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doc/proposals/concurrency/text/concurrency.tex
r21a1efb rb9d0fb6 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 that closely relate to networking concepts (channels\citfor 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 closely relate to networking concepts (channels\cite{CSP,Go} 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 mention ning 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 purposelanguage, 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 10 An approach that is worth mentioning 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 systems 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 numerous 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 provide 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 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 composablebecause 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 solutions 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 composability 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 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.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 simpler solution to otherwise involved challenges. As mentioned above, synchronization can be expressed as guaranteeing that event \textit{X} always happens before \textit{Y}. Most of the time, synchronisation happens within a critical section, where threads must acquire mutual-exclusion 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}. The classic exmaple is the thread that finishes using a ressource and unblocks a thread waiting to use the resource, but the unblocked thread must compete again to acquire the resource. 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. 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 31 32 33 34 35 36 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} 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 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} 155 57 This counter is used as follows: 156 58 \begin{center} … … 169 71 \end{tabular} 170 72 \end{center} 171 Notice how the counter is used without any explicit synchronisation and yet supports thread-safe semantics for both reading and writting. 172 173 % ====================================================================== 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: 73 Notice how the counter is used without any explicit synchronisation and yet supports thread-safe semantics for both reading and writting, which is similar in usage to \CC \code{atomic} template. 74 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 con\-structed 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 the same monitor multiple times 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 provides 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. However, even if 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 of the receiver 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 While OO monitors could be extended with a mutex qualifier for multiple-monitor calls, no example of this feature could be found. 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 different routines using the same monitors as arguments. This consistent ordering means acquiring multiple monitors in the way is safe from deadlock. However, users can still 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\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. While \CFA provides only a partial solution, many system provide no solution and the \CFA partial solution handles many useful cases. 147 148 For example, \gls{multi-acq} and \gls{bulk-acq} can be used together in interesting ways: 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 \subsection{\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} 183 166 \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 \\ 167 \begin{tabular}{|c|c|} 168 function call & \code{mutex} statement \\ 188 169 \hline 189 170 \begin{cfacode}[tabsize=3] 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} 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} 244 189 \end{tabular} 245 190 \end{center} 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)); 261 \end{cfacode} 262 263 264 % ====================================================================== 265 % ====================================================================== 266 \section{Internal scheduling} \label{insched} 267 % ====================================================================== 268 % ====================================================================== 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. 