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document internals

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note that this assumes that RFC #155 has been implemented
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7
book/en/src/SUMMARY.md
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@ -10,6 +10,11 @@
- [Starting a new project](./by-example/new.md) - [Starting a new project](./by-example/new.md)
- [Tips & tricks](./by-example/tips.md) - [Tips & tricks](./by-example/tips.md)
- [Under the hood](./internals.md) - [Under the hood](./internals.md)
- [Interrupt configuration](./internals/interrupt-configuration.md)
- [Non-reentrancy](./internals/non-reentrancy.md)
- [Access control](./internals/access.md)
- [Late resources](./internals/late-resources.md)
- [Critical sections](./internals/critical-sections.md)
- [Ceiling analysis](./internals/ceilings.md) - [Ceiling analysis](./internals/ceilings.md)
- [Task dispatcher](./internals/tasks.md) - [Software tasks](./internals/tasks.md)
- [Timer queue](./internals/timer-queue.md) - [Timer queue](./internals/timer-queue.md)

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book/en/src/internals.md
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@ -4,3 +4,8 @@ This section describes the internals of the RTFM framework at a *high level*.
Low level details like the parsing and code generation done by the procedural Low level details like the parsing and code generation done by the procedural
macro (`#[app]`) will not be explained here. The focus will be the analysis of macro (`#[app]`) will not be explained here. The focus will be the analysis of
the user specification and the data structures used by the runtime. the user specification and the data structures used by the runtime.
We highly suggest that you read the embedonomicon section on [concurrency]
before you dive into this material.
[concurrency]: https://github.com/rust-embedded/embedonomicon/pull/48

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# Access control
One of the core foundations of RTFM is access control. Controlling which parts
of the program can access which static variables is instrumental to enforcing
memory safety.
Static variables are used to share state between interrupt handlers, or between
interrupts handlers and the bottom execution context, `main`. In normal Rust
code it's hard to have fine grained control over which functions can access a
static variable because static variables can be accessed from any function that
resides in the same scope in which they are declared. Modules give some control
over how a static variable can be accessed by they are not flexible enough.
To achieve the fine-grained access control where tasks can only access the
static variables (resources) that they have specified in their RTFM attribute
the RTFM framework performs a source code level transformation. This
transformation consists of placing the resources (static variables) specified by
the user *inside* a `const` item and the user code *outside* the `const` item.
This makes it impossible for the user code to refer to these static variables.
Access to the resources is then given to each task using a `Resources` struct
whose fields correspond to the resources the task has access to. There's one
such struct per task and the `Resources` struct is initialized with either a
mutable reference (`&mut`) to the static variables or with a resource proxy (see
section on [critical sections](critical-sections.html)).
The code below is an example of the kind of source level transformation that
happens behind the scenes:
``` rust
#[rtfm::app(device = ..)]
const APP: () = {
static mut X: u64: 0;
static mut Y: bool: 0;
#[init(resources = [Y])]
fn init(c: init::Context) {
// .. user code ..
}
#[interrupt(binds = UART0, resources = [X])]
fn foo(c: foo::Context) {
// .. user code ..
}
#[interrupt(binds = UART1, resources = [X, Y])]
fn bar(c: bar::Context) {
// .. user code ..
}
// ..
};
```
The framework produces codes like this:
``` rust
fn init(c: init::Context) {
// .. user code ..
}
fn foo(c: foo::Context) {
// .. user code ..
}
fn bar(c: bar::Context) {
// .. user code ..
}
// Public API
pub mod init {
pub struct Context<'a> {
pub resources: Resources<'a>,
// ..
}
pub struct Resources<'a> {
pub Y: &'a mut bool,
}
}
pub mod foo {
pub struct Context<'a> {
pub resources: Resources<'a>,
// ..
}
pub struct Resources<'a> {
pub X: &'a mut u64,
}
}
pub mod bar {
pub struct Context<'a> {
pub resources: Resources<'a>,
// ..
}
pub struct Resources<'a> {
pub X: &'a mut u64,
pub Y: &'a mut bool,
}
}
/// Implementation details
const APP: () = {
// everything inside this `const` item is hidden from user code
static mut X: u64 = 0;
static mut Y: bool = 0;
// the real entry point of the program
unsafe fn main() -> ! {
interrupt::disable();
// ..
// call into user code; pass references to the static variables
init(init::Context {
resources: init::Resources {
X: &mut X,
},
// ..
});
// ..
interrupt::enable();
// ..
}
// interrupt handler that `foo` binds to
#[no_mangle]
unsafe fn UART0() {
// call into user code; pass references to the static variables
foo(foo::Context {
resources: foo::Resources {
X: &mut X,
},
// ..
});
}
// interrupt handler that `bar` binds to
#[no_mangle]
unsafe fn UART1() {
// call into user code; pass references to the static variables
bar(bar::Context {
resources: bar::Resources {
X: &mut X,
Y: &mut Y,
},
// ..
});
}
};
```

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# Ceiling analysis # Ceiling analysis
**TODO** A resource *priority ceiling*, or just *ceiling*, is the dynamic priority that
any task must have to safely access the resource memory. Ceiling analysis is
relatively simple but critical to the memory safety of RTFM applications.
To compute the ceiling of a resource we must first collect a list of tasks that
have access to the resource -- as the RTFM framework enforces access control to
resources at compile time it also has access to this information at compile
time. The ceiling of the resource is simply the highest logical priority among
those tasks.
`init` and `idle` are not proper tasks but they can access resources so they
need to be considered in the ceiling analysis. `idle` is considered as a task
that has a logical priority of `0` whereas `init` is completely omitted from the
analysis -- the reason for that is that `init` never uses (or needs) critical
sections to access static variables.
