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doc/proposals/concurrency/text/concurrency.tex
rfb31cb8 r21a1efb 4 4 % ====================================================================== 5 5 % ====================================================================== 6 Several tool can be used to solve concurrency challenges. Since many of these challenges appear with the use of mutable shared-state, some languages and libraries simply disallow mutable shared-state (Erlang~\cite{Erlang}, Haskell~\cite{Haskell}, Akka (Scala)~\cite{Akka}). In these paradigms, interaction among concurrent objects relies on message passing~\cite{Thoth,Harmony,V-Kernel} or other paradigms closely relate to networking concepts (channels\cit for example). However, in languages that use routine calls as their core abstraction-mechanism, these approaches force a clear distinction between concurrent and non-concurrent paradigms (i.e., message passing versus routine call). This distinction in turn means that, in order to be effective, programmers need to learn two sets of designs patterns. While this distinction can be hidden away in library code, effective use of the librairy still has to take both paradigms into account.6 Several tool can be used to solve concurrency challenges. Since many of these challenges appear with the use of mutable shared-state, some languages and libraries simply disallow mutable shared-state (Erlang~\cite{Erlang}, Haskell~\cite{Haskell}, Akka (Scala)~\cite{Akka}). In these paradigms, interaction among concurrent objects relies on message passing~\cite{Thoth,Harmony,V-Kernel} or other paradigms that closely relate to networking concepts (channels\cit for example). However, in languages that use routine calls as their core abstraction-mechanism, these approaches force a clear distinction between concurrent and non-concurrent paradigms (i.e., message passing versus routine call). This distinction in turn means that, in order to be effective, programmers need to learn two sets of designs patterns. While this distinction can be hidden away in library code, effective use of the librairy still has to take both paradigms into account. 7 7 8 8 Approaches based on shared memory are more closely related to non-concurrent paradigms since they often rely on basic constructs like routine calls and shared objects. At the lowest level, concurrent paradigms are implemented as atomic operations and locks. Many such mechanisms have been proposed, including semaphores~\cite{Dijkstra68b} and path expressions~\cite{Campbell74}. However, for productivity reasons it is desireable to have a higher-level construct be the core concurrency paradigm~\cite{HPP:Study}. 9 9 10 An approach that is worth mentionning because it is gaining in popularity is transactionnal memory~\cite{Dice10}[Check citation]. While this approach is even pursued by system languages like \CC\cit, the performance and feature set is currently too restrictive to be the main concurrency paradigm for systemslanguage, which is why it was rejected as the core paradigm for concurrency in \CFA.11 12 One of the most natural, elegant, and efficient mechanisms for synchronization and communication, especially for shared -memory systems, is the \emph{monitor}. Monitors were first proposed by Brinch Hansen~\cite{Hansen73} and later described and extended by C.A.R.~Hoare~\cite{Hoare74}. Many programming languages---e.g., Concurrent Pascal~\cite{ConcurrentPascal}, Mesa~\cite{Mesa}, Modula~\cite{Modula-2}, Turing~\cite{Turing:old}, Modula-3~\cite{Modula-3}, NeWS~\cite{NeWS}, Emerald~\cite{Emerald}, \uC~\cite{Buhr92a} and Java~\cite{Java}---provide monitors as explicit language constructs. In addition, operating-system kernels and device drivers have a monitor-like structure, although they often use lower-level primitives such as semaphores or locks to simulate monitors. For these reasons, this project proposes monitors as the core concurrency-construct.10 An approach that is worth mentionning because it is gaining in popularity is transactionnal memory~\cite{Dice10}[Check citation]. While this approach is even pursued by system languages like \CC\cit, the performance and feature set is currently too restrictive to be the main concurrency paradigm for general purpose language, which is why it was rejected as the core paradigm for concurrency in \CFA. 11 12 One of the most natural, elegant, and efficient mechanisms for synchronization and communication, especially for shared memory systems, is the \emph{monitor}. Monitors were first proposed by Brinch Hansen~\cite{Hansen73} and later described and extended by C.A.R.~Hoare~\cite{Hoare74}. Many programming languages---e.g., Concurrent Pascal~\cite{ConcurrentPascal}, Mesa~\cite{Mesa}, Modula~\cite{Modula-2}, Turing~\cite{Turing:old}, Modula-3~\cite{Modula-3}, NeWS~\cite{NeWS}, Emerald~\cite{Emerald}, \uC~\cite{Buhr92a} and Java~\cite{Java}---provide monitors as explicit language constructs. In addition, operating-system kernels and device drivers have a monitor-like structure, although they often use lower-level primitives such as semaphores or locks to simulate monitors. For these reasons, this project proposes monitors as the core concurrency-construct. 13 13 14 14 \section{Basics} 15 Non-determinism requires concurrent systems to offer support for mutual-exclusion and synchronisation. Mutual-exclusion is the concept that only a fixed number of threads can access a critical section at any given time, where a critical section is a group of instructions on an associated portion of data that requires the restricted access. On the other hand, synchronization enforces relative ordering of execution and synchronization tools providenumerous mechanisms to establish timing relationships among threads.15 Non-determinism requires concurrent systems to offer support for mutual-exclusion and synchronisation. Mutual-exclusion is the concept that only a fixed number of threads can access a critical section at any given time, where a critical section is a group of instructions on an associated portion of data that requires the restricted access. On the other hand, synchronization enforces relative ordering of execution and synchronization tools numerous mechanisms to establish timing relationships among threads. 16 16 17 17 \subsection{Mutual-Exclusion} 18 As mentionned above, mutual-exclusion is the guarantee that only a fix number of threads can enter a critical section at once. However, many solution s exist for mutual exclusion, which vary in terms of performance, flexibility and ease of use. Methods range from low-level locks, which are fast and flexible but require significant attention to be correct, to higher-level mutual-exclusion methods, which sacrifice some performance in order to improve ease of use. Ease of use comes by either guaranteeing some problems cannot occur (e.g., being deadlock free) or by offering a more explicit coupling between data and corresponding critical section. For example, the \CC \code{std::atomic<T>} offers an easy way to express mutual-exclusion on a restricted set of operations (e.g.: reading/writing large types atomically). Another challenge with low-level locks is composability. Locks have restricted composabilitybecause it takes careful organising for multiple locks to be used while preventing deadlocks. Easing composability is another feature higher-level mutual-exclusion mechanisms often offer.18 As mentionned above, mutual-exclusion is the guarantee that only a fix number of threads can enter a critical section at once. However, many solution exists for mutual exclusion which vary in terms of performance, flexibility and ease of use. Methods range from low-level locks, which are fast and flexible but require significant attention to be correct, to higher-level mutual-exclusion methods, which sacrifice some performance in order to improve ease of use. Ease of use comes by either guaranteeing some problems cannot occur (e.g., being deadlock free) or by offering a more explicit coupling between data and corresponding critical section. For example, the \CC \code{std::atomic<T>} which offer an easy way to express mutual-exclusion on a restricted set of operations (.e.g: reading/writing large types atomically). Another challenge with low-level locks is composability. Locks are not composable because it takes careful organising for multiple locks to be used while preventing deadlocks. Easing composability is another feature higher-level mutual-exclusion mechanisms often offer. 19 19 20 20 \subsection{Synchronization} 21 As for mutual-exclusion, low -level synchronisation primitives often offer good performance and good flexibility at the cost of ease of use. Again, higher-level mechanism often simplify usage by adding better coupling between synchronization and data, e.g.: message passing, or offering simple solution to otherwise involved challenges. An example is barging. As mentioned above, synchronization can be expressed as guaranteeing that event \textit{X} always happens before \textit{Y}. Most of the time, synchronisation happens around a critical section, where threads must acquire critical sections in a certain order. However, it may also be desirable to guarantee that event \textit{Z} does not occur between \textit{X} and \textit{Y}. Not satisfying this property called barging. For example, where event \textit{X} tries to effect event \textit{Y} but another thread acquires the critical section and emits \textit{Z} before \textit{Y}. Preventing or detecting barging is an involved challenge with low-level locks, which can be made much easier by higher-level constructs. This challenge is often split into two different methods, barging avoidance and barging prevention. Algorithms that use status flags and other flag variables to detect barging threads are said to be using barging avoidance while algorithms that baton-passing locks between threads instead of releasing the locks are said to be using barging prevention.21 As for mutual-exclusion, low level synchronisation primitive often offer good performance and good flexibility at the cost of ease of use. Again, higher-level mechanism often simplify usage by adding better coupling between synchronization and data, .eg., message passing, or offering simple solution to otherwise involved challenges. An example of this is barging. As mentionned above synchronization can be expressed as guaranteeing that event \textit{X} always happens before \textit{Y}. Most of the time synchronisation happens around a critical section, where threads most acquire said critical section in a certain order. However, it may also be desired to be able to guarantee that event \textit{Z} does not occur between \textit{X} and \textit{Y}. This is called barging, where event \textit{X} tries to effect event \textit{Y} but anoter thread races to grab the critical section and emits \textit{Z} before \textit{Y}. Preventing or detecting barging is an involved challenge with low-level locks, which can be made much easier by higher-level constructs. 