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 } 218 \end{cfacode} 219 220 Like threads and coroutines, monitors are defined in terms of traits with some additional language support in the form of the \code{monitor} keyword. The monitor trait is : 221 \begin{cfacode} 222 trait is_monitor(dtype T) { 223 monitor_desc * get_monitor( T & ); 224 void ^?{}( T & mutex ); 225 }; 226 \end{cfacode} 227 Note that the destructor of a monitor must be a \code{mutex} routine. This requirement ensures that the destructor has mutual-exclusion. As with any object, any call to a monitor, using \code{mutex} or otherwise, is Undefined Behaviour after the destructor has run. 228 229 % ====================================================================== 230 % ====================================================================== 231 \section{Internal scheduling} \label{intsched} 232 % ====================================================================== 233 % ====================================================================== 234 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 monitors in a way that is natural to the user but requires additional complexity on the implementation side. 270 235 271 236 First, here is a simple example of such a technique: 272 237 273 238 \begin{cfacode} 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 //Wait for cooperation from bar()281 282 283 284 285 286 //Provide cooperation for foo()287 288 // Unblock foo at scope exit289 290 291 \end{cfacode} 292 293 There are two details to note here. First, the re \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, foois 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.239 monitor A { 240 condition e; 241 } 242 243 void foo(A & mutex a) { 244 ... 245 //Wait for cooperation from bar() 246 wait(a.e); 247 ... 248 } 249 250 void bar(A & mutex a) { 251 //Provide cooperation for foo() 252 ... 253 //Unblock foo 254 signal(a.e); 255 } 256 \end{cfacode} 257 258 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. The alternative is to return immediately after the call to \code{signal}, which is significantly more restrictive. Second, in \CFA, while it is common to store a \code{condition} as a field of the monitor, 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. 259 260 An important aspect of the implementation is that \CFA does not allow barging, which means that once function \code{bar} releases the monitor, \code{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. 296 261 297 262 % ====================================================================== … … 300 265 % ====================================================================== 301 266 % ====================================================================== 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. 267 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 the implicit condition as paremeter and explicitly names the monitors (A and B) associated with the condition. Note that in \CFA, condition variables are tied to a set of monitors on first use (called branding) which means that using internal scheduling with distinct sets of monitors requires one condition variable per set of monitors. 303 268 304 269 \begin{multicols}{2} … … 319 284 \end{pseudo} 320 285 \end{multicols} 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 itis a logical requirement for barging prevention.322 323 A direct extension of the previous example is the \gls{group-acquire} version:286 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 semantic is a logical requirement for barging prevention. 287 288 A direct extension of the previous example is a \gls{bulk-acq} version: 324 289 325 290 \begin{multicols}{2} … … 338 303 \end{pseudo} 339 304 \end{multicols} 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. 343 305 This version uses \gls{bulk-acq} (denoted using the {\sf\&} 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. 306 307 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 by a thread that holds more than one monitor. For example, the following pseudo-code runs into the nested-monitor problem : 344 308 \begin{multicols}{2} 345 309 \begin{pseudo} … … 354 318 355 319 \begin{pseudo} 320 acquire A 321 acquire B 322 signal B 323 release B 324 release A 325 \end{pseudo} 326 \end{multicols} 327 328 The \code{wait} only releases monitor \code{B} so the signalling thread cannot acquire monitor \code{A} to get to the \code{signal}. Attempting release of all acquired monitors at the \code{wait} results in another set of problems such as releasing monitor \code{C}, which has nothing to do with the \code{signal}. 329 330 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. 