The "fs.base" spelling read like a field/submodule access, but no such
identifier exists — it meant the x86_64 FS segment base (the IA32_FS_BASE
MSR). Two problems fixed:
- Arch-neutrality: in generic docs, the runtime, and the plan, the mechanism
is now named by its arch-neutral concept — the "thread pointer" — matching
the already-renamed `thread_pointer` Task field, `set_thread_pointer`
syscall, and `architecture.setThreadPointer` fn. x86-specific spots keep
the precise names: `IA32_FS_BASE` (the MSR), `%fs:8`/`%fs:0`, variant-II.
- Stale identifiers: the M10 section in threading-plan.md still referenced
`fs_base` on Task and `architecture.setFsBase` — both renamed away in the
arch-neutral pass. Corrected to `thread_pointer` / `setThreadPointer`.
The x86-only `thread-tls` test (which really does write `%fs:8`) now says
"FS base" (no dot) consistently, matching the established form already in
tests.zig. The matched serial markers ("thread-tls: ok" / "thread-tls:
FAIL") are unchanged; only a non-load-bearing FAIL parenthetical was
reworded.
Verified: zig build clean, thread-tls passes.
runtime.Thread.RwLock (reader-preferring, lock/tryLock/unlock +
lockShared/tryLockShared/unlockShared) and WaitGroup (start/finish/wait), both on
the existing Mutex/Condition.
A compile-time Futex seam gated on builtin.os.tag: the futex syscalls on danos, a
spin+yield mock off-target (Zig 0.16 has no std.Thread.Futex; wake is a no-op
since the state machines re-check). thread.zig is wired into zig build test, so
Mutex/RwLock/WaitGroup run as host unit tests with real std.Thread threads (test
blocks compile only under test, so std.Thread there is fine on freestanding).
thread-rwlock QEMU case: 2 writers set both halves of a value under the exclusive
lock while 3 readers check they match under the shared lock; zero half-write
observations across ~150k reads.
Marks Phase 2 (M7-M11) built. threading.md/threading-plan.md status updated.
Gate: host zig build test covers the sync primitives; thread-rwlock PASS (3x);
full Done gate 26/26 (whole thread-* suite + guardrail); build clean.
Each thread gets its own x86_64 thread pointer (FS base) for user-space TLS.
Task.fs_base is restored on every context switch only when it changes (same
conditional-load discipline as CR3; architecture.setFsBase -> wrmsr
IA32_FS_BASE). New set_thread_pointer=44 syscall sets the caller's fs_base and
loads it now. The kernel never touches FS, so no swapgs complication.
The runtime lays a small per-thread TLS block at the top of each thread's stack
(self-pointer at %fs:0 + scratch) and the thread trampoline calls
set_thread_pointer before any user code — so every spawned thread has a private,
switch-stable thread pointer, reclaimed with the stack.
thread-test tls mode: two threads write unique markers to their own %fs:8 and,
after both wrote, read back — a shared fs.base would clobber one (cross-talk).
Deferred: the Zig threadlocal *compiler* layer (ELF variant-II PT_TLS + linker
sections + template copy) — high-uncertainty, no consumer today; this lands the
load-bearing per-thread fs.base it builds on. See docs/threading-plan.md M10.
Gate thread-tls PASS (3x); full guardrail 25/25; build + host tests clean.
join no longer needs a per-thread IPC endpoint. New thread_join(tid) syscall
blocks the caller until the task with id tid exits; the exit paths call
wakeJoinersLocked. join only reclaims the joined thread's USER stack, which the
thread vacates the instant it enters the kernel to exit, so waking at exit time
(not reap time) is safe — no reaper/aspace juggling or user-memory write, and
equally std-shaped (like pthread_join). thread_spawn drops the exit-endpoint arg
(runtime passes no_cap). thread-test's join mode runs 40 spawn+join cycles that
would exhaust the 16-slot handle table under the old endpoint scheme.
Also harden the M8 reaper: its single per-core reap slot could be overwritten by
a second death on that core before draining (a fresh-task/SMP timing window), an
intermittent one-stack leak that made task-reap ~20% flaky. Replace it with a
per-core reap LIST plus a .reaping task state so a pending slot can't be reused
before its stack is freed. task-reap now 11/11 isolated.
Deferred: detached-thread user-stack reclaim (still at process exit, as in M3).
Gate thread-join PASS (3x); full guardrail 26/26; build + host tests clean.