22 22 23 23 % ====================================================================== … … 28 28 A monitor is a set of routines that ensure mutual exclusion when accessing shared state. This concept is generally associated with Object-Oriented Languages like Java~\cite{Java} or \uC~\cite{uC++book} but does not strictly require OO semantics. The only requirements is the ability to declare a handle to a shared object and a set of routines that act on it : 29 29 \begin{cfacode} 30 typedef /*some monitor type*/ monitor;31 int f(monitor & m);32 33 int main() {34 monitor m; //Handle m35 f(m); //Routine using handle36 }30 typedef /*some monitor type*/ monitor; 31 int f(monitor & m); 32 33 int main() { 34 monitor m; //Handle m 35 f(m); //Routine using handle 36 } 37 37 \end{cfacode} 38 38 … … 47 47 48 48 \begin{cfacode} 49 monitor counter_t { /*...see section $\ref{data}$...*/ }; 50 51 void ?{}(counter_t & nomutex this); //constructor 52 size_t ++?(counter_t & mutex this); //increment 53 54 //need for mutex is platform dependent 55 void ?{}(size_t * this, counter_t & mutex cnt); //conversion 56 \end{cfacode} 49 monitor counter_t { /*...see section $\ref{data}$...*/ }; 50 51 void ?{}(counter_t & nomutex this); //constructor 52 size_t ++?(counter_t & mutex this); //increment 53 54 //need for mutex is platform dependent 55 void ?{}(size_t * this, counter_t & mutex cnt); //conversion 56 \end{cfacode} 57 58 Here, the constructor(\code{?\{\}}) uses the \code{nomutex} keyword to signify that it does not acquire the monitor mutual-exclusion when constructing. This semantics is because an object not yet constructed should never be shared and therefore does not require mutual exclusion. The prefix increment operator uses \code{mutex} to protect the incrementing process from race conditions. Finally, there is a conversion operator from \code{counter_t} to \code{size_t}. This conversion may or may not require the \code{mutex} keyword depending on whether or not reading an \code{size_t} is an atomic operation. 59 60 Having both \code{mutex} and \code{nomutex} keywords is redundant based on the meaning of a routine having neither of these keywords. For example, given a routine without qualifiers \code{void foo(counter_t & this)}, then it is reasonable that it should default to the safest option \code{mutex}, whereas assuming \code{nomutex} is unsafe and may cause subtle errors. In fact, \code{nomutex} is the "normal" parameter behaviour, with the \code{nomutex} keyword effectively stating explicitly that "this routine is not special". Another alternative is to make having exactly one of these keywords mandatory, which would provide the same semantics but without the ambiguity of supporting routines neither keyword. Mandatory keywords would also have the added benefit of being self-documented but at the cost of extra typing. While there are several benefits to mandatory keywords, they do bring a few challenges. Mandatory keywords in \CFA would imply that the compiler must know without a doubt wheter or not a parameter is a monitor or not. Since \CFA relies heavily on traits as an abstraction mechanism, the distinction between a type that is a monitor and a type that looks like a monitor can become blurred. For this reason, \CFA only has the \code{mutex} keyword. 61 62 63 The next semantic decision is to establish when \code{mutex} may be used as a type qualifier. Consider the following declarations: 64 \begin{cfacode} 65 int f1(monitor & mutex m); 66 int f2(const monitor & mutex m); 67 int f3(monitor ** mutex m); 68 int f4(monitor * mutex m []); 69 int f5(graph(monitor*) & mutex m); 70 \end{cfacode} 71 The problem is to indentify which object(s) should be acquired. Furthermore, each object needs to be acquired only once. In the case of simple routines like \code{f1} and \code{f2} it is easy to identify an exhaustive list of objects to acquire on entry. Adding indirections (\code{f3}) still allows the compiler and programmer to indentify which object is acquired. However, adding in arrays (\code{f4}) makes it much harder. Array lengths are not necessarily known in C, and even then making sure objects are only acquired once becomes none-trivial. This can be extended to absurd limits like \code{f5}, which uses a graph of monitors. To keep everyone as sane as possible~\cite{Chicken}, this projects imposes the requirement that a routine may only acquire one monitor per parameter and it must be the type of the parameter with one level of indirection (ignoring potential qualifiers). Also note that while routine \code{f3} can be supported, meaning that monitor \code{**m} is be acquired, passing an array to this routine would be type safe and yet result in undefined behavior because only the first element of the array is acquired. This is specially true for non-copyable objects like monitors, where an array of pointers is simplest way to express a group of monitors. However, this ambiguity is part of the C type-system with respects to arrays. For this reason, \code{mutex} is disallowed in the context where arrays may be passed: 72 73 \begin{cfacode} 74 int f1(monitor & mutex m); //Okay : recommanded case 75 int f2(monitor * mutex m); //Okay : could be an array but probably not 76 int f3(monitor mutex m []); //Not Okay : Array of unkown length 77 int f4(monitor ** mutex m); //Not Okay : Could be an array 78 int f5(monitor * mutex m []); //Not Okay : Array of unkown length 79 \end{cfacode} 80 81 Unlike object-oriented monitors, where calling a mutex member \emph{implicitly} acquires mutual-exclusion, \CFA uses an explicit mechanism to acquire mutual-exclusion. A consequence of this approach is that it extends naturally to multi-monitor calls. 82 \begin{cfacode} 83 int f(MonitorA & mutex a, MonitorB & mutex b); 84 85 MonitorA a; 86 MonitorB b; 87 f(a,b); 88 \end{cfacode} 89 The capacity to acquire multiple locks before entering a critical section is called \emph{\gls{group-acquire}}. In practice, writing multi-locking routines that do not lead to deadlocks is tricky. Having language support for such a feature is therefore a significant asset for \CFA. In the case presented above, \CFA guarantees that the order of aquisition is consistent across calls to routines using the same monitors as arguments. However, since \CFA monitors use multi-acquisition locks, users can effectively force the acquiring order. For example, notice which routines use \code{mutex}/\code{nomutex} and how this affects aquiring order: 90 \begin{cfacode} 91 void foo(A & mutex a, B & mutex b) { //acquire a & b 92 ... 93 } 94 95 void bar(A & mutex a, B & /*nomutex*/ b) { //acquire a 96 ... foo(a, b); ... //acquire b 97 } 98 99 void baz(A & /*nomutex*/ a, B & mutex b) { //acquire b 100 ... foo(a, b); ... //acquire a 101 } 102 \end{cfacode} 103 The multi-acquisition monitor lock allows a monitor lock to be acquired by both \code{bar} or \code{baz} and acquired again in \code{foo}. In the calls to \code{bar} and \code{baz} the monitors are acquired in opposite order. 104 105 However, such use leads the lock acquiring order problem. In the example above, the user uses implicit ordering in the case of function \code{foo} but explicit ordering in the case of \code{bar} and \code{baz}. This subtle mistake means that calling these routines concurrently may lead to deadlock and is therefore undefined behavior. As shown on several occasion\cit, solving this problem requires: 106 \begin{enumerate} 107 \item Dynamically tracking of the monitor-call order. 108 \item Implement rollback semantics. 109 \end{enumerate} 110 While the first requirement is already a significant constraint on the system, implementing a general rollback semantics in a C-like language is prohibitively complex \cit. In \CFA, users simply need to be carefull when acquiring multiple monitors at the same time. 111 112 Finally, for convenience, monitors support multiple acquiring, that is acquiring a monitor while already holding it does not cause a deadlock. It simply increments an internal counter which is then used to release the monitor after the number of acquires and releases match up. This is particularly usefull when monitor routines use other monitor routines as helpers or for recursions. For example: 113 \begin{cfacode} 114 monitor bank { 115 int money; 116 log_t usr_log; 117 }; 118 119 void deposit( bank & mutex b, int deposit ) { 120 b.money += deposit; 121 b.usr_log | "Adding" | deposit | endl; 122 } 123 124 void transfer( bank & mutex mybank, bank & mutex yourbank, int me2you) { 125 deposit( mybank, -me2you ); 126 deposit( yourbank, me2you ); 127 } 128 \end{cfacode} 129 130 % ====================================================================== 131 % ====================================================================== 132 \subsection{Data semantics} \label{data} 133 % ====================================================================== 134 % ====================================================================== 135 Once the call semantics are established, the next step is to establish data semantics. Indeed, until now a monitor is used simply as a generic handle but in most cases monitors contain shared data. This data should be intrinsic to the monitor declaration to prevent any accidental use of data without its appropriate protection. For example, here is a complete version of the counter showed in section \ref{call}: 136 \begin{cfacode} 137 monitor counter_t { 138 int value; 139 }; 140 141 void ?{}(counter_t & this) { 142 this.cnt = 0; 143 } 144 145 int ?++(counter_t & mutex this) { 146 return ++this.value; 147 } 148 149 //need for mutex is platform dependent here 150 void ?{}(int * this, counter_t & mutex cnt) { 151 *this = (int)cnt; 152 } 153 \end{cfacode} 154 57 155 This counter is used as follows: 58 156 \begin{center} … … 73 171 Notice how the counter is used without any explicit synchronisation and yet supports thread-safe semantics for both reading and writting. 74 172 75 Here, the constructor(\code{?\{\}}) uses the \code{nomutex} keyword to signify that it does not acquire the monitor mutual-exclusion when constructing. This semantics is because an object not yet constructed should never be shared and therefore does not require mutual exclusion. The prefix increment operator uses \code{mutex} to protect the incrementing process from race conditions. Finally, there is a conversion operator from \code{counter_t} to \code{size_t}. This conversion may or may not require the \code{mutex} keyword depending on whether or not reading a \code{size_t} is an atomic operation. 