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<H1>[MUD-Dev] Re: atomic functions</H1>
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<LI><em>To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI>
<LI><em>Subject</em>: [MUD-Dev] Re: atomic functions </LI>
<LI><em>From</em>: J C Lawrence &lt;<A HREF="mailto:claw#under,engr.sgi.com">claw#under,engr.sgi.com</A>&gt;</LI>
<LI><em>Date</em>: Thu, 07 May 1998 15:57:02 -0700</LI>
<LI><em>Reply-To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI>
<LI><em>Sender</em>: "Petidomo List Agent -- Kanga.Nu version" &lt;<A HREF="mailto:petidomo#kanga,nu">petidomo#kanga,nu</A>&gt;</LI>
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<PRE>
On Tue, 5 May 1998 14:52:12 +0200 (MET DST) 
Felix A Croes&lt;felix#xs1,simplex.nl&gt; wrote:

&gt; Jon A. Lambert &lt;jlsysinc#ix,netcom.com&gt; wrote:

&gt;&gt; I don't see how any threads are guaranteed execution in C&amp;C, unless
&gt;&gt; they are evntually escalated to single-threading as per your
&gt;&gt; earlier reference.  How does atomic prevent another thread from
&gt;&gt; accessing and updating objects, unless you single thread/task it?

&gt; What I wrote is wrong -- if N events are executing and the first one
&gt; to complete succeeds, then the ones that complete after that may all
&gt; fail, so after completion of the first event, none of the events
&gt; executing at that moment will succeed.  But in C&amp;C, an event that is
&gt; itself doomed cannot block the progress of another event.  Since an
&gt; event can only be doomed by another event that already completed
&gt; successfully, progress is guaranteed in the system as a whole.  In
&gt; the worst case scenario above, one event would immediately complete
&gt; successfully.

Rephrasing only:

  In the C&amp;C model, the only time an event fails C&amp;C and has to
reschedule is when another event managed to successfully C&amp;C during
its execution.  That's the only way you can get a changed object to
cause the C&amp;C failure.  Or to put it another way, given N executing or 
about to be executing events, at the end of the iteration you are
guaranteed that at least one of them will successfully C&amp;C.

The only reason to degrade the threading model down towards
single-tasking is if you have an event which needs to compleat, but is 
failing due to C&amp;C failures caused by other more sprightly events
"getting in there first".  The classic scenario on-list is Bubba
digging the Panama Canal.

  eg If the "dig panama canal" event were coded to do the whole thing in a
single very long execution, you are it is likely that it would never
C&amp;C due to other shorter/faster events getting in and touching objects 
before the "big event" compleats.  

C&amp;C has guaranteed thru-put, it just doesn't guarantee much more than
a trickle.

Musing: Do you think when 50 years from now someone does a
restrospective or history of the early years of VR...there'll be an
entry under "Bubba"?

BTW: Jon, how do you handle IO for event failures?  Buffer and
release?

-- 
J C Lawrence                               Internet: claw#null,net
(Contractor)                               Internet: coder#ibm,net
---------(*)                     Internet: claw#under,engr.sgi.com
...Honourary Member of Clan McFud -- Teamer's Avenging Monolith...

-- 
MUD-Dev: Advancing an unrealised future.

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<LI><STRONG><A NAME="00386" HREF="msg00386.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: atomic functions</A></STRONG>
<UL><LI><EM>From:</EM> "Felix A. Croes" &lt;felix#xs1,simplex.nl&gt;</LI></UL></LI>
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<ul><li>Thread context:
<BLOCKQUOTE><UL>
<LI><STRONG>[MUD-Dev] Re: atomic functions</STRONG>, <EM>(continued)</EM>
<ul compact>
<ul compact>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00383" HREF="msg00383.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: atomic functions</A></strong>, 
Jon A. Lambert <a href="mailto:jlsysinc#ix,netcom.com">jlsysinc#ix,netcom.com</a>, Mon 04 May 1998, 20:20 GMT
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00388" HREF="msg00388.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: atomic functions</A></strong>, 
Joel Dillon <a href="mailto:emily#cornholio,new.ox.ac.uk">emily#cornholio,new.ox.ac.uk</a>, Tue 05 May 1998, 07:17 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00557" HREF="msg00557.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: atomic functions</A></strong>, 
Jon A. Lambert <a href="mailto:jlsysinc#ix,netcom.com">jlsysinc#ix,netcom.com</a>, Wed 13 May 1998, 21:32 GMT
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
</ul>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00386" HREF="msg00386.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: atomic functions</A></strong>, 
Felix A. Croes <a href="mailto:felix#xs1,simplex.nl">felix#xs1,simplex.nl</a>, Tue 05 May 1998, 06:25 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00464" HREF="msg00464.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: atomic functions</A></strong>, 
J C Lawrence <a href="mailto:claw#under,engr.sgi.com">claw#under,engr.sgi.com</a>, Thu 07 May 1998, 22:58 GMT
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00433" HREF="msg00433.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: atomic functions</A></strong>, 
Felix A. Croes <a href="mailto:felix#xs1,simplex.nl">felix#xs1,simplex.nl</a>, Wed 06 May 1998, 19:37 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00459" HREF="msg00459.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: atomic functions</A></strong>, 
Shawn Halpenny <a href="mailto:malachai#iname,com">malachai#iname,com</a>, Thu 07 May 1998, 14:12 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00558" HREF="msg00558.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: atomic functions</A></strong>, 
Jon A. Lambert <a href="mailto:jlsysinc#ix,netcom.com">jlsysinc#ix,netcom.com</a>, Wed 13 May 1998, 21:41 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00584" HREF="msg00584.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: atomic functions</A></strong>, 
Shawn Halpenny <a href="mailto:malachai#iname,com">malachai#iname,com</a>, Thu 14 May 1998, 20:00 GMT
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
</UL>
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</UL></BLOCKQUOTE>

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