In the previous section we showed that a shared resource may appear as a mutable
reference or behind a proxy depending on the task that has access to it. Which
version is presented to the task depends on the task priority and the resource
ceiling. If the task priority is the same as the resource ceiling then the task
gets a mutable reference to the resource memory, otherwise the task gets a
proxy -- this also applies to `idle`. `init` is special: it always gets a
mutable reference to resources.
An example to illustrate the ceiling analysis:
``` rust
#[rtfm::app(device = ..)]
const APP: () = {
// accessed by `foo` (prio = 1) and `bar` (prio = 2)
// CEILING = 2
static mut X: u64 = 0;
// accessed by `idle` (prio = 0)
// CEILING = 0
static mut Y: u64 = 0;
#[init(resources = [X])]
fn init(c: init::Context) {
// mutable reference because this is `init`
let x: &mut u64 = c.resources.X;
// mutable reference because this is `init`
let y: &mut u64 = c.resources.Y;
// ..
}
// PRIORITY = 0
#[idle(resources = [Y])]
fn idle(c: idle::Context) -> ! {
// mutable reference because priority (0) == resource ceiling (0)
let y: &'static mut u64 = c.resources.Y;
loop {
// ..
}
}
#[interrupt(binds = UART0, priority = 1, resources = [X])]
fn foo(c: foo::Context) {
// resource proxy because task priority (1) < resource ceiling (2)
let x: resources::X = c.resources.X;
// ..
}
#[interrupt(binds = UART1, priority = 2, resources = [X])]
fn bar(c: foo::Context) {
// mutable reference because task priority (2) == resource ceiling (2)
let x: &mut u64 = c.resources.X;
// ..
}
// ..
};
```

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# Critical sections
When a resource (static variable) is shared between two, or more, tasks that run
at different priorities some form of mutual exclusion is required to access the
memory in a data race free manner. In RTFM we use priority-based critical
sections to guarantee mutual exclusion (see the [Immediate Priority Ceiling
Protocol][ipcp]).
[ipcp]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priority_ceiling_protocol
The critical section consists of temporarily raising the *dynamic* priority of
the task. While a task is within this critical section all the other tasks that
may request the resource are *not allowed to start*.
How high must the dynamic priority be to ensure mutual exclusion on a particular
resource? The [ceiling analysis](ceiling-analysis.html) is in charge of
answering that question and will be discussed in the next section. This section
will focus on the implementation of the critical section.
## Resource proxy
For simplicity, let's look at a resource shared by two tasks that run at
different priorities. Clearly one of the task can preempt the other; to prevent
a data race the *lower priority* task must use a critical section when it needs
to modify the shared memory. On the other hand, the higher priority task can
directly modify the shared memory because it can't be preempted by the lower
priority task. To enforce the use of a critical section on the lower priority
task we give it a *resource proxy*, whereas we give a mutable reference
(`&mut-`) to the higher priority task.
The example below shows the different types handed out to each task:
``` rust
#[rtfm::app(device = ..)]
const APP: () = {
static mut X: u64 = 0;
#[interrupt(binds = UART0, priority = 1, resources = [X])]
fn foo(c: foo::Context) {
// resource proxy
let mut x: resources::X = c.resources.X;
x.lock(|x: &mut u64| {
// critical section
*x += 1
});
}
#[interrupt(binds = UART1, priority = 2, resources = [X])]
fn bar(c: foo::Context) {
let mut x: &mut u64 = c.resources.X;
*x += 1;
}
// ..
};
```
Now let's see how these types are created by the framework.
``` rust
fn foo(c: foo::Context) {
// .. user code ..
}
fn bar(c: bar::Context) {
// .. user code ..
}
pub mod resources {
pub struct X {
// ..
}
}
pub mod foo {
pub struct Resources {
pub X: resources::X,
}
pub struct Context {
pub resources: Resources,
// ..
}
}
pub mod bar {
pub struct Resources<'a> {
pub X: rtfm::Exclusive<'a, u64>, // newtype over `&'a mut u64`
}
pub struct Context {
pub resources: Resources,
// ..
}
}
const APP: () = {
static mut X: u64 = 0;
impl rtfm::Mutex for resources::X {
type T = u64;
fn lock<R>(&mut self, f: impl FnOnce(&mut u64) -> R) -> R {
// we'll check this in detail later
}
}
#[no_mangle]
unsafe fn UART0() {
foo(foo::Context {
resources: foo::Resources {
X: resources::X::new(/* .. */),
},
// ..
})
}
#[no_mangle]
unsafe fn UART1() {
bar(bar::Context {
resources: bar::Resources {
X: rtfm::Exclusive(&mut X),
},
// ..
})
}
};
```
## `lock`
Let's now zoom into the critical section itself. In this example, we have to
raise the dynamic priority to at least `2` to prevent a data race. On the
Cortex-M architecture the dynamic priority can be changed by writing to the
`BASEPRI` register.
The semantics of the `BASEPRI` register are as follows:
- Writing a value of `0` to `BASEPRI` disables its functionality.
- Writing a non-zero value to `BASEPRI` changes the priority level required for
interrupt preemption. However, this only has an effect when the written value
is *lower* than the priority level of current execution context, but note that
a lower hardware priority level means higher logical priority
Thus the dynamic priority at any point in time can be computed as
``` rust
dynamic_priority = max(hw2logical(BASEPRI), hw2logical(static_priority))
```
Where `static_priority` is the priority programmed in the NVIC for the current
interrupt, or a logical `0` when the current context is `idle`.
In this particular example we could implement the critical section as follows:
> **NOTE:** this is a simplified implementation
``` rust
impl rtfm::Mutex for resources::X {
type T = u64;
fn lock<R, F>(&mut self, f: F) -> R
where
F: FnOnce(&mut u64) -> R,
{
unsafe {
// start of critical section: raise dynamic priority to `2`
asm!("msr BASEPRI, 192" : : : "memory" : "volatile");
// run user code within the critical section
let r = f(&mut implementation_defined_name_for_X);
// end of critical section: restore dynamic priority to its static value (`1`)
asm!("msr BASEPRI, 0" : : : "memory" : "volatile");
r
}
}
}
```
Here it's important to use the `"memory"` clobber in the `asm!` block. It
prevents the compiler from reordering memory operations across it. This is
important because accessing the variable `X` outside the critical section would
result in a data race.