76 77 For maximum usability, monitors use \gls{multi-acq} semantics, which means a single thread can acquire multiple times the same monitor without deadlock. For example, figure \ref{fig:search} uses recursion and \gls{multi-acq} to print values inside a binary tree. 78 \begin{figure} 79 \label{fig:search} 80 \begin{cfacode} 81 monitor printer { ... }; 82 struct tree { 83 tree * left, right; 84 char * value; 85 }; 86 void print(printer & mutex p, char * v); 87 88 void print(printer & mutex p, tree * t) { 89 print(p, t->value); 90 print(p, t->left ); 91 print(p, t->right); 92 } 93 \end{cfacode} 94 \caption{Recursive printing algorithm using \gls{multi-acq}.} 95 \end{figure} 96 97 Having both \code{mutex} and \code{nomutex} keywords is redundant based on the meaning of a routine having neither of these keywords. For example, given a routine without qualifiers \code{void foo(counter_t & this)}, then it is reasonable that it should default to the safest option \code{mutex}, whereas assuming \code{nomutex} is unsafe and may cause subtle errors. In fact, \code{nomutex} is the "normal" parameter behaviour, with the \code{nomutex} keyword effectively stating explicitly that "this routine is not special". Another alternative is making exactly one of these keywords mandatory, which would provide the same semantics but without the ambiguity of supporting routines with neither keyword. Mandatory keywords would also have the added benefit of being self-documented but at the cost of extra typing. While there are several benefits to mandatory keywords, they do bring a few challenges. Mandatory keywords in \CFA would imply that the compiler must know without doubt whether or not a parameter is a monitor or not. Since \CFA relies heavily on traits as an abstraction mechanism, the distinction between a type that is a monitor and a type that looks like a monitor can become blurred. For this reason, \CFA only has the \code{mutex} keyword and uses no keyword to mean \code{nomutex}. 98 99 The next semantic decision is to establish when \code{mutex} may be used as a type qualifier. Consider the following declarations: 100 \begin{cfacode} 101 int f1(monitor & mutex m); 102 int f2(const monitor & mutex m); 103 int f3(monitor ** mutex m); 104 int f4(monitor * mutex m []); 105 int f5(graph(monitor*) & mutex m); 106 \end{cfacode} 107 The problem is to indentify which object(s) should be acquired. Furthermore, each object needs to be acquired only once. In the case of simple routines like \code{f1} and \code{f2} it is easy to identify an exhaustive list of objects to acquire on entry. Adding indirections (\code{f3}) still allows the compiler and programmer to indentify which object is acquired. However, adding in arrays (\code{f4}) makes it much harder. Array lengths are not necessarily known in C, and even then making sure objects are only acquired once becomes none-trivial. This problem can be extended to absurd limits like \code{f5}, which uses a graph of monitors. To make the issue tractable, this project imposes the requirement that a routine may only acquire one monitor per parameter and it must be the type of the parameter with at most one level of indirection (ignoring potential qualifiers). Also note that while routine \code{f3} can be supported, meaning that monitor \code{**m} is be acquired, passing an array to this routine would be type safe and yet result in undefined behavior because only the first element of the array is acquired. However, this ambiguity is part of the C type-system with respects to arrays. For this reason, \code{mutex} is disallowed in the context where arrays may be passed: 108 \begin{cfacode} 109 int f1(monitor & mutex m); //Okay : recommanded case 110 int f2(monitor * mutex m); //Okay : could be an array but probably not 111 int f3(monitor mutex m []); //Not Okay : Array of unkown length 112 int f4(monitor ** mutex m); //Not Okay : Could be an array 113 int f5(monitor * mutex m []); //Not Okay : Array of unkown length 114 \end{cfacode} 115 Note that not all array functions are actually distinct in the type system sense. However, even the code generation could tell the difference, the extra information is still not sufficient to extend meaningfully the monitor call semantic. 116 117 Unlike object-oriented monitors, where calling a mutex member \emph{implicitly} acquires mutual-exclusion often receives an object, \CFA uses an explicit mechanism to acquire mutual-exclusion. A consequence of this approach is that it extends naturally to multi-monitor calls. 118 \begin{cfacode} 119 int f(MonitorA & mutex a, MonitorB & mutex b); 120 121 MonitorA a; 122 MonitorB b; 123 f(a,b); 124 \end{cfacode} 125 The capacity to acquire multiple locks before entering a critical section is called \emph{\gls{bulk-acq}}. In practice, writing multi-locking routines that do not lead to deadlocks is tricky. Having language support for such a feature is therefore a significant asset for \CFA. In the case presented above, \CFA guarantees that the order of aquisition is consistent across calls to routines using the same monitors as arguments. However, since \CFA monitors use \gls{multi-acq} locks, users can effectively force the acquiring order. For example, notice which routines use \code{mutex}/\code{nomutex} and how this affects aquiring order: 126 \begin{cfacode} 127 void foo(A & mutex a, B & mutex b) { //acquire a & b 128 ... 129 } 130 131 void bar(A & mutex a, B & /*nomutex*/ b) { //acquire a 132 ... foo(a, b); ... //acquire b 133 } 134 135 void baz(A & /*nomutex*/ a, B & mutex b) { //acquire b 136 ... foo(a, b); ... //acquire a 137 } 138 \end{cfacode} 139 The \gls{multi-acq} monitor lock allows a monitor lock to be acquired by both \code{bar} or \code{baz} and acquired again in \code{foo}. In the calls to \code{bar} and \code{baz} the monitors are acquired in opposite order. 140 141 However, such use leads to the lock acquiring order problem. In the example above, the user uses implicit ordering in the case of function \code{foo} but explicit ordering in the case of \code{bar} and \code{baz}. This subtle mistake means that calling these routines concurrently may lead to deadlock and is therefore undefined behavior. As shown on several occasion\cit, solving this problem requires: 142 \begin{enumerate} 143 \item Dynamically tracking of the monitor-call order. 144 \item Implement rollback semantics. 145 \end{enumerate} 146 While the first requirement is already a significant constraint on the system, implementing a general rollback semantics in a C-like language is prohibitively complex \cit. In \CFA, users simply need to be carefull when acquiring multiple monitors at the same time or only use \gls{bulk-acq} of all the monitors. 147 148 \Gls{multi-acq} and \gls{bulk-acq} can be used together in interesting ways, for example: 149 \begin{cfacode} 150 monitor bank { ... }; 151 152 void deposit( bank & mutex b, int deposit ); 153 154 void transfer( bank & mutex mybank, bank & mutex yourbank, int me2you) { 155 deposit( mybank, -me2you ); 156 deposit( yourbank, me2you ); 157 } 158 \end{cfacode} 159 This example shows a trivial solution to the bank account transfer problem\cit. Without \gls{multi-acq} and \gls{bulk-acq}, the solution to this problem is much more involved and requires carefull engineering. 160 161 \subsubsection{\code{mutex} statement} \label{mutex-stmt} 162 163 The call semantics discussed aboved have one software engineering issue, only a named routine can acquire the mutual-exclusion of a set of monitor. \CFA offers the \code{mutex} statement to workaround the need for unnecessary names, avoiding a major software engineering problem\cit. Listing \ref{lst:mutex-stmt} shows an example of the \code{mutex} statement, which introduces a new scope in which the mutual-exclusion of a set of monitor is acquired. Beyond naming, the \code{mutex} statement has no semantic difference from a routine call with \code{mutex} parameters. 164 165 \begin{figure} 166 \begin{center} 167 \begin{tabular}{|c|c|} 168 function call & \code{mutex} statement \\ 173 % ====================================================================== 174 % ====================================================================== 175 \subsection{Implementation Details: Interaction with polymorphism} 176 % ====================================================================== 177 % ====================================================================== 178 Depending on the choice of semantics for when monitor locks are acquired, interaction between monitors and \CFA's concept of polymorphism can be complex to support. However, it is shown that entry-point locking solves most of the issues. 179 180 First of all, interaction between \code{otype} polymorphism and monitors is impossible since monitors do not support copying. Therefore, the main question is how to support \code{dtype} polymorphism. Since a monitor's main purpose is to ensure mutual exclusion when accessing shared data, this implies that mutual exclusion is only required for routines that do in fact access shared data. However, since \code{dtype} polymorphism always handles incomplete types (by definition), no \code{dtype} polymorphic routine can access shared data since the data requires knowledge about the type. Therefore, the only concern when combining \code{dtype} polymorphism and monitors is to protect access to routines. 181 182 Before looking into complex control-flow, it is important to present the difference between the two acquiring options : callsite and entry-point locking, i.e. acquiring the monitors before making a mutex routine call or as the first operation of the mutex routine-call. For example: 183 \begin{center} 184 \setlength\tabcolsep{1.5pt} 185 \begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|} 186 Code & \gls{callsite-locking} & \gls{entry-point-locking} \\ 187 \CFA & pseudo-code & pseudo-code \\ 169 188 \hline 170 189 \begin{cfacode}[tabsize=3] 171 monitor M {}; 172 void foo( M & mutex m ) { 173 //critical section 174 } 175 176 void bar( M & m ) { 177 foo( m ); 178 } 179 \end{cfacode}&\begin{cfacode}[tabsize=3] 180 monitor M {}; 181 void bar( M & m ) { 182 mutex(m) { 183 //critical section 184 } 185 } 186 187 188 \end{cfacode} 190 void foo(monitor& mutex a){ 191 192 193 194 //Do Work 195 //... 196 197 } 198 199 void main() { 200 monitor a; 201 202 203 204 foo(a); 205 206 } 207 \end{cfacode} & \begin{pseudo}[tabsize=3] 208 foo(& a) { 209 210 211 212 //Do Work 213 //... 214 215 } 216 217 main() { 218 monitor a; 219 //calling routine 220 //handles concurrency 221 acquire(a); 222 foo(a); 223 release(a); 224 } 225 \end{pseudo} & \begin{pseudo}[tabsize=3] 226 foo(& a) { 227 //called routine 228 //handles concurrency 229 acquire(a); 230 //Do Work 231 //... 