Thread engine for MSX

Marcel Delorme has sent us the complete source code to a thread engine for MSX he recently developed. The thread engine allows developers to create multiple threads running on the MSX simultaneously, which could be interesting for people developing a GUI/OS. The sources by itself are, of course, interesting material to have a look at and the package contains a small program as an example.

Relevant link: Thread engine for MSX

Comments (26)

By Jorito

Mr. Ambassadors (1788)

05-08-2006, 13:44

Great stuff!

(Marcel told me to type that )

By mth

Champion (507)

06-08-2006, 00:15

Threads are evil! Don't use them if you don't have to.

That said, if you really do need threads, it's very nice to have a threading library instead of having to implement them yourself.

By msd

Paragon (1510)

06-08-2006, 15:55

what's so evil about them? Afraid of it?

By Sonic_aka_T

Enlighted (4130)

06-08-2006, 16:03

Perhaps we can use them in our filemanager?

By Nautilus

Expert (76)

06-08-2006, 17:21

Nice lib, but SymbOS already has almost everething any MSX user could dream.

By BiFi

Enlighted (4348)

06-08-2006, 18:15

does SymbOS also have a DOS prompt capable of running MSX-DOS and MSX-DOS2 programs?

By Sonic_aka_T

Enlighted (4130)

07-08-2006, 00:26

Indeed, I think SymbOS is *great*, but it's a very long way from being 'everything you need'. It's still beta, under contruction, lacks a lot of apps, for the moment it's still closed for development, and it will always be limited by the maximum capacities of the CPC, which are well below those of the MSX system. Not at all critisism towards SymbOS, but like any program, even SymbOS has it's limits, moreso while it's still in early beta stage... Apart from that, there's the 17.332.587 DOS/DOS2 applications BiFi mentioned which you won't be able to run from SymbOS... Anyhow; SymbOS: g00d! MSX-DOS2: also g00d...

By msd

Paragon (1510)

07-08-2006, 13:14

Running multiple com files at once would be quite hard to realize. The msx bios and bdos are not really thread save. I made a workaround for that.The schedular is disabled when a bdos function is called. However when you use blocking bdos calls (like _CIN) everything will come to a stand still.

By BiFi

Enlighted (4348)

07-08-2006, 15:18

The reason I gave for SymbOS also goes for WiOS (a GUI OS running on Gfx9000)... it got released and nothing happened. Reasons:

it is for Gfx9000
for decent speed a 7MHz MSX2(+) or MSXturboR is required
on MSX most developers are either assembly coders or Turbo Pascal (or the occasional BASIC) programmers, while WiOS was written in C
there is nothing to run existing MSX programs under WiOS

I know there were some people making things for WiOS which were demoed at a fair, but it didn't get any further than that. The only thing actually made and released for WiOS is a clock.

By MicroTech

Champion (388)

07-08-2006, 16:25

@msd:
really cool, I like it.
Could be the first step toward vxWorks for Z80
I like the fact that your thread must not care about context switching, it can simply "go to sleep"
before its time-slice expires.

@BiFi:
I don't think WiOS was designed to run existing MSX applications 'cause they are too different.
In any case it's a pity WiOS "disappeard"

By msd

Paragon (1510)

07-08-2006, 17:43

@microtech: Thanx.. vxWorks.. :-|
I'm now working on events for it. Which is very simple only need to add some extra management stuff for it and
WaitForSingleObject needs to check if it's a thread or event you are waiting for. Also the idea is to add
mapper support. Then you can really run a lot of threads

By Manuel

Ascended (19310)

08-08-2006, 08:49

BiFi: the Turbo Pascal thing is a bit weird, by the way, as it is just as easy to program in C for MSX as it is to programin Pascal.

By msd

Paragon (1510)

08-08-2006, 09:35

Wios doens't even have threads.. It's more a win3.1 like program

By anonymous

incognito ergo sum (116)

08-08-2006, 10:16

@msd: I sayed vxWorks 'cause we use it at work and IMHO it is an excellent example of multithread (real time) system.
I like this kind of operating system stuff and often I think it would be cool (and possible) to port some of vxWorks features to MSX.
It is scalable and with no graphical interface so, perhaps, there you could find extra-inspiration

About mapper support: could I suggest you to insert in your code a "heap manager", a sort of memory (partition) handler so memory will be allocated (malloc?!) by a centralized entity.

About Wios: cooperative multitasking is better than no multitasking at all
IMHO WiOS is (was ) one of the most courageous attempts to upgrade/evolve MSX standard.

By msd

Paragon (1510)

08-08-2006, 10:32

Did think about memory management. Of course for segements I would just use the dos2 calls, but that's not enough

By MicroTech

Champion (388)

08-08-2006, 10:46

I think MSX-C malloc can be easily modified to use extra parameters like heap start address, heap end address... in general each "partition" (you could read "segment") could have his own handle/handler.
Do you like C

By msd

Paragon (1510)

08-08-2006, 11:09

I code a lot in C/C++, but not on MSX.. Or atleast not so often. But a wrapper around the thread lib to use it in C would be doable.

By MicroTech

Champion (388)

08-08-2006, 11:58

I use Ascii MSX-C and, in my project(s), I (already) mix C/M80/L80 compiled code with .com files compiled with other products, maybe I can be of any help

By wolf_

Ambassador_ (10095)

08-08-2006, 12:43

By on August 08 2006, 10:16

By MicroTech

Champion (388)

08-08-2006, 12:50

BTW: Wolf_ did you receive my e-mail I sent you on July 31 2006?

By ro

Scribe (4920)

08-08-2006, 12:55

Adding Memory Management sound like an OS already (atleast the foundations)
For public use, it's not interesting. So why bother. Else I've got all that ready on HD, in a OS foundation called MIDAS.

Threads? who needs them, or atleast WHY and WHERE?
To run multiple instances of a DOS program? or what?!?

Certainly not usable in demos,games and other stuff where, atleast, ints are used for timing critical layers.

Dunno, but the "news" section of MRC is getting more filthy with nonsence stuff. What's the value of "new BGM for SM2" as a newspost? Or this one? Com'on. Next I'll submit some news fact about new GFX I made for a new Game which prolly won't see the light ever. but who cares, it's NEWS.... bleeh

(sorry duded... I'm just overreacting I guess)

By ro

Scribe (4920)

08-08-2006, 12:56

overstimulation numbs me....

By AuroraMSX

Paragon (1902)

08-08-2006, 13:06

/me still'd like to know why mth thinks threads are evil

By msd

Paragon (1510)

08-08-2006, 13:29

Thread engine no news .. tss ro.. Anyway It's more prove of concept. I myself haven't made any application yet. besides a test program. We where thinking about a program which copies files on the background and lets you browse the HDD during it.
You can only use this to make a com with multiple threads. The educational value is probably higher than the practicle use of it, but maybe somebody can think of something nice to do with it.

By wolf_

Ambassador_ (10095)

08-08-2006, 13:53

microtech.. yes, sorry, didn't have time to check it out yet.. I'm a bit busy these days, have to finish a short movie, prepare a commercial and install a new PC. Will try to check it out one of these days..

By msd

Paragon (1510)

11-08-2006, 11:09

@MicroTech: Feel free to built a C wrapper around it. Shoudn't be that hard.

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