It's important to note that the signature of the `lock` method prevents nesting
calls to it. This is required for memory safety, as nested calls would produce
multiple mutable references (`&mut-`) to `X` breaking Rust aliasing rules. See
below:
``` rust
#[interrupt(binds = UART0, priority = 1, resources = [X])]
fn foo(c: foo::Context) {
// resource proxy
let mut res: resources::X = c.resources.X;
res.lock(|x: &mut u64| {
res.lock(|alias: &mut u64| {
//~^ error: `res` has already been mutably borrowed
// ..
});
});
}
```
## Nesting
Nesting calls to `lock` on the *same* resource must be rejected by the compiler
for memory safety but nesting `lock` calls on *different* resources is a valid
operation. In that case we want to make sure that nesting critical sections
never results in lowering the dynamic priority, as that would be unsound, and we
also want to optimize the number of writes to the `BASEPRI` register and
compiler fences. To that end we'll track the dynamic priority of the task using
a stack variable and use that to decide whether to write to `BASEPRI` or not. In
practice, the stack variable will be optimized away by the compiler but it still
provides extra information to the compiler.
Consider this program:
``` rust
#[rtfm::app(device = ..)]
const APP: () = {
static mut X: u64 = 0;
static mut Y: u64 = 0;
#[init]
fn init() {
rtfm::pend(Interrupt::UART0);
}
#[interrupt(binds = UART0, priority = 1, resources = [X, Y])]
fn foo(c: foo::Context) {
let mut x = c.resources.X;
let mut y = c.resources.Y;
y.lock(|y| {
*y += 1;
*x.lock(|x| {
x += 1;
});
*y += 1;
});
// mid-point
x.lock(|x| {
*x += 1;
y.lock(|y| {
*y += 1;
});
*x += 1;
})
}
#[interrupt(binds = UART1, priority = 2, resources = [X])]
fn bar(c: foo::Context) {
// ..
}
#[interrupt(binds = UART2, priority = 3, resources = [Y])]
fn baz(c: foo::Context) {
// ..
}
// ..
};
```
The code generated by the framework looks like this:
``` rust
// omitted: user code
pub mod resources {
pub struct X<'a> {
priority: &'a Cell<u8>,
}
impl<'a> X<'a> {
pub unsafe fn new(priority: &'a Cell<u8>) -> Self {
X { priority }
}
pub unsafe fn priority(&self) -> &Cell<u8> {
self.priority
}
}
// repeat for `Y`
}
pub mod foo {
pub struct Context {
pub resources: Resources,
// ..
}
pub struct Resources<'a> {
pub X: resources::X<'a>,
pub Y: resources::Y<'a>,
}
}
const APP: () = {
#[no_mangle]
unsafe fn UART0() {
// the static priority of this interrupt (as specified by the user)
const PRIORITY: u8 = 1;
// take a snashot of the BASEPRI
let initial: u8;
asm!("mrs $0, BASEPRI" : "=r"(initial) : : : "volatile");
let priority = Cell::new(PRIORITY);
foo(foo::Context {
resources: foo::Resources::new(&priority),
// ..
});
// roll back the BASEPRI to the snapshot value we took before
asm!("msr BASEPRI, $0" : : "r"(initial) : : "volatile");
}
// similarly for `UART1`
impl<'a> rtfm::Mutex for resources::X<'a> {
type T = u64;
fn lock<R>(&mut self, f: impl FnOnce(&mut u64) -> R) -> R {
unsafe {
// the priority ceiling of this resource
const CEILING: u8 = 2;
let current = self.priority().get();
if current < CEILING {
// raise dynamic priority
self.priority().set(CEILING);
let hw = logical2hw(CEILING);
asm!("msr BASEPRI, $0" : : "r"(hw) : "memory" : "volatile");
let r = f(&mut X);
// restore dynamic priority
let hw = logical2hw(current);
asm!("msr BASEPRI, $0" : : "r"(hw) : "memory" : "volatile");
self.priority().set(current);
r
} else {
// dynamic priority is high enough
f(&mut X)
}
}
}
}
// repeat for `Y`
};
```
At the end the compiler will optimize the function `foo` into something like
this:
``` rust
fn foo(c: foo::Context) {
// NOTE: BASEPRI contains the value `0` (its reset value) at this point
// raise dynamic priority to `3`
unsafe { asm!("msr BASEPRI, 160" : : : "memory" : "volatile") }
// the two operations on `Y` are merged into one
Y += 2;
// BASEPRI is not modified to access `X` because the dynamic priority is high enough
X += 1;
// lower (restore) the dynamic priority to `1`
unsafe { asm!("msr BASEPRI, 224" : : : "memory" : "volatile") }
// mid-point
// raise dynamic priority to `2`
unsafe { asm!("msr BASEPRI, 192" : : : "memory" : "volatile") }
X += 1;
// raise dynamic priority to `3`
unsafe { asm!("msr BASEPRI, 160" : : : "memory" : "volatile") }
Y += 1;
// lower (restore) the dynamic priority to `2`
unsafe { asm!("msr BASEPRI, 192" : : : "memory" : "volatile") }
// NOTE: it would be sound to merge this operation on X with the previous one but
// compiler fences are coarse grained and prevent such optimization
X += 1;
// lower (restore) the dynamic priority to `1`
unsafe { asm!("msr BASEPRI, 224" : : : "memory" : "volatile") }
// NOTE: BASEPRI contains the value `224` at this point
// the UART0 handler will restore the value to `0` before returning
}
```
## The BASEPRI invariant
An invariant that the RTFM framework has to preserve is that the value of the
BASEPRI at the start of an *interrupt* handler must be the same value it has
when the interrupt handler returns. BASEPRI may change during the execution of
the interrupt handler but running an interrupt handler from start to finish
should not result in an observable change of BASEPRI.