331 332 \begin{multicols}{2} 333 \begin{pseudo} 334 acquire A 335 acquire B 336 wait B 337 release B 338 release A 339 \end{pseudo} 340 341 \columnbreak 342 343 \begin{pseudo} 356 344 357 345 acquire B … … 362 350 \end{multicols} 363 351 364 The next example is where \gls{group-acquire} adds a significant layer of complexity to the internal signalling semantics. 365 352 % ====================================================================== 353 % ====================================================================== 354 \subsection{Internal Scheduling - in depth} 355 % ====================================================================== 356 % ====================================================================== 357 358 A larger example is presented to show complex issuesfor \gls{bulk-acq} and all the implementation options are analyzed. Listing \ref{lst:int-bulk-pseudo} shows an example where \gls{bulk-acq} adds a significant layer of complexity to the internal signalling semantics, and listing \ref{lst:int-bulk-cfa} shows the corresponding \CFA code which implements the pseudo-code in listing \ref{lst:int-bulk-pseudo}. For the purpose of translating the given pseudo-code into \CFA-code any method of introducing monitor into context, other than a \code{mutex} parameter, is acceptable, e.g., global variables, pointer parameters or using locals with the \code{mutex}-statement. 359 360 \begin{figure}[!b] 366 361 \begin{multicols}{2} 367 362 Waiting thread 368 363 \begin{pseudo}[numbers=left] 369 364 acquire A 370 // 365 //Code Section 1 371 366 acquire A & B 372 // 367 //Code Section 2 373 368 wait A & B 374 // 369 //Code Section 3 375 370 release A & B 376 // 371 //Code Section 4 377 372 release A 378 373 \end{pseudo} … … 383 378 \begin{pseudo}[numbers=left, firstnumber=10] 384 379 acquire A 385 // 380 //Code Section 5 386 381 acquire A & B 387 // 382 //Code Section 6 388 383 signal A & B 389 // 384 //Code Section 7 390 385 release A & B 391 // 386 //Code Section 8 392 387 release A 393 388 \end{pseudo} 394 389 \end{multicols} 390 \caption{Internal scheduling with \gls{bulk-acq}} 391 \label{lst:int-bulk-pseudo} 392 \end{figure} 393 394 \begin{figure}[!b] 395 395 \begin{center} 396 Listing 1 396 \begin{cfacode}[xleftmargin=.4\textwidth] 397 monitor A a; 398 monitor B b; 399 condition c; 400 \end{cfacode} 397 401 \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: 402 \begin{multicols}{2} 403 Waiting thread 404 \begin{cfacode} 405 mutex(a) { 406 //Code Section 1 407 mutex(a, b) { 408 //Code Section 2 409 wait(c); 410 //Code Section 3 411 } 412 //Code Section 4 413 } 414 \end{cfacode} 415 416 \columnbreak 417 418 Signalling thread 419 \begin{cfacode} 420 mutex(a) { 421 //Code Section 5 422 mutex(a, b) { 423 //Code Section 6 424 signal(c); 425 //Code Section 7 426 } 427 //Code Section 8 428 } 429 \end{cfacode} 430 \end{multicols} 431 \caption{Equivalent \CFA code for listing \ref{lst:int-bulk-pseudo}} 432 \label{lst:int-bulk-cfa} 433 \end{figure} 434 435 The complexity begins at 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 \code{A & B}'' (line 16), it must actually transfer ownership of monitor \code{B} to the waiting thread. This ownership trasnfer is required in order to prevent barging. Since the signalling thread still needs monitor \code{A}, simply waking up the waiting thread is not an option because it violates mutual exclusion. There are three options. 400 436 401 437 \subsubsection{Delaying signals} 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.438 The 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 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 objects, effectively making the existing single-monitor semantic viable by simply changing monitors to monitor groups. 403 439 \begin{multicols}{2} 404 440 Waiter … … 424 460 \end{pseudo} 425 461 \end{multicols} 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 fromsignalling monitor A on a different condition variable:427 \ newpage428 \begin{multicols}{ 2}429 Thread 1462 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: 463 \begin{figure} 464 \begin{multicols}{3} 465 Thread $\alpha$ 430 466 \begin{pseudo}[numbers=left, firstnumber=1] 431 467 acquire A … … 436 472 \end{pseudo} 437 473 438 Thread 2439 \begin{pseudo}[numbers=left, firstnumber=6]440 acquire A441 wait A442 release A443 \end{pseudo}444 445 474 \columnbreak 446 475 447 Thread 3448 \begin{pseudo}[numbers=left, firstnumber=1 0]476 Thread $\gamma$ 477 \begin{pseudo}[numbers=left, firstnumber=1] 449 478 acquire A 450 479 acquire A & B 451 480 signal A & B 452 481 release A & B 453 //Secretly keep B here454 482 signal A 455 483 release A 456 //Wakeup thread 1 or 2? 457 //Who wakes up the other thread? 