232 release(a); 233 } 234 235 main() { 236 monitor a; 237 238 239 240 foo(a); 241 242 } 243 \end{pseudo} 189 244 \end{tabular} 190 245 \end{center} 191 \caption{Regular call semantics vs. \code{mutex} statement} 192 \label{lst:mutex-stmt} 193 \end{figure} 194 195 % ====================================================================== 196 % ====================================================================== 197 \subsection{Data semantics} \label{data} 198 % ====================================================================== 199 % ====================================================================== 200 Once the call semantics are established, the next step is to establish data semantics. Indeed, until now a monitor is used simply as a generic handle but in most cases monitors contain shared data. This data should be intrinsic to the monitor declaration to prevent any accidental use of data without its appropriate protection. For example, here is a complete version of the counter showed in section \ref{call}: 201 \begin{cfacode} 202 monitor counter_t { 203 int value; 204 }; 205 206 void ?{}(counter_t & this) { 207 this.cnt = 0; 208 } 209 210 int ?++(counter_t & mutex this) { 211 return ++this.value; 212 } 213 214 //need for mutex is platform dependent here 215 void ?{}(int * this, counter_t & mutex cnt) { 216 *this = (int)cnt; 217 } 246 247 \Gls{callsite-locking} is inefficient, since any \code{dtype} routine may have to obtain some lock before calling a routine, depending on whether or not the type passed is a monitor. However, with \gls{entry-point-locking} calling a monitor routine becomes exactly the same as calling it from anywhere else. 248 249 Note the \code{mutex} keyword relies on the resolver, which means that in cases where a generic monitor routine is actually desired, writing a mutex routine is possible with the proper trait. This is possible because monitors are designed in terms a trait. For example: 250 \begin{cfacode} 251 //Incorrect 252 //T is not a monitor 253 forall(dtype T) 254 void foo(T * mutex t); 255 256 //Correct 257 //this function only works on monitors 258 //(any monitor) 259 forall(dtype T | is_monitor(T)) 260 void bar(T * mutex t)); 218 261 \end{cfacode} 219 262 … … 224 267 % ====================================================================== 225 268 % ====================================================================== 226 In addition to mutual exclusion, the monitors at the core of \CFA's concurrency can also be used to achieve synchronisation. With monitors, this capability is generally achieved with internal or external scheduling as in\cit. Since internal scheduling within a single monitor is mostly a solved problem, this thesis concentrates on extending internal scheduling to multiple monitors. Indeed, like the \gls{bulk-acq} semantics, internal scheduling extends to multiple monitorsin a way that is natural to the user but requires additional complexity on the implementation side.269 In addition to mutual exclusion, the monitors at the core of \CFA's concurrency can also be used to achieve synchronisation. With monitors, this is generally achieved with internal or external scheduling as in\cit. Since internal scheduling of single monitors is mostly a solved problem, this proposal concentraits on extending internal scheduling to multiple monitors at once. Indeed, like the \gls{group-acquire} semantics, internal scheduling extends to multiple monitors at once in a way that is natural to the user but requires additional complexity on the implementation side. 227 270 228 271 First, here is a simple example of such a technique: 229 272 230 273 \begin{cfacode} 231 monitor A {232 condition e;233 }234 235 void foo(A & mutex a) {236 ...237 //Wait for cooperation from bar()238 wait(a.e);239 ...240 }241 242 void bar(A & mutex a) {243 //Provide cooperation for foo()244 ...245 //Unblock foo246 signal(a.e);247 }248 \end{cfacode} 249 250 There are two details to note here. First, the \code{signal} is a delayed operation, it only unblocks the waiting thread when it reaches the end of the critical section. This semantic is needed to respect mutual-exclusion. Second, in \CFA, a \code{condition} variable can be stored/created independently of a monitor. Here routine \code{foo} waits for the \code{signal} from \code{bar} before making further progress, effectively ensuring a basic ordering.251 252 An important aspect of the implementationis that \CFA does not allow barging, which means that once function \code{bar} releases the monitor, foo is guaranteed to resume immediately after (unless some other thread waited on the same condition). This guarantees offers the benefit of not having to loop arount waits in order to guarantee that a condition is still met. The main reason \CFA offers this guarantee is that users can easily introduce barging if it becomes a necessity but adding barging prevention or barging avoidance is more involved without language support. Supporting barging prevention as well as extending internal scheduling to multiple monitors is the main source of complexity in the design of \CFA concurrency.274 monitor A { 275 condition e; 276 } 277 278 void foo(A & mutex a) { 279 ... 280 // Wait for cooperation from bar() 281 wait(a.e); 282 ... 283 } 284 285 void bar(A & mutex a) { 286 // Provide cooperation for foo() 287 ... 288 // Unblock foo at scope exit 289 signal(a.e); 290 } 291 \end{cfacode} 292 293 There are two details to note here. First, there \code{signal} is a delayed operation, it only unblocks the waiting thread when it reaches the end of the critical section. This is needed to respect mutual-exclusion. Second, in \CFA, \code{condition} have no particular need to be stored inside a monitor, beyond any software engineering reasons. Here routine \code{foo} waits for the \code{signal} from \code{bar} before making further progress, effectively ensuring a basic ordering. 294 295 An important aspect to take into account here is that \CFA does not allow barging, which means that once function \code{bar} releases the monitor, foo is guaranteed to resume immediately after (unless some other thread waited on the same condition). This guarantees offers the benefit of not having to loop arount waits in order to guarantee that a condition is still met. The main reason \CFA offers this guarantee is that users can easily introduce barging if it becomes a necessity but adding barging prevention or barging avoidance is more involved without language support. Supporting barging prevention as well as extending internal scheduling to multiple monitors is the main source of complexity in the design of \CFA concurrency. 253 296 254 297 % ====================================================================== … … 257 300 % ====================================================================== 258 301 % ====================================================================== 259 It is easier to understand the problem of multi-monitor scheduling using a series of pseudo-code. Note that for simplicity in the following snippets of pseudo-code, waiting and signalling is done using an implicit condition variable, like Java built-in monitors. Indeed, \code{wait} statements always use a single condition as paremeter and waits on the monitors associated with the condition.302 It is easier to understand the problem of multi-monitor scheduling using a series of pseudo-code. Note that for simplicity in the following snippets of pseudo-code, waiting and signalling is done using an implicit condition variable, like Java built-in monitors. 260 303 261 304 \begin{multicols}{2} … … 276 319 \end{pseudo} 277 320 \end{multicols} 278 The example shows the simple case of having two threads (one for each column) and a single monitor A. One thread acquires before waiting (atomically blocking and releasing A) and the other acquires before signalling. It is important to note here that both \code{wait} and \code{signal} must be called with the proper monitor(s) already acquired. This semanticis a logical requirement for barging prevention.279 280 A direct extension of the previous example is a \gls{bulk-acq} version:321 The example shows the simple case of having two threads (one for each column) and a single monitor A. One thread acquires before waiting (atomically blocking and releasing A) and the other acquires before signalling. There is an important thing to note here, both \code{wait} and \code{signal} must be called with the proper monitor(s) already acquired. This restriction is hidden on the user side in \uC, as it is a logical requirement for barging prevention. 322 323 A direct extension of the previous example is the \gls{group-acquire} version: 281 324 282 325 \begin{multicols}{2} … … 295 338 \end{pseudo} 296 339 \end{multicols} 297 This version uses \gls{bulk-acq} (denoted using the \& symbol), but the presence of multiple monitors does not add a particularly new meaning. Synchronization happens between the two threads in exactly the same way and order. The only difference is that mutual exclusion covers more monitors. On the implementation side, handling multiple monitors does add a degree of complexity as the next few examples demonstrate. 298 299 While deadlock issues can occur when nesting monitors, these issues are only a symptom of the fact that locks, and by extension monitors, are not perfectly composable. For monitors, a well known deadlock problem is the Nested Monitor Problem\cit, which occurs when a \code{wait} is made on a thread that holds more than one monitor. For example, the following pseudo-code will run into the nested monitor problem : 340 This version uses \gls{group-acquire} (denoted using the \& symbol), but the presence of multiple monitors does not add a particularly new meaning. Synchronization happens between the two threads in exactly the same way and order. The only difference is that mutual exclusion covers more monitors. On the implementation side, handling multiple monitors does add a degree of complexity as the next few examples demonstrate. 341 342 While deadlock issues can occur when nesting monitors, these issues are only a symptom of the fact that locks, and by extension monitors, are not perfectly composable. However, for monitors as for locks, it is possible to write a program using nesting without encountering any problems if nested is done correctly. For example, the next pseudo-code snippet acquires monitors A then B before waiting while only acquiring B when signalling, effectively avoiding the nested monitor problem. 