This invariant needs to be preserved to avoid raising the dynamic priority of a
handler through preemption. This is best observed in the following example:
``` rust
#[rtfm::app(device = ..)]
const APP: () = {
static mut X: u64 = 0;
#[init]
fn init() {
// `foo` will run right after `init` returns
rtfm::pend(Interrupt::UART0);
}
#[task(binds = UART0, priority = 1)]
fn foo() {
// BASEPRI is `0` at this point; the dynamic priority is currently `1`
// `bar` will preempt `foo` at this point
rtfm::pend(Interrupt::UART1);
// BASEPRI is `192` at this point (due to a bug); the dynamic priority is now `2`
// this function returns to `idle`
}
#[task(binds = UART1, priority = 2, resources = [X])]
fn bar() {
// BASEPRI is `0` (dynamic priority = 2)
X.lock(|x| {
// BASEPRI is raised to `160` (dynamic priority = 3)
// ..
});
// BASEPRI is restored to `192` (dynamic priority = 2)
}
#[idle]
fn idle() -> ! {
// BASEPRI is `192` (due to a bug); dynamic priority = 2
// this has no effect due to the BASEPRI value
// the task `foo` will never be executed again
rtfm::pend(Interrupt::UART0);
loop {
// ..
}
}
#[task(binds = UART2, priority = 3, resources = [X])]
fn baz() {
// ..
}
};
```
IMPORTANT: let's say we *forget* to roll back `BASEPRI` in `UART1` -- this would
be a bug in the RTFM code generator.
``` rust
// code generated by RTFM
const APP: () = {
// ..
#[no_mangle]
unsafe fn UART1() {
// the static priority of this interrupt (as specified by the user)
const PRIORITY: u8 = 2;
// take a snashot of the BASEPRI
let initial: u8;
asm!("mrs $0, BASEPRI" : "=r"(initial) : : : "volatile");
let priority = Cell::new(PRIORITY);
bar(bar::Context {
resources: bar::Resources::new(&priority),
// ..
});
// BUG: FORGOT to roll back the BASEPRI to the snapshot value we took before
// asm!("msr BASEPRI, $0" : : "r"(initial) : : "volatile");
}
};
```
The consequence is that `idle` will run at a dynamic priority of `2` and in fact
the system will never again run at a dynamic priority lower than `2`. This
doesn't compromise the memory safety of the program but affects task scheduling:
in this particular case tasks with a priority of `1` will never get a chance to
run.

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# Interrupt configuration
Interrupts are core to the operation of RTFM applications. Correctly setting
interrupt priorities and ensuring they remain fixed at runtime is a requisite
for the memory safety of the application.
The RTFM framework exposes interrupt priorities as something that is declared at
compile time. However, this static configuration must be programmed into the
relevant registers during the initialization of the application. The interrupt
configuration is done before the `init` function runs.
This example gives you an idea of the code that the RTFM framework runs:
``` rust
#[rtfm::app(device = ..)]
const APP: () = {
#[init]
fn init(c: init::Context) {
// .. user code ..
}
#[idle]
fn idle(c: idle::Context) -> ! {
// .. user code ..
}
#[interrupt(binds = UART0, priority = 2)]
fn foo(c: foo::Context) {
// .. user code ..
}
};
```
The framework generates an entry point that looks like this:
``` rust
// the real entry point of the program
#[no_mangle]
unsafe fn main() -> ! {
// transforms a logical priority into a hardware / NVIC priority
fn logical2hw(priority: u8) -> u8 {
// this value comes from the device crate
const NVIC_PRIO_BITS: u8 = ..;
// the NVIC encodes priority in the higher bits of a bit
// also a bigger numbers means lower priority
((1 << NVIC_PRIORITY_BITS) - priority) << (8 - NVIC_PRIO_BITS)
}
cortex_m::interrupt::disable();
let mut core = cortex_m::Peripheral::steal();
core.NVIC.enable(Interrupt::UART0);
// value specified by the user
let uart0_prio = 2;
// check at compile time that the specified priority is within the supported range
let _ = [(); (1 << NVIC_PRIORITY_BITS) - (uart0_prio as usize)];
core.NVIC.set_priority(Interrupt::UART0, logical2hw(uart0_prio));
// call into user code
init(/* .. */);
// ..
cortex_m::interrupt::enable();
// call into user code
idle(/* .. */)
}
```

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# Late resources
Some resources are initialized at runtime after the `init` function returns.
It's important that these resources (static variables) are fully initialized
before tasks are allowed to run, that is they must be initialized while
interrupts are disabled.
The example below shows the kind of code that the framework generates to
initialize late resources.
``` rust
#[rtfm::app(device = ..)]
const APP: () = {
// late resource
static mut X: Thing = {};
#[init]
fn init() -> init::LateResources {
// ..
init::LateResources {
X: Thing::new(..),
}
}
#[task(binds = UART0, resources = [X])]
fn foo(c: foo::Context) {
let x: &mut Thing = c.resources.X;
x.frob();
// ..
}
// ..
};
```
The code generated by the framework looks like this:
``` rust
fn init(c: init::Context) -> init::LateResources {
// .. user code ..
}
fn foo(c: foo::Context) {
// .. user code ..
}
// Public API
pub mod init {
pub struct LateResources {
pub X: Thing,
}
// ..
}
pub mod foo {
pub struct Resources<'a> {
pub X: &'a mut Thing,
}
pub struct Context<'a> {
pub resources: Resources<'a>,
// ..