458 \end{pseudo} 484 \end{pseudo} 485 486 \columnbreak 487 488 Thread $\beta$ 489 \begin{pseudo}[numbers=left, firstnumber=1] 490 acquire A 491 wait A 492 release A 493 \end{pseudo} 494 459 495 \end{multicols} 496 \caption{Dependency graph} 497 \label{lst:dependency} 498 \end{figure} 460 499 461 500 The goal in this solution is to avoid the need to transfer ownership of a subset of the condition monitors. However, this goal is unreacheable in the previous example. Depending on the order of signals (line 12 and 15) two cases can happen. … … 467 506 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. 468 507 469 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.508 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 effectively precludes this approach. 470 509 471 510 \subsubsection{Dependency graphs} 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:511 In the listing \ref{lst:int-bulk-pseudo} 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 \code{A & B} and then the waiter transfers back ownership of \code{A} when it releases it, then the problem is solved (\code{B} is no longer in use at this point). 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: 473 512 474 513 \begin{multicols}{2} … … 495 534 \end{pseudo} 496 535 \end{multicols} 497 Resolving dependency graph being a complex and expensive endeavour, this solution is not the preffered one. 536 537 \begin{figure} 538 \begin{center} 539 \input{dependency} 540 \end{center} 541 \caption{Dependency graph of the statements in listing \ref{lst:dependency}} 542 \label{fig:dependency} 543 \end{figure} 544 545 Listing \ref{lst:dependency} is the three thread example rewritten for dependency graphs. 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 (e.g., $\alpha1$ must happen before $\alpha2$). The extra challenge is that this dependency graph is effectively post-mortem, but the runtime 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. 498 546 499 547 \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] 504 acquire A 505 acquire A & B 506 wait A & B 507 release A & B 508 release A 509 \end{pseudo} 510 511 \columnbreak 512 513 \begin{pseudo}[numbers=left, firstnumber=6] 514 acquire A 515 acquire A & B 516 signal A & B 517 release A & B 518 // ... More code 519 release A 520 \end{pseudo} 521 \end{multicols} 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. 548 Finally, the solution that is chosen for \CFA is to use partial signalling. Again using listing \ref{lst:int-bulk-pseudo}, 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. Furthermore, after being fully implemented, this solution does not appear to have any downsides worth mentionning. 523 549 524 550 % ====================================================================== … … 527 553 % ====================================================================== 528 554 % ====================================================================== 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}. 530 531 For example here is an example highlighting the difference in behaviour: 532 \begin{center} 555 \begin{figure} 533 556 \begin{tabular}{|c|c|} 534 557 \code{signal} & \code{signal_block} \\ 535 558 \hline 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; 559 \begin{cfacode}[tabsize=3] 560 monitor DatingService 561 { 562 //compatibility codes 563 enum{ CCodes = 20 }; 564 565 int girlPhoneNo 566 int boyPhoneNo; 567 }; 568 569 condition girls[CCodes]; 570 condition boys [CCodes]; 571 condition exchange; 572 573 int girl(int phoneNo, int ccode) 574 { 575 //no compatible boy ? 576 if(empty(boys[ccode])) 577 { 578 //wait for boy 579 wait(girls[ccode]); 580 581 //make phone number available 582 girlPhoneNo = phoneNo; 583 584 //wake boy from chair 585 signal(exchange); 586 } 587 else 588 { 589 //make phone number available 590 girlPhoneNo = phoneNo; 591 592 //wake boy 593 signal(boys[ccode]); 594 595 //sit in chair 596 wait(exchange); 597 } 598 return boyPhoneNo; 599 } 600 601 int boy(int phoneNo, int ccode) 602 { 603 //same as above 604 //with boy/girl interchanged 605 } 606 \end{cfacode}&\begin{cfacode}[tabsize=3] 607 monitor DatingService 608 { 609 //compatibility codes 610 enum{ CCodes = 20 }; 611 612 int girlPhoneNo; 613 int boyPhoneNo; 614 }; 615 616 condition girls[CCodes]; 617 condition boys [CCodes]; 618 //exchange is not needed 619 620 int girl(int phoneNo, int ccode) 621 { 622 //no compatible boy ? 623 if(empty(boys[ccode])) 624 { 625 //wait for boy 626 wait(girls[ccode]); 627 628 //make phone number available 629 girlPhoneNo = phoneNo; 630 631 //wake boy from chair 632 signal(exchange); 633 } 634 else 635 { 636 //make phone number available 637 girlPhoneNo = phoneNo; 638 639 //wake boy 640 signal_block(boys[ccode]); 641 642 //second handshake unnecessary 643 644 } 645 return boyPhoneNo; 646 } 647 648 int boy(int phoneNo, int ccode) 649 { 650 //same as above 651 //with boy/girl interchanged 579 652 } 580 653 \end{cfacode} 581 654 \end{tabular} 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: 584 655 \caption{Dating service example using \code{signal} and \code{signal_block}. } 656 \label{lst:datingservice} 657 \end{figure} 658 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}. 