Real-Time Multitasking

5.1

Introduction
Task Basics
Task Control
Error Status
System Tasks

5-1

What is Real-Time?

Real-time denotes the ability of a control system to keep

up with the system being controlled.

A system is described as being deterministic if its

response time is predictable.

The lag time between the occurrence of an event and the

response to that event is called latency.

Deterministic response is the key to real-time

performance.

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Requirements of a Real-time System

Ability to control many external components:

Independent components
Asynchronous components
Synchronous components

High speed execution:

Fast response
Low overhead

Deterministic operation:
A late answer is a wrong answer.

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Design Options

5-4

Unitasking Approach

One task controlling all the components in a loop.

arm ()
{
for (;;)
{
if (shoulder needs moving)
moveShoulder();
if (elbow needs moving)
moveElbow();
if (wrist needs moving)
moveWrist();
.
.
.
}
}

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Multitasking Approach

Create a separate task to manipulate each joint:

joint ()
{
for (;;)
{
waitForMove(); /* Until joint needs moving */
moveJoint();
}
}

Each task alternates between ready and waiting.

VxWorks allows a task to wait for:

A specified time delay
An event (e.g. an interrupt)

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Task States

5-7

Multitasking Kernel

The Wind kernel is that part of VxWorks which directly

manages tasks.

Allocates the CPU to tasks according to the VxWorks

scheduling algorithm (to be discussed).

Uses Task Control Blocks (TCBs) to keep track of tasks.

One per task
Declared as WIND_TCB data structure in taskLib.h
O.S. control information
e.g. state, task priority,
delay timer, breakpoint list, error status, I/O redirections, etc.
CPU Context Information
registers

e.g. PC, SP, CPU registers,

FPU

5-8

Kernel Operation

5-9

Context Switch

When one task stops executing and a new task starts, a

context switch or reschedule has occurred.

To schedule a new task to run, the kernel must:

1. Save context of currently executing task into its TCB.

2. Restore context of next task to execute from its TCB.

Complete context switch must be very fast.

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Types of Context Switches

Synchronous context switches occur because the

executing task
pends, delays, or suspends itself.
makes a higher priority task ready to run.
(less frequently) lowers its own priority, or exits.

Asynchronous context switches occur when an ISR:

makes a higher priority task ready to run.
(less frequently) suspends the current task or lowers its priority.

Synchronous context switches require saving fewer

registers than asynchronous context switches, and so are
faster.

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Priority Scheduling

Different application jobs may have different

precedences, which should be observed when allocating
the CPU.

Preemptive scheduling is based on task priorities chosen

to reflect job precedence.

The highest priority task ready to run (not pended or

delayed) is allocated the CPU.

Rescheduling can occur at any time as a result of:

Kernel calls
Interrupts (e.g., system clock tick)

The context switch is not delayed until the next system

clock tick.

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Priority Based Preemption

Equal priority tasks wont preempt each other

(by default).

5-13

Round-Robin Scheduling

5-14

Slicing Time

To allow equal priority tasks to preempt each other, time

slicing must be turned on:

kernelTimeSlice(ticks)
If ticks = 0, time slicing is turned off.

Priority scheduling always takes precedence.

Round-robin only applies to tasks of the same priority.

Priority-based rescheduling can happen any time.

Round-robin rescheduling can only happen every few clock ticks.

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Performance Enhancements

All tasks reside in a common address space.

All tasks run in supervisor (privileged) mode.

5-16

Multitasking Facilities

5-17

How VxWorks Operating System Meets

Real-time Requirements

Able to control many external components

Multitasking allows solution to mirror the problem.
Independent functions are assigned to different tasks.
Intertask communication allows tasks to cooperate.

High speed execution

Tasks are light-weight, enabling fast context switch.
No system call overhead.

Deterministic operation
Preemptive priority scheduling assures response for high priority
tasks.

5-18

Real-Time Multitasking
Introduction
5.2

Task Basics
Task Control
Error Status
System Tasks

5-19

Overview

Low level routines to create and manipulate tasks are

found in taskLib.

A VxWorks task consists of:

A stack (for local storage of automatic variables and parameters
passed to routines).
A TCB (for OS control).

Do not confuse executable code with the task(s) which

execute it:
Code is downloaded before tasks are spawned.
Several tasks can execute the same code
(e.g., printf( )).

5-20

Creating a Task

5-21

Creating a Task
int taskSpawn (name, priority, options,
stackSize, entryPt, arg1, , arg10)

name

Task name, if NULL gives a default name.

priority

Task priority 0-255.

options

Task options e.g. VX_UNBREAKABLE.

stackSize

Size of stack to be allocated in bytes.

entryPt

Address of code to start executing (initial PC).

arg1, ..., arg10

Up to 10 arguments to entry-point routine.

Returns a task id or ERROR if unsuccessful.

5-22

Task IDs

Assigned by kernel when task is created.

Unique to each task.