}
}
/// Implementation details
const APP: () = {
// uninitialized static
static mut X: MaybeUninit<Thing> = MaybeUninit::uninit();
#[no_mangle]
unsafe fn main() -> ! {
cortex_m::interrupt::disable();
// ..
let late = init(..);
// initialization of late resources
X.write(late.X);
cortex_m::interrupt::enable(); //~ compiler fence
// exceptions, interrupts and tasks can preempt `main` at this point
idle(..)
}
#[no_mangle]
unsafe fn UART0() {
foo(foo::Context {
resources: foo::Resources {
// `X` has been initialized at this point
X: &mut *X.as_mut_ptr(),
},
// ..
})
}
};
```
An important detail here is that `interrupt::enable` behaves like a *compiler
fence*, which prevents the compiler from reordering the write to `X` to *after*
`interrupt::enable`. If the compiler were to do that kind of reordering there
would be a data race between that write and whatever operation `foo` performs on
`X`.
Architectures with more complex instruction pipelines may need a memory barrier
(`atomic::fence`) instead of a compiler fence to fully flush the write operation
before interrupts are re-enabled. The ARM Cortex-M architecture doesn't need a
memory barrier in single-core context.

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# Non-reentrancy
In RTFM, tasks handlers are *not* reentrant. Reentering a task handler can break
Rust aliasing rules and lead to *undefined behavior*. A task handler can be
reentered in one of two ways: in software or by hardware.
## In software
To reenter a task handler in software its underlying interrupt handler must be
invoked using FFI (see example below). FFI requires `unsafe` code so end users
are discouraged from directly invoking an interrupt handler.
``` rust
#[rtfm::app(device = ..)]
const APP: () = {
static mut X: u64 = 0;
#[init]
fn init(c: init::Context) { .. }
#[interrupt(binds = UART0, resources = [X])]
fn foo(c: foo::Context) {
let x: &mut u64 = c.resources.X;
*x = 1;
//~ `bar` can preempt `foo` at this point
*x = 2;
if *x == 2 {
// something
}
}
#[interrupt(binds = UART1, priority = 2)]
fn bar(c: foo::Context) {
extern "C" {
fn UART0();
}
// this interrupt handler will invoke task handler `foo` resulting
// in mutable aliasing of the static variable `X`
unsafe { UART0() }
}
};
```
The RTFM framework must generate the interrupt handler code that calls the user
defined task handlers. We are careful in making these handlers `unsafe` and / or
impossible to call from user code.
The above example expands into:
``` rust
fn foo(c: foo::Context) {
// .. user code ..
}
fn bar(c: bar::Context) {
// .. user code ..
}
const APP: () = {
// everything in this block is not visible to user code
#[no_mangle]
unsafe fn USART0() {
foo(..);
}
#[no_mangle]
unsafe fn USART1() {
bar(..);
}
};
```
## By hardware
A task handler can also be reentered without software intervention. This can
occur if the same handler is assigned to two or more interrupts in the vector
table but there's no syntax for this kind of configuration in the RTFM
framework.

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# Task dispatcher # Software tasks
**TODO** RTFM supports software tasks and hardware tasks. Each hardware task is bound to
a different interrupt handler. On the other hand, several software tasks may be
dispatched by the same interrupt handler -- this is done to minimize the number
of interrupts handlers used by the framework.
The framework groups `spawn`-able tasks by priority level and generates one
*task dispatcher* per priority level. Each task dispatcher runs on a different
interrupt handler and the priority of said interrupt handler is set to match the
priority level of the tasks managed by the dispatcher.
Each task dispatcher keeps a *queue* of tasks which are *ready* to execute; this
queue is referred to as the *ready queue*. Spawning a software task consists of
adding an entry to this queue and pending the interrupt that runs the
corresponding task dispatcher. Each entry in this queue contains a tag (`enum`)
that identifies the task to execute and a *pointer* to the message passed to the
task.
The ready queue is a SPSC (Single Producer Single Consumer) lock-free queue. The
task dispatcher owns the consumer endpoint of the queue; the producer endpoint
is treated as a resource shared by the tasks that can `spawn` other tasks.
## The task dispatcher
Let's first take a look the code generated by the framework to dispatch tasks.
Consider this example:
``` rust
#[rtfm::app(device = ..)]
const APP: () = {
// ..
#[interrupt(binds = UART0, priority = 2, spawn = [bar, baz])]
fn foo(c: foo::Context) {
foo.spawn.bar().ok();
foo.spawn.baz(42).ok();
}
#[task(capacity = 2, priority = 1)]
fn bar(c: bar::Context) {
// ..
}
#[task(capacity = 2, priority = 1, resources = [X])]
fn baz(c: baz::Context, input: i32) {
// ..
}
extern "C" {
fn UART1();
}
};
```
The framework produces the following task dispatcher which consists of an
interrupt handler and a ready queue:
``` rust
fn bar(c: bar::Context) {
// .. user code ..
}
const APP: () = {
use heapless::spsc::Queue;
use cortex_m::register::basepri;
struct Ready<T> {
task: T,
// ..
}
/// `spawn`-able tasks that run at priority level `1`
enum T1 {
bar,
baz,
}
// ready queue of the task dispatcher
// `U4` is a type-level integer that represents the capacity of this queue
static mut RQ1: Queue<Ready<T1>, U4> = Queue::new();
// interrupt handler chosen to dispatch tasks at priority `1`
#[no_mangle]
unsafe UART1() {
// the priority of this interrupt handler
const PRIORITY: u8 = 1;
let snapshot = basepri::read();
while let Some(ready) = RQ1.split().1.dequeue() {
match ready.task {
T1::bar => {
// **NOTE** simplified implementation
// used to track the dynamic priority
let priority = Cell::new(PRIORITY);
// call into user code
bar(bar::Context::new(&priority));
}
T1::baz => {
// we'll look at `baz` later
}
}
}
// BASEPRI invariant
basepri::write(snapshot);
}
};
```
## Spawning a task
The `spawn` API is exposed to the user as the methods of a `Spawn` struct.
