setcontext is one of a family of C library functions (the others being getcontext, makecontext and swapcontext) used for context control. The setcontext family allows the implementation in C of advanced control flow patterns such as iterators, fibers, and coroutines. They may be viewed as an advanced version of setjmp/longjmp; whereas the latter allows only a single non-local jump up the stack, setcontext allows the creation of multiple cooperative threads of control, each with its own stack.