Efficient 32-bit handle for task.

May be reused after task exits.

A task id of zero refers to task making call (self).

Relevant taskLib routines:

taskIdSelf( )

Get ID of calling task.

taskIdListGet( ) Fill array with IDs of all existing tasks.

taskIdVerify( ) Verify a task ID is valid.

5-23

Task Names

Provided for human convenience.

Typically used only from the shell (during development).
Within programs, use task Ids.

By (often ignored) convention, task names start with a t.

Promotes interpretation as a task name.
Default name is a t followed by an ascending integer.

Doesnt have to be unique (but usually is).

Relevant taskLib routines:

taskName( )

Get name from tid.

taskNameToId( )

Get tid from task name.

5-24

Task Priorities

Range from 0 (highest) to 255 (lowest).

Determining how to set task priorities is a difficult

subject, and beyond the scope of this course. However:
Timing requirements rather than hazy ideas about task importance
should govern priorities.
A substantial body of theory exists.

One can manipulate priorities dynamically with:

taskPriorityGet (tid, &priority)
taskPrioritySet (tid, priority)
Doing so may make your applications behavior more difficult to
analyze.

5-25

Task Stacks

Allocated from system memory pool when task is created.

Fixed size after creation.

The kernel reserves some space from the stack, making

the stack space actually available slightly less than the
stack space requested.

Exceeding stack size (stack crash) causes

unpredictable system behavior.

5-26

Stack Overflows

To check for a stack overflow use the Browser:

Press the check-stack button:
Examine the high water mark indicator in the stack display
window.
High water mark indicator
(Unix) Current usage shown by
shaded bar and number inside.

High water mark shown by

shaded bar. (Windows)
Current usage shown by number
inside bar.

5-27

Task Options

Can be bitwise ored together when the task is created:

VX_FP_TASK

Add floating point support.

VX_NO_STACK_FILL

Dont fill stack with 0xees.

VX_UNBREAKABLE

Disable breakpoints.

VX_DEALLOC_STACK
Deallocate stack and TCB when task exits
(automatically set for you).

Use taskOptionsGet( ) to inquire about a tasks options.

Use taskOptionsSet( ) to unset VX_DEALLOC_STACK.

5-28

Task Creation

During time critical code, task creation can be

unacceptably time consuming.

To reduce creation time, a task can be spawned with the

VX_NO_STACK_FILL option bit set.

Alternatively, spawn a task at system start-up which

blocks immediately, and waits to be made ready when
needed.

5-29

Task Deletion
taskDelete (tid)

Deletes the specified task.

Deallocates the TCB and stack.

exit(code)

Equivalent to a taskDelete( ) of self.

code parameter is stored in the TCB field exitCode.

TCB may be examined for post-mortem debugging by

Unsetting the VX_DEALLOC_STACK option or,
Using a delete hook.

5-30

Resource Reclamation

Contrary to the philosophy of sharing system resources

among all tasks.

Can be an expensive process, which must be the

applications responsibility.

TCB and stack are the only resources automatically

reclaimed.

Tasks are responsible for cleaning up after themselves.

Deallocating memory.
Releasing locks on shared resources.
Closing files which are open.
Deleting child tasks when parent task exits.

5-31

Real-Time Multitasking
Introduction
Task Basics
5.3

Task Control
Error Status
System Tasks

5-32

Task Restart
taskRestart (tid)

Task is terminated and respawned with original

arguments and tid.

Usually used for error recovery.

5-33

Task Suspend/Resume
taskSuspend (tid)

Makes task ineligible to execute.

Can be added to pended or delayed state.

It is safest to have a task suspend itself.

taskResume (tid)

Removes suspension.

Usually taskSuspend() and taskResume() are used for

debugging and development purposes.

5-34

Task Delay

To delay a task for a specified number of system clock

ticks:

STATUS taskDelay (tics)

To poll every 1/7 second:

FOREVER
{
taskDelay (sysClkRateGet( ) / 7)
...
}
Accurate only if clock rate is a multiple of seven ticks/second.
Can suffer from drift.

UsesysClkRateSet( )to change the clock rate.

5-35

Reentrancy and Task Variables

If tasks access the same global or static variables, the

resource can become corrupted (called a race condition).

Possible Solutions:
Use only stack variables in applications.
Protect the resource with a semaphore.
Use task variables to make the variable private to a task.

Task Variables cause a 32-bit value to be saved and

restored on context switches, like a register.

Caveat: task variables increase context switch times.

See the taskVarLib manual pages for details.

5-36

Task Hooks

User-defined code can be executed on every context

switch, at task creation, or at ask deletion:
taskSwitchHookAdd ( )
taskCreateHookAdd ( )
taskDeleteHookAdd ( )

VxWorks uses a switch hook to implement task variables.

See manual pages on taskHookLib for details.

5-37

Task Information
ti (taskNameOrId)

Like i( ), but also displays:

Stack information
Task options
CPU registers
FPU registers (if the VX_FP_TASK option bit is set).