There's one `Spawn` struct per task.
The `Spawn` code generated by the framework for the previous example looks like
this:
``` rust
mod foo {
// ..
pub struct Context<'a> {
pub spawn: Spawn<'a>,
// ..
}
pub struct Spawn<'a> {
// tracks the dyanmic priority of the task
priority: &'a Cell<u8>,
}
impl<'a> Spawn<'a> {
// `unsafe` and hidden because we don't want the user to tamper with it
#[doc(hidden)]
pub unsafe fn priority(&self) -> &Cell<u8> {
self.priority
}
}
}
const APP: () = {
// ..
// Priority ceiling for the producer endpoint of the `RQ1`
const RQ1_CEILING: u8 = 2;
// used to track how many more `bar` messages can be enqueued
// `U2` is the capacity of the `bar` task; a max of two instances can be queued
// this queue is filled by the framework before `init` runs
static mut bar_FQ: Queue<(), U2> = Queue::new();
// Priority ceiling for the consumer endpoint of `bar_FQ`
const bar_FQ_CEILING: u8 = 2;
// a priority-based critical section
//
// this run the given closure `f` at a dynamic priority of at least
// `ceiling`
fn lock(priority: &Cell<u8>, ceiling: u8, f: impl FnOnce()) {
// ..
}
impl<'a> foo::Spawn<'a> {
/// Spawns the `bar` task
pub fn bar(&self) -> Result<(), ()> {
unsafe {
match lock(self.priority(), bar_FQ_CEILING, || {
bar_FQ.split().1.dequeue()
}) {
Some(()) => {
lock(self.priority(), RQ1_CEILING, || {
// put the taks in the ready queue
RQ1.split().1.enqueue_unchecked(Ready {
task: T1::bar,
// ..
})
});
// pend the interrupt that runs the task dispatcher
rtfm::pend(Interrupt::UART0);
}
None => {
// maximum capacity reached; spawn failed
Err(())
}
}
}
}
}
};
```
Using `bar_FQ` to limit the number of `bar` tasks that can be spawned may seem
like an artificial limitation but it will make more sense when we talk about
task capacities.
## Messages
We have omitted how message passing actually works so let's revisit the `spawn`
implementation but this time for task `baz` which receives a `u64` message.
``` rust
fn baz(c: baz::Context, input: u64) {
// .. user code ..
}
const APP: () = {
// ..
// Now we show the full contents of the `Ready` struct
struct Ready {
task: Task,
// message index; used to index the `INPUTS` buffer
index: u8,
}
// memory reserved to hold messages passed to `baz`
static mut baz_INPUTS: [MaybeUninit<u64>; 2] =
[MaybeUninit::uninit(), MaybeUninit::uninit()];
// the free queue: used to track free slots in the `baz_INPUTS` array
// this queue is initialized with values `0` and `1` before `init` is executed
static mut baz_FQ: Queue<u8, U2> = Queue::new();
// Priority ceiling for the consumer endpoint of `baz_FQ`
const baz_FQ_CEILING: u8 = 2;
impl<'a> foo::Spawn<'a> {
/// Spawns the `baz` task
pub fn baz(&self, message: u64) -> Result<(), u64> {
unsafe {
match lock(self.priority(), baz_FQ_CEILING, || {
baz_FQ.split().1.dequeue()
}) {
Some(index) => {
// NOTE: `index` is an ownining pointer into this buffer
baz_INPUTS[index as usize].write(message);
lock(self.priority(), RQ1_CEILING, || {
// put the task in the ready queu
RQ1.split().1.enqueue_unchecked(Ready {
task: T1::baz,
index,
});
});
// pend the interrupt that runs the task dispatcher
rtfm::pend(Interrupt::UART0);
}
None => {
// maximum capacity reached; spawn failed
Err(message)
}
}
}
}
}
};
```
And now let's look at the real implementation of the task dispatcher:
``` rust
const APP: () = {
// ..
#[no_mangle]
unsafe UART1() {
const PRIORITY: u8 = 1;
let snapshot = basepri::read();
while let Some(ready) = RQ1.split().1.dequeue() {
match ready.task {
Task::baz => {
// NOTE: `index` is an ownining pointer into this buffer
let input = baz_INPUTS[ready.index as usize].read();
// the message has been read out so we can return the slot
// back to the free queue
// (the task dispatcher has exclusive access to the producer
// endpoint of this queue)
baz_FQ.split().0.enqueue_unchecked(ready.index);
let priority = Cell::new(PRIORITY);
baz(baz::Context::new(&priority), input)
}
Task::bar => {
// looks just like the `baz` branch
}
}
}
// BASEPRI invariant
basepri::write(snapshot);
}
};
```
`INPUTS` plus `FQ`, the free queue, is effectively a memory pool. However,
instead of using the usual *free list* (linked list) to track empty slots
in the `INPUTS` buffer we use a SPSC queue; this lets us reduce the number of
critical sections. In fact, thanks to this choice the task dispatching code is
lock-free.
## Queue capacity
The RTFM framework uses several queues like ready queues and free queues. When
the free queue is empty trying to `spawn` a task results in an error; this
condition is checked at runtime. Not all the operations performed by the
framework on these queues check if the queue is empty / full. For example,
returning an slot to the free queue (see the task dispatcher) is unchecked
because there's a fixed number of such slots circulating in the system that's
equal to the capacity of the free queue. Similarly, adding an entry to the ready
queue (see `Spawn`) is unchecked because of the queue capacity chosen by the
framework.
Users can specify the capacity of software tasks; this capacity is the maximum
number of messages one can post to said task from a higher priority task before
`spawn` returns an error. This user-specified capacity is the capacity of the
free queue of the task (e.g. `foo_FQ`) and also the size of the array that holds
the inputs to the task (e.g. `foo_INPUTS`).