659 660 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 requires 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 handles the two-way handshake 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. 661 662 % ====================================================================== 663 % ====================================================================== 664 \section{External scheduling} \label{extsched} 665 % ====================================================================== 666 % ====================================================================== 667 An alternative to internal scheduling is external scheduling, e.g., in \uC. 585 668 \begin{center} 586 \begin{tabular}{|c|c| }587 \code{signal} & \code{signal_block}\\669 \begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|} 670 Internal Scheduling & External Scheduling & Go\\ 588 671 \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. 660 661 % ====================================================================== 662 % ====================================================================== 663 \section{External scheduling} \label{extsched} 664 % ====================================================================== 665 % ====================================================================== 666 An alternative to internal scheduling is to use external scheduling. 667 \begin{center} 668 \begin{tabular}{|c|c|} 669 Internal Scheduling & External Scheduling \\ 670 \hline 671 \begin{ucppcode} 672 \begin{ucppcode}[tabsize=3] 672 673 _Monitor Semaphore { 673 674 condition c; … … 675 676 public: 676 677 void P() { 677 if(inUse) wait(c); 678 if(inUse) 679 wait(c); 678 680 inUse = true; 679 681 } … … 683 685 } 684 686 } 685 \end{ucppcode}&\begin{ucppcode} 687 \end{ucppcode}&\begin{ucppcode}[tabsize=3] 686 688 _Monitor Semaphore { 687 689 … … 689 691 public: 690 692 void P() { 691 if(inUse) _Accept(V); 693 if(inUse) 694 _Accept(V); 692 695 inUse = true; 693 696 } … … 697 700 } 698 701 } 699 \end{ucppcode} 702 \end{ucppcode}&\begin{gocode}[tabsize=3] 703 type MySem struct { 704 inUse bool 705 c chan bool 706 } 707 708 // acquire 709 func (s MySem) P() { 710 if s.inUse { 711 select { 712 case <-s.c: 713 } 714 } 715 s.inUse = true 716 } 717 718 // release 719 func (s MySem) V() { 720 s.inUse = false 721 722 //This actually deadlocks 723 //when single thread 724 s.c <- false 725 } 726 \end{gocode} 700 727 \end{tabular} 701 728 \end{center} 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} couldacquire the monitor.729 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. 730 731 For the \code{P} member above using internal scheduling, the call to \code{wait} only guarantees that \code{V} is the last routine to access the monitor, allowing a third routine, say \code{isInUse()}, acquire mutual exclusion several times while routine \code{P} is waiting. On the other hand, external scheduling guarantees that while routine \code{P} is waiting, no routine other than \code{V} can acquire the monitor. 705 732 706 733 % ====================================================================== … … 709 736 % ====================================================================== 710 737 % ====================================================================== 711 In \uC, monitor declarations include an exhaustive list of monitor operations. Since \CFA is not object oriented it becomes both more difficult to implement but also less clear for the user: 712 713 \begin{cfacode} 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 } 738 In \uC, monitor declarations include an exhaustive list of monitor operations. Since \CFA is not object oriented, monitors become both more difficult to implement and less clear for a user: 739 740 \begin{cfacode} 741 monitor A {}; 742 743 void f(A & mutex a); 744 void g(A & mutex a) { 745 waitfor(f); //Obvious which f() to wait for 746 } 747 748 void f(A & mutex a, int); //New different F added in scope 749 void h(A & mutex a) { 750 waitfor(f); //Less obvious which f() to wait for 751 } 721 752 \end{cfacode} 722 753 … … 728 759 if monitor is free 729 760 enter 730 elif Ialready own the monitor761 elif already own the monitor 731 762 continue 732 763 elif monitor accepts me … … 738 769 \end{center} 739 770 740 For the fi st 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:771 For the first 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: 741 772 742 773 \begin{center} … … 744 775 \end{center} 745 776 746 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:777 There are other alternatives to these pictures, but in the case of this picture, implementing a fast accept check is relatively easy. Restricted to a fixed number of mutex members, N, the accept check reduces to updating a bitmask when the acceptor queue changes, 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 enumerates (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. It is 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. 