singleton thread;

// Used to kill or pause our own or other threads.
idle kill();
idle pause();

// Get status information about a thread
native bool isScheduled();
native bool isPaused();
native bool isIdle();
native bool isDead();
bool isAlive() { return !isDead(); }

// Create a new (paused) thread for a given function
native thread create(char[] name);

// Schedule a (paused) thread to run the next frame
native restart();

// Call a (paused) thread directly - returns when the thread exits or
// calls an idle function.
idle resume();

// Wait for a thread to finish. Will not return until the thread is
// dead.
idle wait();

// Call a function as a thread
thread call(char[] name)
{
  var t = create(name);
  t.resume();
  return t;
}

// Start a function as a thread in the background
thread start(char[] name)
{
  var t = create(name);
  t.restart();
  return t;
}