The capacity of the ready queue (e.g. `RQ1`) is chosen to be the *sum* of the
capacities of all the different tasks managed by the dispatcher; this sum is
also the number of messages the queue will hold in the worst case scenario of
all possible messages being posted before the task dispatcher gets a chance to
run. For this reason, getting a slot from the free queue in any `spawn`
operation implies that the ready queue is not yet full so inserting an entry
into the ready queue can omit the "is it full?" check.
In our running example the task `bar` takes no input so we could have omitted
both `bar_INPUTS` and `bar_FQ` and let the user post an unbounded number of
messages to this task, but if we did that it would have not be possible to pick
a capacity for `RQ1` that lets us omit the "is it full?" check when spawning a
`baz` task. In the section about the [timer queue](timer-queue.html) we'll see
how the free queue is used by tasks that have no inputs.
## Ceiling analysis
The queues internally used by the `spawn` API are treated like normal resources
and included in the ceiling analysis. It's important to note that these are SPSC
queues and that only one of the endpoints is behind a resource; the other
endpoint is owned by a task dispatcher.
Consider the following example:
``` rust
#[rtfm::app(device = ..)]
const APP: () = {
#[idle(spawn = [foo, bar])]
fn idle(c: idle::Context) -> ! {
// ..
}
#[task]
fn foo(c: foo::Context) {
// ..
}
#[task]
fn bar(c: bar::Context) {
// ..
}
#[task(priority = 2, spawn = [foo])]
fn baz(c: baz::Context) {
// ..
}
#[task(priority = 3, spawn = [bar])]
fn quux(c: quux::Context) {
// ..
}
};
```
This is how the ceiling analysis would go:
- `idle` (prio = 0) and `baz` (prio = 2) contend for the consumer endpoint of
`foo_FQ`; this leads to a priority ceiling of `2`.
- `idle` (prio = 0) and `quux` (prio = 3) contend for the consumer endpoint of
`bar_FQ`; this leads to a priority ceiling of `3`.
- `idle` (prio = 0), `baz` (prio = 2) and `quux` (prio = 3) all contend for the
producer endpoint of `RQ1`; this leads to a priority ceiling of `3`

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# Timer queue # Timer queue
**TODO** The timer queue functionality lets the user schedule tasks to run at some time
in the future. Unsurprisingly, this feature is also implemented using a queue:
a priority queue where the scheduled tasks are kept sorted by earliest scheduled
time. This feature requires a timer capable of setting up timeout interrupts.
The timer is used to trigger an interrupt when the scheduled time of a task is
up; at that point the task is removed from the timer queue and moved into the
appropriate ready queue.
Let's see how this in implemented in code. Consider the following program:
``` rust
#[rtfm::app(device = ..)]
const APP: () = {
// ..
#[task(capacity = 2, schedule = [foo])]
fn foo(c: foo::Context, x: u32) {
// schedule this task to run again in 1M cycles
c.schedule.foo(c.scheduled + Duration::cycles(1_000_000), x + 1).ok();
}
extern "C" {
fn UART0();
}
};
```
## `schedule`
Let's first look at the `schedule` API.
``` rust
mod foo {
pub struct Schedule<'a> {
priority: &'a Cell<u8>,
}
impl<'a> Schedule<'a> {
// unsafe and hidden because we don't want the user to tamper with this
#[doc(hidden)]
pub unsafe fn priority(&self) -> &Cell<u8> {
self.priority
}
}
}
const APP: () = {
use rtfm::Instant;
// all tasks that can be `schedule`-d
enum T {
foo,
}
struct NotReady {
index: u8,
instant: Instant,
task: T,
}
// The timer queue is a binary (min) heap of `NotReady` tasks
static mut TQ: TimerQueue<U2> = ..;
const TQ_CEILING: u8 = 1;
static mut foo_FQ: Queue<u8, U2> = Queue::new();
const foo_FQ_CEILING: u8 = 1;
static mut foo_INPUTS: [MaybeUninit<u32>; 2] =
[MaybeUninit::uninit(), MaybeUninit::uninit()];
static mut foo_INSTANTS: [MaybeUninit<Instant>; 2] =
[MaybeUninit::uninit(), MaybeUninit::uninit()];
impl<'a> foo::Schedule<'a> {
fn foo(&self, instant: Instant, input: u32) -> Result<(), u32> {
unsafe {
let priority = self.priority();
if let Some(index) = lock(priority, foo_FQ_CEILING, || {
foo_FQ.split().1.dequeue()
}) {
// `index` is an owning pointer into these buffers
foo_INSTANTS[index as usize].write(instant);
foo_INPUTS[index as usize].write(input);
let nr = NotReady {
index,
instant,
task: T::foo,
};
lock(priority, TQ_CEILING, || {
TQ.enqueue_unchecked(nr);
});
} else {
// No space left to store the input / instant
Err(input)
}
}
}
}
};
```
This looks very similar to the `Spawn` implementation. In fact, the same
`INPUTS` buffer and free queue (`FQ`) are shared between the `spawn` and
`schedule` APIs. The main difference between the two is that `schedule` also
stores the `Instant` at which the task was scheduled to run in a separate buffer
(`foo_INSTANTS` in this case).
`TimerQueue::enqueue_unchecked` does a bit more work that just adding the entry
into a min-heap: it also pends the system timer interrupt (`SysTick`) if the new
entry ended up first in the queue.
## The system timer
The system timer interrupt (`SysTick`) takes cares of two things: moving tasks
that have become ready from the timer queue into the right ready queue and
setting up a timeout interrupt to fire when the scheduled time of the next task
is up.
Let's see the associated code.