Can also use show ( ):

-> show (tNetTask, 1)

5-38

Task Browser

To obtain information
about a specific task,
double-click on the tasks
summary line in the main
task browser display, or
enter the tasks ID in the
Show box.

5-39

What is POSIX?

Originally, an IEEE committee convened to create a

standard interface to UNIX for:
Increased portability.
Convenience.

VxWorks supports almost all of the 1003.1b POSIX Realtime Extensions.

The POSIX real-time extensions are based on implicit

assumptions about the UNIX process model which do not
always hold in VxWorks. In VxWorks,
Context switch times are very fast.
Text, data, and bss segments are stored in a common, global
address space.

5-40

What does VxWorks Support?

Library Description
aioPxLib

AsynchronousI/O
semPxLib
POSIXSemaphores
mqPxLib

POSIXMessageQueues
mmanPxLib
POSIXMemoryManagement
schedPxLib
POSIXSchedulerInterface
sigLib

POSIXSignals
timerLib, clockLib
POSIXTimer/ClockInterface
dirLib
File/DirectoryInformation

5-41

Real-Time Multitasking
Introduction
Task Basics
Task Control
5.4

Error Status
System Tasks

5-42

Error Status

Global integer errno is used to propagate error

information:
Low level routine detecting an error sets errno.
Calling routine can examine errno to discover why the routine
failed.

5-43

Errno and Context Switches

At each context switch, the kernel saves and restores the

value of errno.

5-44

Setting Errno

Lowest level routine to detect an error sets errno and

returns ERROR:
STATUS myRoutine()
{
...
if (myNumFlurbishes >= MAX_FLURBISH)
{
errno = S_myLib_TOO_MANY_FLURBISHES;
return (ERROR);
}
...
pMem = malloc (sizeof(myStruct));
if (pMem == NULL)
{
/* malloc() sets errno - dont redefine it
*/
return (ERROR)
}
...
}

5-45

Examining Errno

Examine errno to find out why a routine failed.

if ( reactorOk( ) == ERROR )
{
switch (errno)
{
case S_rctorLib_TEMP_DANGER_ZONE:
startShutdown( );
break;
case S_rctorLib_TEMP_CRITICAL_ZONE:
logMsg(Run!);
break;
case S_rctorLib_LEAK_POSSIBLE:
checkVessel( );
break;
default: startEmergProc( );
}
}

errno is only valid after an error occurs.

5-46

Interpreting Errno

VxWorks uses the 32-bit value errno as follows:

31

15

module

error number

VxWorks module numbers are defined in vwModNum.h.

vwModNum.h
Each module defines its own error numbers in its header file.

For example, an errno of 0x110001 would be:

Module number 0x11 (defined in vwModNum.h to be memLib)
memLib and
Error number 0x01 (defined in memLib.h to be not enough
memory).

5-47

Error Messages

VxWorks uses an error symbol table (statSymTbl) to

convert error numbers to error messages.

To obtain the error string corresponding to errno:

{
char errStr [NAME_MAX];
strerror_r (errno, errStr);
...
}

To print the error message associated with an error

number to the WindSh console:
-> printErrno (0x110001)
S_memLib_NOT_ENOUGH_MEMORY

5-48

User-Defined Error Codes

To allow strerror_r() to support your error messages:

1. Create a user header file directory.
2. Create a file xxModNum.h in the user header directory:
#define M_myLib
(501 << 16)
3. Define error macros in your header files (which must be in the
user header directory):
#define S_myLib_BAD_STUFF
(M_myLib|1)
4. Rebuild the system error table, statTbl.o.
statTbl.o
5. Include the component development tool components > symbol table
components > error status table in VxWorks. Add statTbl.o to the
EXTRA_MODULES macro.
6. Rebuild VxWorks.

5-49

Real-Time Multitasking
Introduction
Task Basics
Task Control
Error Status
5.5

System Tasks

5-50

System Tasks
Task Name

Priority

Function

tUsrRoot

First task. Initializes included

facilities, spawns user application,
and exits.

tLogTask

Message logging.

tExcTask

Server which executes miscellaneous

task-level functions at high priority.

tWdbTask

WDB run-time agent.

tNetTask

50

Task-level network functions.

tFtpdTask

55

FTP server.

5-51

Summary

Real-time multitasking requirements:

Preemptive priority-based scheduler
Low overhead

Task properties stored in tasks TCB.

OS control information (priority, stack size, options, state, ...).
Saved CPU context (PC, SP, CPU registers, ...).

taskSpawn( ) lets you specify intrinsic properties:

Priority
Stack size
Options

5-52

Summary

Task manipulation routines in taskLib:

taskSpawn/taskDelete
taskDelay
taskSuspend/taskResume

Task information
ti/show
Task Browser

Additional task context:

errno
Task variables
Task hooks

5-53