343 300 344 \begin{multicols}{2} 301 345 \begin{pseudo} … … 310 354 311 355 \begin{pseudo} 312 acquire A313 acquire B314 signal B315 release B316 release A317 \end{pseudo}318 \end{multicols}319 However, for monitors as for locks, it is possible to write a program using nesting without encountering any problems if nesting is done correctly. For example, the next pseudo-code snippet acquires monitors {\sf A} then {\sf B} before waiting, while only acquiring {\sf B} when signalling, effectively avoiding the nested monitor problem.320 321 \begin{multicols}{2}322 \begin{pseudo}323 acquire A324 acquire B325 wait B326 release B327 release A328 \end{pseudo}329 330 \columnbreak331 332 \begin{pseudo}333 356 334 357 acquire B … … 339 362 \end{multicols} 340 363 341 Listing \ref{lst:int-bulk-pseudo} shows an example where \gls{bulk-acq} adds a significant layer of complexity to the internal signalling semantics. Listing \ref{lst:int-bulk-cfa} shows the corresponding \CFA code which implements the pseudo-code in listing \ref{lst:int-bulk-pseudo}. Note that listing \ref{lst:int-bulk-cfa} uses non-\code{mutex} parameter to introduce monitor \code{b} into context. However, for the purpose of translating the given pseudo-code into \CFA-code any method of introducing new monitors into context, other than a \code{mutex} parameter, is acceptable, e.g. global variables, pointer parameters or using locals with the \code{mutex}-statement. 342 343 \begin{figure}[!b] 364 The next example is where \gls{group-acquire} adds a significant layer of complexity to the internal signalling semantics. 365 344 366 \begin{multicols}{2} 345 367 Waiting thread 346 368 \begin{pseudo}[numbers=left] 347 369 acquire A 348 // Code Section 1370 // Code Section 1 349 371 acquire A & B 350 // Code Section 2372 // Code Section 2 351 373 wait A & B 352 // Code Section 3374 // Code Section 3 353 375 release A & B 354 // Code Section 4376 // Code Section 4 355 377 release A 356 378 \end{pseudo} … … 361 383 \begin{pseudo}[numbers=left, firstnumber=10] 362 384 acquire A 363 // Code Section 5385 // Code Section 5 364 386 acquire A & B 365 // Code Section 6387 // Code Section 6 366 388 signal A & B 367 // Code Section 7389 // Code Section 7 368 390 release A & B 369 // Code Section 8391 // Code Section 8 370 392 release A 371 393 \end{pseudo} 372 394 \end{multicols} 373 \caption{Internal scheduling with \gls{bulk-acq}} 374 \label{lst:int-bulk-pseudo} 375 \end{figure} 376 377 \begin{figure}[!b] 378 \begin{multicols}{2} 379 Waiting thread 380 \begin{cfacode} 381 monitor A; 382 monitor B; 383 extern condition c; 384 void foo(A & mutex a, B & b) { 385 //Code Section 1 386 mutex(a, b) { 387 //Code Section 2 388 wait(c); 389 //Code Section 3 390 } 391 //Code Section 4 392 } 393 \end{cfacode} 394 395 \columnbreak 396 397 Signalling thread 398 \begin{cfacode} 399 monitor A; 400 monitor B; 401 extern condition c; 402 void foo(A & mutex a, B & b) { 403 //Code Section 5 404 mutex(a, b) { 405 //Code Section 6 406 signal(c); 407 //Code Section 7 408 } 409 //Code Section 8 410 } 411 \end{cfacode} 412 \end{multicols} 413 \caption{Equivalent \CFA code for listing \ref{lst:int-bulk-pseudo}} 414 \label{lst:int-bulk-cfa} 415 \end{figure} 416 417 It is particularly important to pay attention to code sections 4 and 8, which are where the existing semantics of internal scheduling need to be extended for multiple monitors. The root of the problem is that \gls{bulk-acq} is used in a context where one of the monitors is already acquired and is why it is important to define the behaviour of the previous pseudo-code. When the signaller thread reaches the location where it should "release A \& B" (line 16), it must actually transfer ownership of monitor B to the waiting thread. This ownership trasnfer is required in order to prevent barging. Since the signalling thread still needs monitor A, simply waking up the waiting thread is not an option because it would violate mutual exclusion. There are three options. 395 \begin{center} 396 Listing 1 397 \end{center} 398 399 It is particularly important to pay attention to code sections 8 and 4, which are where the existing semantics of internal scheduling need to be extended for multiple monitors. The root of the problem is that \gls{group-acquire} is used in a context where one of the monitors is already acquired and is why it is important to define the behaviour of the previous pseudo-code. When the signaller thread reaches the location where it should "release A \& B" (line 16), it must actually transfer ownership of monitor B to the waiting thread. This ownership trasnfer is required in order to prevent barging. Since the signalling thread still needs the monitor A, simply waking up the waiting thread is not an option because it would violate mutual exclusion. There are three options: 418 400 419 401 \subsubsection{Delaying signals} 420 The first more obvious solution to solve the problem of multi-monitor scheduling is to keep ownership of all locks until the last lock is ready to be transferred. It can be argued that that moment is the correct time to transfer ownership when the last lock is no longer needed because this semantics fits most closely to the behaviour of single monitor scheduling. This solution has the main benefit of transferring ownership of groups of monitors, which simplifies the semantics from mutiple objects to a single group of object s, effectively making the existing single monitor semantic viable by simply changing monitors to monitor groups.402 The first more obvious solution to solve the problem of multi-monitor scheduling is to keep ownership of all locks until the last lock is ready to be transferred. It can be argued that that moment is the correct time to transfer ownership when the last lock is no longer needed because this semantics fits most closely to the behaviour of single monitor scheduling. This solution has the main benefit of transferring ownership of groups of monitors, which simplifies the semantics from mutiple objects to a single group of object, effectively making the existing single monitor semantic viable by simply changing monitors to monitor collections. 421 403 \begin{multicols}{2} 422 404 Waiter … … 442 424 \end{pseudo} 443 425 \end{multicols} 444 However, this solution can become much more complicated depending on what is executed while secretly holding B (at line 10). Indeed, nothing prevents signalling monitor A on a different condition variable: 426 However, this solution can become much more complicated depending on what is executed while secretly holding B (at line 10). Indeed, nothing prevents a user from signalling monitor A on a different condition variable: 427 \newpage 445 428 \begin{multicols}{2} 446 429 Thread 1 … … 463 446 464 447 Thread 3 465 \begin{pseudo}[numbers=left, firstnumber= 9]448 \begin{pseudo}[numbers=left, firstnumber=10] 466 449 acquire A 467 450 acquire A & B … … 484 467 Note that ordering is not determined by a race condition but by whether signalled threads are enqueued in FIFO or FILO order. However, regardless of the answer, users can move line 15 before line 11 and get the reverse effect. 485 468 486 In both cases, the threads need to be able to distinguish , on a per monitor basis, which ones need to be released and which ones need to be transferred, which means monitors cannot be handled as a single homogenous group and therefore invalidates the main benefit of this approach.469 In both cases, the threads need to be able to distinguish on a per monitor basis which ones need to be released and which ones need to be transferred. Which means monitors cannot be handled as a single homogenous group. 487 470 488 471 \subsubsection{Dependency graphs} 489 In the Listing 1 pseudo-code, there is a solution which statisfies both barging prevention and mutual exclusion. If ownership of both monitors is transferred to the waiter when the signaller releases A and then the waiter transfers back ownership of A when it releases it ,then the problem is solved. Dynamically finding the correct order is therefore the second possible solution. The problem it encounters is that it effectively boils down to resolving a dependency graph of ownership requirements. Here even the simplest of code snippets requires two transfers and it seems to increase in a manner closer to polynomial. For example, the following code, which is just a direct extension to three monitors, requires at least three ownership transfer and has multiple solutions:472 In the Listing 1 pseudo-code, there is a solution which statisfies both barging prevention and mutual exclusion. If ownership of both monitors is transferred to the waiter when the signaller releases A and then the waiter transfers back ownership of A when it releases it then the problem is solved. Dynamically finding the correct order is therefore the second possible solution. The problem it encounters is that it effectively boils down to resolving a dependency graph of ownership requirements. Here even the simplest of code snippets requires two transfers and it seems to increase in a manner closer to polynomial. For example, the following code, which is just a direct extension to three monitors, requires at least three ownership transfer and has multiple solutions: 490 473 491 474 \begin{multicols}{2} … … 512 495 \end{pseudo} 513 496 \end{multicols} 514 515 \begin{figure} 516 \begin{multicols}{3} 517 Thread $\alpha$ 518 \begin{pseudo}[numbers=left, firstnumber=1] 497 Resolving dependency graph being a complex and expensive endeavour, this solution is not the preffered one. 498 499 \subsubsection{Partial signalling} \label{partial-sig} 500 Finally, the solution that is chosen for \CFA is to use partial signalling. Consider the following case: 501 502 \begin{multicols}{2} 503 \begin{pseudo}[numbers=left] 519 504 acquire A 520 505 acquire A & B … … 526 511 \columnbreak 527 512 528 Thread $\gamma$ 529 \begin{pseudo}[numbers=left, firstnumber=1] 513 \begin{pseudo}[numbers=left, firstnumber=6] 530 514 acquire A 531 515 acquire A & B 532 516 signal A & B 533 517 release A & B 534 signal A 535 release A 536 \end{pseudo} 537 538 \columnbreak 539 540 Thread $\beta$ 541 \begin{pseudo}[numbers=left, firstnumber=1] 542 acquire A 543 wait A 544 release A 545 \end{pseudo} 546 518 // ... More code 519 release A 520 \end{pseudo} 547 521 \end{multicols} 548 \caption{Dependency graph} 549 \label{lst:dependency} 550 \end{figure} 551 552 \begin{figure} 553 \begin{center} 554 \input{dependency} 555 \end{center} 556 \label{fig:dependency} 557 \caption{Dependency graph of the statements in listing \ref{lst:dependency}} 558 \end{figure} 559 560 Listing \ref{lst:dependency} is the three thread example rewritten for dependency graphs as well as the corresponding dependency graph. Figure \ref{fig:dependency} shows the corresponding dependency graph that results, where every node is a statement of one of the three threads, and the arrows the dependency of that statement. The extra challenge is that this dependency graph is effectively post-mortem, but the run time system needs to be able to build and solve these graphs as the dependency unfolds. Resolving dependency graph being a complex and expensive endeavour, this solution is not the preffered one. 561 562 \subsubsection{Partial signalling} \label{partial-sig} 563 Finally, the solution that is chosen for \CFA is to use partial signalling. Consider the following case: 564 565 \begin{multicols}{2} 566 \begin{pseudo}[numbers=left] 567 acquire A 568 acquire A & B 569 wait A & B 570 release A & B 571 release A 572 \end{pseudo} 573 574 \columnbreak 575 576 \begin{pseudo}[numbers=left, firstnumber=6] 577 acquire A 578 acquire A & B 579 signal A & B 580 release A & B 581 //... More code 582 release A 583 \end{pseudo} 584 \end{multicols} 585 The partial signalling solution transfers ownership of monitor B at lines 10 but does not wake the waiting thread since it is still using monitor A. Only when it reaches line 11 does it actually wakeup the waiting thread. This solution has the benefit that complexity is encapsulated into only two actions, passing monitors to the next owner when they should be release and conditionally waking threads if all conditions are met. This solution has a much simpler implementation than a dependency graph solving algorithm which is why it was chosen. 