15.3 Implementing a Monitor System

Here we will show how to implement a Monitor system using preemptive coroutines and Semaphore.

Below we show our first version of class Monitor:

class Monitor:
   entry:
      mutex.wait
      inner(entry)
      mutex.signal
   %private
   mutex: obj Semaphore(1)

A Monitor-object has a Semaphore attribute and a local method pattern, entry, which is to be used as a supermethod for methods in subclasses of Monitor. As can be seen, entry has an inner(entry); mutex.wait is executed before inner(entry) and mutex.signal is executed after inner(entry).

The Account class may be described as a subclass of Monitor in the following way:

class Account: Monitor
   deposit(amount: var float): entry
      balance := balance + amount
   withdraw(amount: var float): entry
      balance := balance - amount
   %private
   balance: var float

If anAccount refers to an Account-object, then execution of anAccount.deposit(200) has the effect that the supermethod entry of deposit works like a wrapper around the statement balance := balance + amount. This ensures that mutex.signal is executed before the statement and mutex.signal is executed afterwards. The same is the case for execution of a anAccount.withDraw(300). All in all, using entry as a supermethod ensures that at most one deposit or withdraw may be executed at the same time, which guarantees exclusive acces to data-items within the Monitor object.

In section , Monitor is used as part of class that also defines a MonitorProcess class. We will show how to define such a system. It will contain the elements shown below:

class MonitorSystem
   class Monitor: ...
   class MonitorProcess: ...
   %private
   scheduler: obj ...
   SQS: obj ProcessQueue

Class Monitor is defined as shown above. Class MonitorProcess is supposed to be a superclass of all parallel objects in the MonitorSystem. The scheduler object handles scheduling of MonitorProcess-objects and SQS is a queue of MonitorProcess-objects that are ready for being executed.

Class MonitorProcess may be defined as follows:

class MonitorProcess:
   start:  
      status := ACTIVE
      SQS.insert(this(MonitorProcess)) 
   status: var integer
   inner(MonitorProcess)
   status := TERMINATED

A MonitorProcess has four attributes:

  • A start method that sets the status of the MonitorProcess object to ACTIVE.
  • An integer variable status holding the status of the MonitorProcess.
  • An inner-statement that implies execution of items in a subclass of MonitorProcess.
  • Finally a statement setting status to TERMINATED whereafter execution of the MonitorProcess object ends.

Next we describe the Scheduler object:

scheduler: obj
  active: ref MonitorProcess
  cycle
     active := SQS.next
     if (active <> none) :then
        active.attach(100)
        if (active.status = ACTIVE) then 
           SQS.insert(active)

The scheduler has a data-item active that is a reference to the MonitorProcess object currently being executed.

Then it has a cycle-statement that forever executes:

  • A reference to the next MonitorProcess in the queue SQS of active MonitorProcess-objects is assigned to active.
  • If there are no references in SQS, active will get the datum none.
  • If active is not none, the method active.attach(100) is invoked implying that execution of active is resumed. If active has not bee executed before, execution starts from the beginning of active; if active has been executed before ans execution has been suspended, execution is resumed after the point of suspension.
  • Active will be preemptively suspended after 100 time units, but it may also terminate before the 100 time units have appeared.
  • If active is preemptively suspended, active.status = ACTIVE and active is re-inserted into SQS.
  • Otherwise active has terminated (status = TERMINATED) execution and thus not re-inserted into SQS.

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