New thread_self=42 syscall backs runtime.Thread.getCurrentId (the calling
thread's kernel task id). thread-test gains an id mode: two workers read
getCurrentId and the main thread confirms all three ids are non-zero and
distinct. Per-thread threadlocal TLS is deferred by design (no consumer; it would
need context-switched fs.base for an unused feature), as are RwLock/WaitGroup.
Marks the threading feature built (M1-M6): threading.md + docs/README.md status
updated, all thread-* cases wired into qemu_test.py.
Gate thread-id PASS; full suite green: 21/21 (thread-spawn/join/futex/mutex/id,
aspace-refcount, + 15 guardrail cases), zig build clean, zig build test green.
runtime.Thread.Mutex is the classic three-state futex mutex (unlocked/locked/
contended): the fast path is a single CAS and only a contended lock enters the
kernel. Condition is a futex sequence counter (wait/timedWait/signal/broadcast,
spurious wakeups allowed, use in a predicate loop); a signal racing the unlock
bumps the seq so it is never missed. Semaphore is permits guarded by
Mutex+Condition. All mirror std.Thread's shapes, ported onto runtime.Thread.Futex.
thread-test gains a mutex mode: 2 producers + 2 consumers move 2000 unique items
through an 8-slot ring (small enough that both sides block); the consumed
checksum and tally match exactly, proving the lock and condvars correct under
real cross-core contention.
Deferred with rationale (see docs/threading-plan.md): migrating join to a futex
completion word needs kernel clear-on-exit (else use-after-free munmapping a live
stack); host unit tests need a mockable Futex seam.
Gate thread-mutex PASS (3x); 17 guardrail/thread cases green; build + host tests
clean.
New private syscalls futex_wait(addr, expected, timeout_ns)=40 and
futex_wake(addr, count)=41. A waiter is a .blocked task tagged with
Task.futex_addr (no queue linkage); futex_wait reads the user word under the big
lock and parks only if it still equals expected, so a concurrent wake can't slip
between the check and the block. futex_wake scans the task table and readies up
to count waiters in the same address space. A timed wait also sets wake_at so the
existing wakeExpired times it out; futex_addr staying non-zero (only futex_wake
clears it) distinguishes timeout from a real wake. Waiters park in-kernel, so an
idle core still halts (no busy-wait).
runtime.Thread.Futex mirrors std.Thread.Futex (wait/timedWait/wake). thread-test
gains a futex mode: a waiter parks, the main thread wakes it (serial order
waiting/waking/woke, asserted by the case regex), and timedWait reports a
timeout.
Gate thread-futex PASS (3x); 18 guardrail cases green incl. sleep/event/ipc
blocking paths; build + host tests clean.
thread_spawn takes a 4th arg, an exit-endpoint handle: spawnThreadSupervised
resolves and refcounts it under the spawn lock (like spawnProcessSupervised), so
a thread's death posts a child-exit notification carrying its tid. runtime
Thread.join blocks in replyWait on that (private) endpoint for its tid, then
munmaps the stack; detach relinquishes the join (stack reclaimed at process
exit, for now). New current_core=39 syscall + Thread.currentCore() lets a worker
observe which core it ran on.
The closure now lives at the top of the thread's own (private) stack instead of
the heap, so spawn/join never touch the not-yet-thread-safe runtime heap.
thread-test gains a join mode: 4 workers x 100k atomic increments, joined, with
counter == N*K and >1 core stamped (real parallelism), plus a detached worker.
Gate thread-join PASS (4x, non-flaky); 17 guardrail/M1/M2 cases green; build +
host tests clean.
A thread is a task sharing the caller's address space. New private syscalls
thread_spawn(entry, stack_top, arg)=37 and thread_exit=38: thread_spawn goes
through scheduler.spawnThread (retains the shared aspace), thread_exit ends the
task like a process exit(0) (terminateCurrent -> releaseAspace, so the space
survives while siblings hold it). The closure pointer reaches the new thread in
rdi via a new jump_to_user_arg asm path and a per-task user_arg (0 for a normal
process, whose _start ignores it) - so the runtime trampoline is a plain C-ABI
Zig function, no naked asm.
runtime.Thread (library/runtime/thread.zig) mirrors std.Thread.spawn: mmap a
stack, heap-allocate the args closure, hand the kernel the trampoline + closure.
addThreadedUserBinary opts a binary into single_threaded=false; thread-test is
the first, and proves a worker runs in the shared address space via a shared
global the main thread polls.
Gate thread-spawn PASS; 16 guardrail cases green (incl. args/init/process on the
new jump_to_user_arg path) + aspace-refcount; build + host tests clean.
Daniel Samson