522 The partial signalling solution transfers ownership of monitor B at lines 10 but does not wake the waiting thread since it is still using monitor A. Only when it reaches line 11 does it actually wakeup the waiting thread. This solution has the benefit that complexity is encapsulated into only two actions, passing monitors to the next owner when they should be release and conditionnaly waking threads if all conditions are met. Contrary to the other solutions, this solution quickly hits an upper bound on complexity of implementation. 586 523 587 524 % ====================================================================== … … 592 529 An important note is that, until now, signalling a monitor was a delayed operation. The ownership of the monitor is transferred only when the monitor would have otherwise been released, not at the point of the \code{signal} statement. However, in some cases, it may be more convenient for users to immediately transfer ownership to the thread that is waiting for cooperation, which is achieved using the \code{signal_block} routine\footnote{name to be discussed}. 593 530 594 The example in listing \ref{lst:datingservice} highlights the difference in behaviour. As mentioned, \code{signal} only transfers ownership once the current critical section exits, this behaviour cause the need for additional synchronisation when a two-way handshake is needed. To avoid this extraneous synchronisation, the \code{condition} type offers the \code{signal_block} routine which handle two-way handshakes as shown in the example. This removes the need for a second condition variables and simplifies programming. Like every other monitor semantic, \code{signal_block} uses barging prevention which means mutual-exclusion is baton-passed both on the frond-end and the back-end of the call to \code{signal_block}, meaning no other thread can acquire the monitor neither before nor after the call. 595 \begin{ figure}531 For example here is an example highlighting the difference in behaviour: 532 \begin{center} 596 533 \begin{tabular}{|c|c|} 597 534 \code{signal} & \code{signal_block} \\ 598 535 \hline 599 \begin{cfacode}[tabsize=3] 600 monitor DatingService 601 { 602 //compatibility codes 603 enum{ CCodes = 20 }; 604 605 int girlPhoneNo 606 int boyPhoneNo; 607 }; 608 609 condition girls[CCodes]; 610 condition boys [CCodes]; 611 condition exchange; 612 613 int girl(int phoneNo, int ccode) 614 { 615 //no compatible boy ? 616 if(empty(boys[ccode])) 617 { 618 //wait for boy 619 wait(girls[ccode]); 620 621 //make phone number available 622 girlPhoneNo = phoneNo; 623 624 //wake boy fron chair 625 signal(exchange); 626 } 627 else 628 { 629 //make phone number available 630 girlPhoneNo = phoneNo; 631 632 //wake boy 633 signal(boys[ccode]); 634 635 //sit in chair 636 wait(exchange); 637 } 638 return boyPhoneNo; 639 } 640 641 int boy(int phoneNo, int ccode) 642 { 643 //same as above 644 //with boy/girl interchanged 645 } 646 \end{cfacode}&\begin{cfacode}[tabsize=3] 647 monitor DatingService 648 { 649 //compatibility codes 650 enum{ CCodes = 20 }; 651 652 int girlPhoneNo; 653 int boyPhoneNo; 654 }; 655 656 condition girls[CCodes]; 657 condition boys [CCodes]; 658 //exchange is not needed 659 660 int girl(int phoneNo, int ccode) 661 { 662 //no compatible boy ? 663 if(empty(boys[ccode])) 664 { 665 //wait for boy 666 wait(girls[ccode]); 667 668 //make phone number available 669 girlPhoneNo = phoneNo; 670 671 //wake boy fron chair 672 signal(exchange); 673 } 674 else 675 { 676 //make phone number available 677 girlPhoneNo = phoneNo; 678 679 //wake boy 680 signal_block(boys[ccode]); 681 682 //second handshake unnecessary 683 684 } 685 return boyPhoneNo; 686 } 687 688 int boy(int phoneNo, int ccode) 689 { 690 //same as above 691 //with boy/girl interchanged 536 \begin{cfacode} 537 monitor M { int val; }; 538 539 void foo(M & mutex m ) { 540 m.val++; 541 sout| "Foo:" | m.val |endl; 542 543 wait( c ); 544 545 m.val++; 546 sout| "Foo:" | m.val |endl; 547 } 548 549 void bar(M & mutex m ) { 550 m.val++; 551 sout| "Bar:" | m.val |endl; 552 553 signal( c ); 554 555 m.val++; 556 sout| "Bar:" | m.val |endl; 557 } 558 \end{cfacode}&\begin{cfacode} 559 monitor M { int val; }; 560 561 void foo(M & mutex m ) { 562 m.val++; 563 sout| "Foo:" | m.val |endl; 564 565 wait( c ); 566 567 m.val++; 568 sout| "Foo:" | m.val |endl; 569 } 570 571 void bar(M & mutex m ) { 572 m.val++; 573 sout| "Bar:" | m.val |endl; 574 575 signal_block( c ); 576 577 m.val++; 578 sout| "Bar:" | m.val |endl; 692 579 } 693 580 \end{cfacode} 694 581 \end{tabular} 695 \caption{Dating service example using \code{signal} and \code{signal_block}. } 696 \label{lst:datingservice} 697 \end{figure} 582 \end{center} 583 Assuming that \code{val} is initialized at 0, that each routine are called from seperate thread and that \code{foo} is always called first. The previous code would yield the following output: 584 585 \begin{center} 586 \begin{tabular}{|c|c|} 587 \code{signal} & \code{signal_block} \\ 588 \hline 589 \begin{pseudo} 590 Foo: 0 591 Bar: 1 592 Bar: 2 593 Foo: 3 594 \end{pseudo}&\begin{pseudo} 595 Foo: 0 596 Bar: 1 597 Foo: 2 598 Bar: 3 599 \end{pseudo} 600 \end{tabular} 601 \end{center} 602 603 As mentionned, \code{signal} only transfers ownership once the current critical section exits, resulting in the second "Bar" line to be printed before the second "Foo" line. On the other hand, \code{signal_block} immediately transfers ownership to \code{bar}, causing an inversion of output. Obviously this means that \code{signal_block} is a blocking call, which will only be resumed once the signalled function exits the critical section. 604 605 % ====================================================================== 606 % ====================================================================== 607 \subsection{Internal scheduling: Implementation} \label{inschedimpl} 608 % ====================================================================== 609 % ====================================================================== 610 There are several challenges specific to \CFA when implementing internal scheduling. These challenges are direct results of \gls{group-acquire} and loose object definitions. These two constraints are to root cause of most design decisions in the implementation of internal scheduling. Furthermore, to avoid the head-aches of dynamically allocating memory in a concurrent environment, the internal-scheduling design is entirely free of mallocs and other dynamic memory allocation scheme. This is to avoid the chicken and egg problem of having a memory allocator that relies on the threading system and a threading system that relies on the runtime. This extra goal, means that memory management is a constant concern in the design of the system. 611 612 The main memory concern for concurrency is queues. All blocking operations are made by parking threads onto queues. These queues need to be intrinsic\cit to avoid the need memory allocation. This entails that all the fields needed to keep track of all needed information. Since internal scheduling can use an unbound amount of memory (depending on \gls{group-acquire}) statically defining information information in the intrusive fields of threads is insufficient. The only variable sized container that does not require memory allocation is the callstack, which is heavily used in the implementation of internal scheduling. Particularly the GCC extension variable length arrays which is used extensively. 613 614 Since stack allocation is based around scope, the first step of the implementation is to identify the scopes that are available to store the information, and which of these can have a variable length. In the case of external scheduling, the threads and the condition both allow a fixed amount of memory to be stored, while mutex-routines and the actual blocking call allow for an unbound amount (though adding too much to the mutex routine stack size can become expansive faster). 615 616 The following figure is the traditionnal illustration of a monitor : 617 618 \begin{center} 619 {\resizebox{0.4\textwidth}{!}{\input{monitor}}} 620 \end{center} 621 622 For \CFA, the previous picture does not have support for blocking multiple monitors on a single condition. To support \gls{group-acquire} two changes to this picture are required. First, it doesn't make sense to tie the condition to a single monitor since blocking two monitors as one would require arbitrarily picking a monitor to hold the condition. Secondly, the object waiting on the conditions and AS-stack cannot simply contain the waiting thread since a single thread can potentially wait on multiple monitors. As mentionned in section \ref{inschedimpl}, the handling in multiple monitors is done by partially passing, which entails that each concerned monitor needs to have a node object. However, for waiting on the condition, since all threads need to wait together, a single object needs to be queued in the condition. Moving out the condition and updating the node types yields : 623 624 \begin{center} 625 {\resizebox{0.8\textwidth}{!}{\input{int_monitor}}} 626 \end{center} 627 628 \newpage 629 630 This picture and the proper entry and leave algorithms is the fundamental implementation of internal scheduling. 631 632 \begin{multicols}{2} 633 Entry 634 \begin{pseudo}[numbers=left] 635 if monitor is free 636 enter 637 elif I already own the monitor 638 continue 639 else 640 block 641 increment recursion 642 643 \end{pseudo} 644 \columnbreak 645 Exit 646 \begin{pseudo}[numbers=left, firstnumber=8] 647 decrement recursion 648 if recursion == 0 649 if signal_stack not empty 650 set_owner to thread 651 if all monitors ready 652 wake-up thread 653 654 if entry queue not empty 655 wake-up thread 656 \end{pseudo} 657 \end{multicols} 658 659 Some important things to notice about the exit routine. The solution discussed in \ref{inschedimpl} can be seen on line 11 of the previous pseudo code. Basically, the solution boils down to having a seperate data structure for the condition queue and the AS-stack, and unconditionally transferring ownership of the monitors but only unblocking the thread when the last monitor has trasnferred ownership. This solution is safe as well as preventing any potential barging. 