the process associated with Process terminates.
> - * It emits the Process::finished signal.
> - */
> -void Process::died(int wstatus)
> +void Process::onPidfdNotify()
>  {
> -	pid_ = -1;
> -	exitStatus_ = WIFEXITED(wstatus) ? NormalExit : SignalExit;
> -	exitCode_ = exitStatus_ == NormalExit ? WEXITSTATUS(wstatus) : -1;
> +	auto pidfdNotify = std::exchange(pidfdNotify_, {});
> +	auto pidfd = std::exchange(pidfd_, {});
> +	auto pid = std::exchange(pid_, -1);
> +
> +	ASSERT(pidfdNotify);

Do we have to guard against this, or could we just write

	pidfdNotify_.reset();

?

> +	ASSERT(pidfd.isValid());
> +	ASSERT(pid > 0);
> +
> +	siginfo_t info;
> +
> +	if (waitid(static_cast<idtype_t>(P_PIDFD), pidfd.get(), &info, WNOHANG | WEXITED) >= 0) {
> +		ASSERT(info.si_pid == pid);
>  
> -	finished.emit(exitStatus_, exitCode_);
> +		LOG(Process, Debug)
> +			<< this << "[" << pid << ":" << pidfd.get() << "]"

Sounds like a candidate to inherit from Loggable and avoid duplication
of this in log message. You would need to reset pid_ to -1 at the end of
the function though. Except it should be done before emitting the
finished signal, as there's no running_ variable anymore. Annoying... I
wonder if we should keep running_, or if there's a cleaner way.

Reviewed-by: Laurent Pinchart <laurent.pinchart at ideasonboard.com>

> +			<< " code: " << info.si_code
> +			<< " status: " << info.si_status;
> +
> +		exitStatus_ = info.si_code == CLD_EXITED ? Process::NormalExit : Process::SignalExit;
> +		exitCode_ = info.si_code == CLD_EXITED ? info.si_status : -1;
> +
> +		finished.emit(exitStatus_, exitCode_);
> +	} else {
> +		int err = errno;
> +		LOG(Process, Warning)
> +			<< this << "[" << pid << ":" << pidfd.get() << "]"
> +			<< " waitid() failed: " << strerror(err);
> +	}
>  }
>  
>  /**
> @@ -394,8 +255,8 @@ void Process::died(int wstatus)
>   */
>  void Process::kill()
>  {
> -	if (pid_ > 0)
> -		::kill(pid_, SIGKILL);
> +	if (pidfd_.isValid())
> +		syscall(SYS_pidfd_send_signal, pidfd_.get(), SIGKILL, nullptr, 0);
>  }
>  
>  } /* namespace libcamera */
> diff --git a/test/ipc/unixsocket_ipc.cpp b/test/ipc/unixsocket_ipc.cpp
> index df7d9c2b4..f3e3c09ef 100644
> --- a/test/ipc/unixsocket_ipc.cpp
> +++ b/test/ipc/unixsocket_ipc.cpp
> @@ -209,8 +209,6 @@ protected:
>  	}
>  
>  private:
> -	ProcessManager processManager_;
> -
>  	unique_ptr<IPCPipeUnixSocket> ipc_;
>  };
>  
> diff --git a/test/log/log_process.cpp b/test/log/log_process.cpp
> index 9609e23d5..367b78803 100644
> --- a/test/log/log_process.cpp
> +++ b/test/log/log_process.cpp
> @@ -137,8 +137,6 @@ private:
>  		exitCode_ = exitCode;
>  	}
>  
> -	ProcessManager processManager_;
> -
>  	Process proc_;
>  	Process::ExitStatus exitStatus_ = Process::NotExited;
>  	string logPath_;
> diff --git a/test/process/process_test.cpp b/test/process/process_test.cpp
> index a88d8fef1..fe76666e6 100644
> --- a/test/process/process_test.cpp
> +++ b/test/process/process_test.cpp
> @@ -86,8 +86,6 @@ private:
>  		exitCode_ = exitCode;
>  	}
>  
> -	ProcessManager processManager_;
> -
>  	Process proc_;
>  	enum Process::ExitStatus exitStatus_;
>  	int exitCode_;

-- 
Regards,

Laurent Pinchart


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