``` rust
const APP: () = {
#[no_mangle]
fn SysTick() {
const PRIORITY: u8 = 1;
let priority = &Cell::new(PRIORITY);
while let Some(ready) = lock(priority, TQ_CEILING, || TQ.dequeue()) {
match ready.task {
T::foo => {
// move this task into the `RQ1` ready queue
lock(priority, RQ1_CEILING, || {
RQ1.split().0.enqueue_unchecked(Ready {
task: T1::foo,
index: ready.index,
})
});
// pend the task dispatcher
rtfm::pend(Interrupt::UART0);
}
}
}
}
};
```
This looks similar to a task dispatcher except that instead of running the
ready task this only places the task in the corresponding ready queue, that
way it will run at the right priority.
`TimerQueue::dequeue` will set up a new timeout interrupt when it returns
`None`. This ties in with `TimerQueue::enqueue_unchecked`, which pends this
handler; basically, `enqueue_unchecked` delegates the task of setting up a new
timeout interrupt to the `SysTick` handler.
## Queue capacity
The capacity of the timer queue is chosen to be the sum of the capacities of all
`schedule`-able tasks. Like in the case of the ready queues, this means that
once we have claimed a free slot in the `INPUTS` buffer we are guaranteed to be
able to insert the task in the timer queue; this lets us omit runtime checks.
## System timer priority
The priority of the system timer can't set by the user; it is chosen by the
framework. To ensure that lower priority tasks don't prevent higher priority
tasks from running we choose the priority of the system timer to be the maximum
of all the `schedule`-able tasks.
To see why this is required consider the case where two previously scheduled
tasks with priorities `2` and `3` become ready at about the same time but the
lower priority task is moved into the ready queue first. If the system timer
priority was, for example, `1` then after moving the lower priority (`2`) task
it would run to completion (due to it being higher priority than the system
timer) delaying the execution of the higher priority (`3`) task. To prevent
scenarios like these the system timer must match the highest priority of the
`schedule`-able tasks; in this example that would be `3`.
## Ceiling analysis
The timer queue is a resource shared between all the tasks that can `schedule` a
task and the `SysTick` handler. Also the `schedule` API contends with the
`spawn` API over the free queues. All this must be considered in the ceiling
analysis.
To illustrate, consider the following example:
``` rust
#[rtfm::app(device = ..)]
const APP: () = {
#[task(priority = 3, spawn = [baz])]
fn foo(c: foo::Context) {
// ..
}
#[task(priority = 2, schedule = [foo, baz])]
fn bar(c: bar::Context) {
// ..
}
#[task(priority = 1)]
fn baz(c: baz::Context) {
// ..
}
};
```
The ceiling analysis would go like this:
- `foo` (prio = 3) and `baz` (prio = 1) are `schedule`-able task so the
`SysTick` must run at the highest priority between these two, that is `3`.
- `foo::Spawn` (prio = 3) and `bar::Schedule` (prio = 2) contend over the
consumer endpoind of `baz_FQ`; this leads to a priority ceiling of `3`.
- `bar::Schedule` (prio = 2) has exclusive access over the consumer endpoint of
`foo_FQ`; thus the priority ceiling of `foo_FQ` is effectively `2`.
- `SysTick` (prio = 3) and `bar::Schedule` (prio = 2) contend over the timer
queue `TQ`; this leads to a priority ceiling of `3`.
- `SysTick` (prio = 3) and `foo::Spawn` (prio = 3) both have lock-free access to
the ready queue `RQ3`, which holds `foo` entries; thus the priority ceiling of
`RQ3` is effectively `3`.
- The `SysTick` has exclusive access to the ready queue `RQ1`, which holds `baz`
entries; thus the priority ceiling of `RQ1` is effectively `3`.
## Changes in the `spawn` implementation
When the "timer-queue" feature is enabled the `spawn` implementation changes a
bit to track the baseline of tasks. As you saw in the `schedule` implementation
there's an `INSTANTS` buffers used to store the time at which a task was
scheduled to run; this `Instant` is read in the task dispatcher and passed to
the user code as part of the task context.
``` rust
const APP: () = {
// ..
#[no_mangle]
unsafe UART1() {
const PRIORITY: u8 = 1;
let snapshot = basepri::read();
while let Some(ready) = RQ1.split().1.dequeue() {
match ready.task {
Task::baz => {
let input = baz_INPUTS[ready.index as usize].read();
// ADDED
let instant = baz_INSTANTS[ready.index as usize].read();
baz_FQ.split().0.enqueue_unchecked(ready.index);
let priority = Cell::new(PRIORITY);
// CHANGED the instant is passed as part the task context
baz(baz::Context::new(&priority, instant), input)
}
Task::bar => {
// looks just like the `baz` branch
}
}
}
// BASEPRI invariant
basepri::write(snapshot);
}
};
```
Conversely, the `spawn` implementation needs to write a value to the `INSTANTS`
buffer. The value to be written is stored in the `Spawn` struct and its either
the `start` time of the hardware task or the `scheduled` time of the software
task.
``` rust
mod foo {
// ..
pub struct Spawn<'a> {
priority: &'a Cell<u8>,
// ADDED
instant: Instant,
}
impl<'a> Spawn<'a> {
pub unsafe fn priority(&self) -> &Cell<u8> {
&self.priority
}
// ADDED
pub unsafe fn instant(&self) -> Instant {
self.instant
}
}
}
const APP: () = {
impl<'a> foo::Spawn<'a> {
/// Spawns the `baz` task
pub fn baz(&self, message: u64) -> Result<(), u64> {
unsafe {
match lock(self.priority(), baz_FQ_CEILING, || {
baz_FQ.split().1.dequeue()
}) {
Some(index) => {
baz_INPUTS[index as usize].write(message);
// ADDED
baz_INSTANTS[index as usize].write(self.instant());
lock(self.priority(), RQ1_CEILING, || {
RQ1.split().1.enqueue_unchecked(Ready {
task: Task::foo,
index,
});
});
rtfm::pend(Interrupt::UART0);
}
None => {
// maximum capacity reached; spawn failed
Err(message)
}
}
}
}
}
};
```