698 660 699 661 % ====================================================================== … … 738 700 \end{tabular} 739 701 \end{center} 740 This method is more constrained and explicit, which helps users tone down the undeterministic nature of concurrency. Indeed, as the following examples demonstrates, external scheduling allows users to wait for events from other threads without the concern of unrelated events occuring. External scheduling can generally be done either in terms of control flow (e.g., \uC with \code{_Accept}) or in terms of data (e.g. Go with channels). Of course, both of these paradigms have their own strenghts and weaknesses but for this project control-flow semantics were chosen to stay consistent with the rest of the languages semantics. Two challenges specific to \CFA arise when trying to add external scheduling with loose object definitions and multi-monitor routines. The previous example shows a simple use \code{_Accept} versus \code{wait}/\code{signal} and its advantages. Note that while other languages often use \code{accept}/\code{select} as the core external scheduling keyword, \CFA uses \code{waitfor} to prevent name collisions with existing socket \acrshort{api}s.741 742 In the case of internal scheduling, the call to \code{wait} only guarantees that \code{V} is the last routine to access the monitor. This entails that a third routine, say \code{isInUse()},may have acquired mutual exclusion several times while routine \code{P} was waiting. On the other hand, external scheduling guarantees that while routine \code{P} was waiting, no routine other than \code{V} could acquire the monitor.702 This method is more constrained and explicit, which may help users tone down the undeterministic nature of concurrency. Indeed, as the following examples demonstrates, external scheduling allows users to wait for events from other threads without the concern of unrelated events occuring. External scheduling can generally be done either in terms of control flow (e.g., \uC) or in terms of data (e.g. Go). Of course, both of these paradigms have their own strenghts and weaknesses but for this project control-flow semantics were chosen to stay consistent with the rest of the languages semantics. Two challenges specific to \CFA arise when trying to add external scheduling with loose object definitions and multi-monitor routines. The previous example shows a simple use \code{_Accept} versus \code{wait}/\code{signal} and its advantages. Note that while other languages often use \code{accept} as the core external scheduling keyword, \CFA uses \code{waitfor} to prevent name collisions with existing socket APIs. 703 704 In the case of internal scheduling, the call to \code{wait} only guarantees that \code{V} is the last routine to access the monitor. This entails that the routine \code{V} may have acquired mutual exclusion several times while routine \code{P} was waiting. On the other hand, external scheduling guarantees that while routine \code{P} was waiting, no routine other than \code{V} could acquire the monitor. 743 705 744 706 % ====================================================================== … … 750 712 751 713 \begin{cfacode} 752 monitor A {}; 753 754 void f(A & mutex a); 755 void g(A & mutex a) { 756 waitfor(f); //Obvious which f() to wait for 757 } 758 759 void f(A & mutex a, int); //New different F added in scope 760 void h(A & mutex a) { 761 waitfor(f); //Less obvious which f() to wait for 762 } 714 monitor A {}; 715 716 void f(A & mutex a); 717 void f(int a, float b); 718 void g(A & mutex a) { 719 waitfor(f); // Less obvious which f() to wait for 720 } 763 721 \end{cfacode} 764 722 … … 770 728 if monitor is free 771 729 enter 772 elif already own the monitor730 elif I already own the monitor 773 731 continue 774 732 elif monitor accepts me … … 780 738 \end{center} 781 739 782 For the fi rst two conditions, it is easy to implement a check that can evaluate the condition in a few instruction. However, a fast check for \pscode{monitor accepts me} is much harder to implement depending on the constraints put on the monitors. Indeed, monitors are often expressed as an entry queue and some acceptor queue as in the following figure:740 For the fist two conditions, it is easy to implement a check that can evaluate the condition in a few instruction. However, a fast check for \pscode{monitor accepts me} is much harder to implement depending on the constraints put on the monitors. Indeed, monitors are often expressed as an entry queue and some acceptor queue as in the following figure: 783 741 784 742 \begin{center} … … 786 744 \end{center} 787 745 788 There are other alternatives to these pictures , but in the case of this picture,implementing a fast accept check is relatively easy. Indeed simply updating a bitmask when the acceptor queue changes is enough to have a check that executes in a single instruction, even with a fairly large number (e.g. 128) of mutex members. This technique cannot be used in \CFA because it relies on the fact that the monitor type declares all the acceptable routines. For OO languages this does not compromise much since monitors already have an exhaustive list of member routines. However, for \CFA this is not the case; routines can be added to a type anywhere after its declaration. Its important to note that the bitmask approach does not actually require an exhaustive list of routines, but it requires a dense unique ordering of routines with an upper-bound and that ordering must be consistent across translation units.789 The alternative is to have a picture like this one:746 There are other alternatives to these pictures but in the case of this picture implementing a fast accept check is relatively easy. Indeed simply updating a bitmask when the acceptor queue changes is enough to have a check that executes in a single instruction, even with a fairly large number (e.g. 128) of mutex members. This technique cannot be used in \CFA because it relies on the fact that the monitor type declares all the acceptable routines. For OO languages this does not compromise much since monitors already have an exhaustive list of member routines. However, for \CFA this is not the case; routines can be added to a type anywhere after its declaration. Its important to note that the bitmask approach does not actually require an exhaustive list of routines, but it requires a dense unique ordering of routines with an upper-bound and that ordering must be consistent across translation units. 747 The alternative would be to have a picture more like this one: 790 748 791 749 \begin{center} … … 793 751 \end{center} 794 752 795 Not storing the mask inside the monitor means that the storage for the mask information can vary between calls to \code{waitfor}, allowing for more flexibility and extensions. Storing an array of function-pointers would solve the issue of uniquely identifying acceptable routines. However, the single instruction bitmask compare has been replaced by dereferencing a pointer followed by a linear search. Furthermore, supporting nested external scheduling may now require additionnal searches on calls to waitfor to check if a routine is already queued in.796 797 Note that in the second picture, tasks need to always keep track of through which routine they are attempting to acquire the monitor and the routine mask needs to have both a function pointer and a set of monitors, as will be discussed in the next section. These details where omitted from the picture for the sake of simplifying the representation.798 799 A t this point we must make a decision between flexibility and performance. Many design decisions in \CFA achieve both flexibility and performance, for example polymorphic routines add significant flexibility but inlining them means the optimizer can easily remove any runtime cost. Here however, the cost of flexibility cannot be trivially removed. In the end, the most flexible approach has been chosen since it allows users to write programs that would otherwise be prohibitively hard to write. This decision is based on the assumption that writing fast but inflexible locks is closer to a solved problems than writing locks that are as flexible as external scheduling in \CFA.753 Not storing the queues inside the monitor means that the storage can vary between routines, allowing for more flexibility and extensions. Storing an array of function-pointers would solve the issue of uniquely identifying acceptable routines. However, the single instruction bitmask compare has been replaced by dereferencing a pointer followed by a linear search. Furthermore, supporting nested external scheduling may now require additionnal searches on calls to waitfor to check if a routine is already queued in. 754 755 At this point we must make a decision between flexibility and performance. Many design decisions in \CFA achieve both flexibility and performance, for example polymorphic routines add significant flexibility but inlining them means the optimizer can easily remove any runtime cost. Here however, the cost of flexibility cannot be trivially removed. In the end, the most flexible approach has been chosen since it allows users to write programs that would otherwise be prohibitively hard to write. This is based on the assumption that writing fast but inflexible locks is closer to a solved problems than writing locks that are as flexible as external scheduling in \CFA. 756 757 Another aspect to consider is what happens if multiple overloads of the same routine are used. For the time being it is assumed that multiple overloads of the same routine are considered as distinct routines. However, this could easily be extended in the future. 800 758 801 759 % ====================================================================== … … 805 763 % ====================================================================== 806 764 807 External scheduling, like internal scheduling, becomes significantly more complex when introducing multi-monitor syntax. Even in the simplest possible case,some new semantics need to be established:808 \begin{cfacode} 809 monitor M{};810 811 void f(M & mutex a);812 813 void g(M & mutex a, M& mutex b) {814 waitfor(f); //ambiguous, keep a pass b or other way around?815 }765 External scheduling, like internal scheduling, becomes orders of magnitude more complex when we start introducing multi-monitor syntax. Even in the simplest possible case some new semantics need to be established: 766 \begin{cfacode} 767 mutex struct A {}; 768 769 mutex struct B {}; 770 771 void g(A & mutex a, B & mutex b) { 772 waitfor(f); //ambiguous, which monitor 773 } 816 774 \end{cfacode} 817 775 … … 819 777 820 778 \begin{cfacode} 821 monitor M {}; 822 823 void f(M & mutex a); 824 825 void g(M & mutex a, M & mutex b) { 826 waitfor( f, b ); 827 } 828 \end{cfacode} 829 830 This syntax is unambiguous. Both locks are acquired and kept. When routine \code{f} is called, the lock for monitor \code{b} is temporarily transferred from \code{g} to \code{f} (while \code{g} still holds lock \code{a}). This behavior can be extended to multi-monitor waitfor statement as follows. 