778 The alternative is to alter the implementeation like this: 748 779 749 780 \begin{center} … … 751 782 \end{center} 752 783 753 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. 784 Generating a mask dynamically 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 accepted function-pointers replaces the single instruction bitmask compare with dereferencing a pointer followed by a linear search. Furthermore, supporting nested external scheduling (e.g., listing \ref{lst:nest-ext}) may now require additionnal searches on calls to \code{waitfor} statement to check if a routine is already queued in. 785 786 \begin{figure} 787 \begin{cfacode} 788 monitor M {}; 789 void foo( M & mutex a ) {} 790 void bar( M & mutex b ) { 791 //Nested in the waitfor(bar, c) call 792 waitfor(foo, b); 793 } 794 void baz( M & mutex c ) { 795 waitfor(bar, c); 796 } 797 798 \end{cfacode} 799 \caption{Example of nested external scheduling} 800 \label{lst:nest-ext} 801 \end{figure} 802 803 Note that in the second picture, tasks need to always keep track of 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. 804 805 At this point, a decision must be made 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. 758 806 759 807 % ====================================================================== … … 763 811 % ====================================================================== 764 812 765 External scheduling, like internal scheduling, becomes orders of magnitude more complex when we start introducing multi-monitor syntax. Even in the simplest possible casesome 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 monitor773 813 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: 814 \begin{cfacode} 815 monitor M {}; 816 817 void f(M & mutex a); 818 819 void g(M & mutex b, M & mutex c) { 820 waitfor(f); //two monitors M => unkown which to pass to f(M & mutex) 821 } 774 822 \end{cfacode} 775 823 … … 777 825 778 826 \begin{cfacode} 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 827 monitor M {}; 828 829 void f(M & mutex a); 830 831 void g(M & mutex a, M & mutex b) { 832 waitfor( f, b ); 833 } 834 \end{cfacode} 835 836 This syntax is unambiguous. Both locks are acquired and kept by \code{g}. 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 \code{waitfor} statement as follows. 837 838 \begin{cfacode} 839 monitor M {}; 840 841 void f(M & mutex a, M & mutex b); 842 843 void g(M & mutex a, M & mutex b) { 844 waitfor( f, a, b); 845 } 846 \end{cfacode} 847 848 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. 849 850 An important behavior to note is when a set of monitors only match partially : 851 852 \begin{cfacode} 853 mutex struct A {}; 854 855 mutex struct B {}; 856 857 void g(A & mutex a, B & mutex b) { 858 waitfor(f, a, b); 859 } 860 861 A a1, a2; 862 B b; 863 864 void foo() { 865 g(a1, b); //block on accept 866 } 867 868 void bar() { 869 f(a2, b); //fufill cooperation 870 } 871 \end{cfacode} 872 873 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 irrelevant; \code{waitfor(f,a,b)} and \code{waitfor(f,b,a)} are indistinguishable waiting condition. 874 875 % ====================================================================== 876 % ====================================================================== 877 \subsection{\code{waitfor} semantics} 878 % ====================================================================== 879 % ====================================================================== 880 881 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 because the compiler validates at compile time the validity of the function type and the parameters used with the \code{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. 