831 832 \begin{cfacode} 833 monitor M {}; 834 835 void f(M & mutex a, M & mutex b); 836 837 void g(M & mutex a, M & mutex b) { 838 waitfor( f, a, b); 839 } 840 \end{cfacode} 841 842 Note that the set of monitors passed to the \code{waitfor} statement must be entirely contained in the set of monitors already acquired in the routine. \code{waitfor} used in any other context is Undefined Behaviour. 843 844 An important behavior to note is that what happens when a set of monitors only match partially : 845 846 \begin{cfacode} 847 mutex struct A {}; 848 849 mutex struct B {}; 850 851 void g(A & mutex a, B & mutex b) { 852 waitfor(f, a, b); 853 } 854 855 A a1, a2; 856 B b; 857 858 void foo() { 859 g(a1, b); //block on accept 860 } 861 862 void bar() { 863 f(a2, b); //fufill cooperation 864 } 865 \end{cfacode} 866 867 While the equivalent can happen when using internal scheduling, the fact that conditions are specific to a set of monitors means that users have to use two different condition variables. In both cases, partially matching monitor sets does not wake-up the waiting thread. It is also important to note that in the case of external scheduling, as for routine calls, the order of parameters is important; \code{waitfor(f,a,b)} and \code{waitfor(f,b,a)} are to distinct waiting condition. 868 869 % ====================================================================== 870 % ====================================================================== 871 \subsection{\code{waitfor} semantics} 872 % ====================================================================== 873 % ====================================================================== 874 875 Syntactically, the \code{waitfor} statement takes a function identifier and a set of monitors. While the set of monitors can be any list of expression, the function name is more restricted. This is because the compiler validates at compile time the validity of the waitfor statement. It checks that the set of monitor passed in matches the requirements for a function call. Listing \ref{lst:waitfor} shows various usage of the waitfor statement and which are acceptable. The choice of the function type is made ignoring any non-\code{mutex} parameter. One limitation of the current implementation is that it does not handle overloading. 876 \begin{figure} 877 \begin{cfacode} 878 monitor A{}; 879 monitor B{}; 880 881 void f1( A & mutex ); 882 void f2( A & mutex, B & mutex ); 883 void f3( A & mutex, int ); 884 void f4( A & mutex, int ); 885 void f4( A & mutex, double ); 886 887 void foo( A & mutex a1, A & mutex a2, B & mutex b1, B & b2 ) { 888 A * ap = & a1; 889 void (*fp)( A & mutex ) = f1; 890 891 waitfor(f1, a1); //Correct : 1 monitor case 892 waitfor(f2, a1, b1); //Correct : 2 monitor case 893 waitfor(f3, a1); //Correct : non-mutex arguments are ignored 894 waitfor(f1, *ap); //Correct : expression as argument 895 896 waitfor(f1, a1, b1); //Incorrect : Too many mutex arguments 897 waitfor(f2, a1); //Incorrect : Too few mutex arguments 898 waitfor(f2, a1, a2); //Incorrect : Mutex arguments don't match 899 waitfor(f1, 1); //Incorrect : 1 not a mutex argument 900 waitfor(f4, a1); //Incorrect : f9 not a function 901 waitfor(*fp, a1 ); //Incorrect : fp not a identifier 902 waitfor(f4, a1); //Incorrect : f4 ambiguous 903 904 waitfor(f2, a1, b2); //Undefined Behaviour : b2 may not acquired 905 } 906 \end{cfacode} 907 \caption{Various correct and incorrect uses of the waitfor statement} 908 \label{lst:waitfor} 909 \end{figure} 910 911 Finally, for added flexibility, \CFA supports constructing complex waitfor mask using the \code{or}, \code{timeout} and \code{else}. Indeed, multiple \code{waitfor} can be chained together using \code{or}; this chain will form a single statement which will baton-pass to any one function that fits one of the function+monitor set which was passed in. To eanble users to tell which was the accepted function, \code{waitfor}s are followed by a statement (including the null statement \code{;}) or a compound statement. When multiple \code{waitfor} are chained together, only the statement corresponding to the accepted function is executed. A \code{waitfor} chain can also be followed by a \code{timeout}, to signify an upper bound on the wait, or an \code{else}, to signify that the call should be non-blocking, that is only check of a matching function already arrived and return immediately otherwise. Any and all of these clauses can be preceded by a \code{when} condition to dynamically construct the mask based on some current state. Listing \ref{lst:waitfor2}, demonstrates several complex masks and some incorrect ones. 912 913 \begin{figure} 914 \begin{cfacode} 915 monitor A{}; 916 917 void f1( A & mutex ); 918 void f2( A & mutex ); 919 920 void foo( A & mutex a, bool b, int t ) { 921 //Correct : blocking case 922 waitfor(f1, a); 923 924 //Correct : block with statement 925 waitfor(f1, a) { 926 sout | "f1" | endl; 927 } 928 929 //Correct : block waiting for f1 or f2 930 waitfor(f1, a) { 931 sout | "f1" | endl; 932 } or waitfor(f2, a) { 933 sout | "f2" | endl; 934 } 935 936 //Correct : non-blocking case 937 waitfor(f1, a); or else; 938 939 //Correct : non-blocking case 940 waitfor(f1, a) { 941 sout | "blocked" | endl; 942 } or else { 943 sout | "didn't block" | endl; 944 } 945 946 //Correct : block at most 10 seconds 947 waitfor(f1, a) { 948 sout | "blocked" | endl; 949 } or timeout( 10`s) { 950 sout | "didn't block" | endl; 951 } 952 953 //Correct : block only if b == true 954 //if b == false, don't even make the call 955 when(b) waitfor(f1, a); 956 957 //Correct : block only if b == true 958 //if b == false, make non-blocking call 959 waitfor(f1, a); or when(!b) else; 960 961 //Correct : block only of t > 1 962 waitfor(f1, a); or when(t > 1) timeout(t); or else; 963 964 //Incorrect : timeout clause is dead code 965 waitfor(f1, a); or timeout(t); or else; 966 967 //Incorrect : order must be 968 //waitfor [or waitfor... [or timeout] [or else]] 969 timeout(t); or waitfor(f1, a); or else; 970 } 971 \end{cfacode} 972 \caption{Various correct and incorrect uses of the or, else, and timeout clause around a waitfor statement} 973 \label{lst:waitfor2} 974 \end{figure} 779 mutex struct A {}; 780 781 mutex struct B {}; 782 783 void g(A & mutex a, B & mutex b) { 784 waitfor( f, b ); 785 } 786 \end{cfacode} 787 788 This is unambiguous. Both locks will be acquired and kept, when routine \code{f} is called the lock for monitor \code{b} will be temporarily transferred from \code{g} to \code{f} (while \code{g} still holds lock \code{a}). This behavior can be extended to multi-monitor waitfor statment as follows. 789 790 \begin{cfacode} 791 mutex struct A {}; 792 793 mutex struct B {}; 794 795 void g(A & mutex a, B & mutex b) { 796 waitfor( f, a, b); 797 } 798 \end{cfacode} 799 800 Note that the set of monitors passed to the \code{waitfor} statement must be entirely contained in the set of monitor already acquired in the routine. \code{waitfor} used in any other context is Undefined Behaviour. 801 802 An important behavior to note is that what happens when set of monitors only match partially : 803 804 \begin{cfacode} 805 mutex struct A {}; 806 807 mutex struct B {}; 808 809 void g(A & mutex a, B & mutex b) { 810 waitfor(f, a, b); 811 } 812 813 A a1, a2; 814 B b; 815 816 void foo() { 817 g(a1, b); 818 } 819 820 void bar() { 821 f(a2, b); 822 } 823 \end{cfacode} 824 825 While the equivalent can happen when using internal scheduling, the fact that conditions are branded on first use means that users have to use two different condition variables. In both cases, partially matching monitor sets will not wake-up the waiting thread. It is also important to note that in the case of external scheduling, as for routine calls, the order of parameters is important; \code{waitfor(f,a,b)} and \code{waitfor(f,b,a)} are to distinct waiting condition. 826 827 % ====================================================================== 828 % ====================================================================== 829 \subsection{Implementation Details: External scheduling queues} 830 % ====================================================================== 831 % ====================================================================== 832 To support multi-monitor external scheduling means that some kind of entry-queues must be used that is aware of both monitors. However, acceptable routines must be aware of the entry queues which means they must be stored inside at least one of the monitors that will be acquired. This in turn adds the requirement a systematic algorithm of disambiguating which queue is relavant regardless of user ordering. The proposed algorithm is to fall back on monitors lock ordering and specify that the monitor that is acquired first is the lock with the relevant entry queue. This assumes that the lock acquiring order is static for the lifetime of all concerned objects but that is a reasonable constraint. This algorithm choice has two consequences, the entry queue of the highest priority monitor is no longer a true FIFO queue and the queue of the lowest priority monitor is both required and probably unused. The queue can no longer be a FIFO queue because instead of simply containing the waiting threads in order arrival, they also contain the second mutex. Therefore, another thread with the same highest priority monitor but a different lowest priority monitor may arrive first but enter the critical section after a thread with the correct pairing. Secondly, since it may not be known at compile time which monitor will be the lowest priority monitor, every monitor needs to have the correct queues even though it is probable that half the multi-monitor queues will go unused for the entire duration of the program. 833 834 % ====================================================================== 835 % ====================================================================== 836 \section{Other concurrency tools} 837 % ====================================================================== 838 % ====================================================================== 839 % \TODO
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