882 \begin{figure} 883 \begin{cfacode} 884 monitor A{}; 885 monitor B{}; 886 887 void f1( A & mutex ); 888 void f2( A & mutex, B & mutex ); 889 void f3( A & mutex, int ); 890 void f4( A & mutex, int ); 891 void f4( A & mutex, double ); 892 893 void foo( A & mutex a1, A & mutex a2, B & mutex b1, B & b2 ) { 894 A * ap = & a1; 895 void (*fp)( A & mutex ) = f1; 896 897 waitfor(f1, a1); //Correct : 1 monitor case 898 waitfor(f2, a1, b1); //Correct : 2 monitor case 899 waitfor(f3, a1); //Correct : non-mutex arguments are ignored 900 waitfor(f1, *ap); //Correct : expression as argument 901 902 waitfor(f1, a1, b1); //Incorrect : Too many mutex arguments 903 waitfor(f2, a1); //Incorrect : Too few mutex arguments 904 waitfor(f2, a1, a2); //Incorrect : Mutex arguments don't match 905 waitfor(f1, 1); //Incorrect : 1 not a mutex argument 906 waitfor(f9, a1); //Incorrect : f9 function does not exist 907 waitfor(*fp, a1 ); //Incorrect : fp not an identifier 908 waitfor(f4, a1); //Incorrect : f4 ambiguous 909 910 waitfor(f2, a1, b2); //Undefined Behaviour : b2 may not acquired 911 } 912 \end{cfacode} 913 \caption{Various correct and incorrect uses of the waitfor statement} 914 \label{lst:waitfor} 915 \end{figure} 916 917 Finally, for added flexibility, \CFA supports constructing complex \code{waitfor} mask using the \code{or}, \code{timeout} and \code{else}. Indeed, multiple \code{waitfor} can be chained together using \code{or}; this chain forms a single statement that uses baton-pass to any one function that fits one of the function+monitor set passed in. To eanble users to tell which accepted function is accepted, \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 call 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. 918 919 \begin{figure} 920 \begin{cfacode} 921 monitor A{}; 922 923 void f1( A & mutex ); 924 void f2( A & mutex ); 925 926 void foo( A & mutex a, bool b, int t ) { 927 //Correct : blocking case 928 waitfor(f1, a); 929 930 //Correct : block with statement 931 waitfor(f1, a) { 932 sout | "f1" | endl; 933 } 934 935 //Correct : block waiting for f1 or f2 936 waitfor(f1, a) { 937 sout | "f1" | endl; 938 } or waitfor(f2, a) { 939 sout | "f2" | endl; 940 } 941 942 //Correct : non-blocking case 943 waitfor(f1, a); or else; 944 945 //Correct : non-blocking case 946 waitfor(f1, a) { 947 sout | "blocked" | endl; 948 } or else { 949 sout | "didn't block" | endl; 950 } 951 952 //Correct : block at most 10 seconds 953 waitfor(f1, a) { 954 sout | "blocked" | endl; 955 } or timeout( 10`s) { 956 sout | "didn't block" | endl; 957 } 958 959 //Correct : block only if b == true 960 //if b == false, don't even make the call 961 when(b) waitfor(f1, a); 962 963 //Correct : block only if b == true 964 //if b == false, make non-blocking call 965 waitfor(f1, a); or when(!b) else; 966 967 //Correct : block only of t > 1 968 waitfor(f1, a); or when(t > 1) timeout(t); or else; 969 970 //Incorrect : timeout clause is dead code 971 waitfor(f1, a); or timeout(t); or else; 972 973 //Incorrect : order must be 974 //waitfor [or waitfor... [or timeout] [or else]] 975 timeout(t); or waitfor(f1, a); or else; 976 } 977 \end{cfacode} 978 \caption{Various correct and incorrect uses of the or, else, and timeout clause around a waitfor statement} 979 \label{lst:waitfor2} 980 \end{figure} 981 982 % ====================================================================== 983 % ====================================================================== 984 \subsection{Waiting for the destructor} 985 % ====================================================================== 986 % ====================================================================== 987 An interesting use for the \code{waitfor} statement is destructor semantics. Indeed, the \code{waitfor} statement can accept any \code{mutex} routine, which includes the destructor (see section \ref{data}). However, with the semantics discussed until now, waiting for the destructor does not make any sense since using an object after its destructor is called is undefined behaviour. The simplest approach is to disallow \code{waitfor} on a destructor. However, a more expressive approach is to flip execution ordering when waiting for the destructor, meaning that waiting for the destructor allows the destructor to run after the current \code{mutex} routine, similarly to how a condition is signalled. 988 \begin{figure} 989 \begin{cfacode} 990 monitor Executer {}; 991 struct Action; 992 993 void ^?{} (Executer & mutex this); 994 void execute(Executer & mutex this, const Action & ); 995 void run (Executer & mutex this) { 996 while(true) { 997 waitfor(execute, this); 998 or waitfor(^?{} , this) { 999 break; 1000 } 1001 } 1002 } 1003 \end{cfacode} 1004 \caption{Example of an executor which executes action in series until the destructor is called.} 1005 \label{lst:dtor-order} 1006 \end{figure} 1007 For example, listing \ref{lst:dtor-order} shows an example of an executor with an infinite loop, which waits for the destructor to break out of this loop. Switching the semantic meaning introduces an idiomatic way to terminate a task and/or wait for its termination via destruction.
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