Teensy Threading Library

Teensy Threading Library implements preemptive threads for the Teensy 3.x platform from PJRC. It supports a native interface and a std::thread interface.

Official repsitory https://github.com/ftrias/TeensyThreads

Simple example

#include <TeensyThreads.h>
volatile int count = 0;
void thread_func(int data){
  while(1) count += data;
}
void setup() {
  threads.addThread(thread_func, 1);
}
void loop() {
  Serial.println(count);
}

Or using std::thread

#include <TeensyThreads.h>
volatile int count = 0;
void thread_func(int data){
  while(1) count += data;
}
void setup() {
  std::thread th1(thread_func, 1);
  th1.detach();
}
void loop() {
  Serial.println(count);
}

Install

The easiest way to get started is to download the ZIP file from this repository and install it in Arduino using the menu Sketch / Include Library / Add .ZIP Library.

You can then review the Examples provided File / Examples / TeensyThreads.

Usage

First, include the library with

#include <TeensyThreads.h>

A global variable threads of class Threads will be created and used to control the threading action. The library is hard-coded to support 8 threads, but this may be changed in the source code of Threads.cpp.

Threads are created by threads.addThread() with parameters:

int addThread(func, arg, stack_size, stack)

• Returns an ID number or -1 for failure

• func : function to call to perform thread work. This has the form of void f(void *arg) or void f(int arg) or void f()

• arg : (optional) the arg passed to func when it starts.

• stack_size : (optional) the size of the thread stack. If stack_size is 0 or missing, then 1024 is used.

• stack : (optional) pointer to a buffer to use as stack. If stack is 0 or missing, then the buffer is allocated from the heap.

All threads start immediately and run until the function terminates (usually with a return).

Once a thread ends because the function returns, then the thread will be reused by a new function.

If a stack has been allocated by the library and not supplied by the caller, it will be freed when a new thread is added, not when it terminates. If the stack was supplied by the caller, the caller must free it if needed.

The following members of class Threads control threads. Items in all caps are constants in Threads and are accessed as in Threads::EMPTY.

Threads	Description
int id();	Get the id of the currently running thread
int getState(int id);	Get the state; see class constants. Can be EMPTY, RUNNING, ENDED, SUSPENDED.
int wait(int id, unsigned int timeout_ms = 0)	Wait until thread ends, up to timeout_ms milliseconds. If 0, wait indefinitely.
int kill(int id)	Permanently stop a running thread. Thread will end on the next thread slice tick.
int suspend(int id)	Suspend a thread (on the next slice tick). Can be restarted with restart().
int restart(int id);	Restart a suspended thread.
int setSliceMillis(int milliseconds)	Set each time slice to be 'milliseconds' long
int setSliceMicros(int microseconds)	Set each time slice to be 'microseconds' long
void yield()	Yield current thread's remaining time slice to the next thread, causing immedidate context switch
void delay(int millisecond)	Wait for milliseconds using yield(), giving other slices your wait time
int start(int new_state = -1)	Start/restart threading system; returns previous state. Optionally pass STARTED, STOPPED, FIRST_RUN to restore a different state.
int stop()	Stop threading system; returns previous state: STARTED, STOPPED, FIRST_RUN
Advanced functions
void setDefaultStackSize(unsigned int bytes_size)	Set the stack size for new threads in bytes
void setTimeSlice(int id, unsigned int ticks)	Set the slice length time in ticks for a thread (1 tick = 1 millisecond, unless using MicroTimer)
void setDefaultTimeSlice(unsigned int ticks)	Set the slice length time in ticks for all new threads (1 tick = 1 millisecond, unless using MicroTimer)
int setMicroTimer(int tick_microseconds = DEFAULT_TICK_MICROSECONDS)	use the microsecond timer provided by IntervalTimer & PIT; instead of 1 tick = 1 millisecond, 1 tick will be the number of microseconds provided (default is 100 microseconds)

In addition, the Threads class has a member class for mutexes (or locks):

Threads::Mutex	Description
int getState()	Get the lock state; 1+=locked; 0=unlocked
int lock(unsigned int timeout_ms = 0)	Lock, optionally waiting up to timeout_ms milliseconds
int try_lock()	If lock available, get it and return 1; otherwise return 0
int unlock()	Unlock if locked

When possible, it's best to use Threads::Scope instead of Threads::Mutex to ensure orderly locking and unlocking.

Threads::Scope	Description
Scope(Mutex& m)	On creation, mutex is locked
~Scope()	On descruction, it is unlocked

  // example:
  Threads::Mutex mylock;
  mylock.lock();
  x = 1;
  mylock.unlock();
  if (y) {
    Threads::Scope m(mylock); // lock on creation
    x = 2;
  }                           // unlock at destruction

Usage notes

The optimizer sometimes has strange side effects because it thinks variables can't be changed within code. For example, if one thread modifies a variable and another thread checks for it, the second thread's check may be optimized away. Here is an example:

// BUGGY CODE
int state = 0;            // this should be "volatile int state"
void thread1() { state = processData(); }
void run() {
  while (state < 100) {   // this line changed to 'if'
    // do something
  }
}

In the code above, seeing that state is not changed in the loop, the optimizer will convert the while (state<100) into an if statement. Adding volatile to the declaration of int state will usually remedy this (as in volatile int state).

// CORRECT CODE
volatile int state = 0;
void thread1() { state = processData(); }
void run() {
  while (state < 100) {   // this line changed to 'if'
    // do something
  }
}

Locking

Because the Teensy libraries are not usually thread-safe, it's best to only use one library in one thread. For example, if using the Wire library, it should always be used in a single thread. If this cannot be avoided, then all uses should be surrounded by locks.

For example:

  Threads::Mutex wire_lock;

  void init()
  {
    Threads::Scope scope(wire_lock);
    Wire.beginTransmission(17);
    Wire.write(0x1F);
    Wire.write(0x31);
    Wire.endTransmission();
  }

Experimental: For widely used libraries like Serial, adding locks may require vast changes to the code. Because of this, the library provides a helper class and set of macros to encapsulate all method calls with a lock. An example illustrates its use:

// this method is experimental
ThreadWrap(Serial, SerialX);
#define Serial ThreadClone(SerialX)

int thread_func()
{
    Serial.println("begin");
}

In the code above, every time Serial is used, it will first lock a mutex, then call the desired method, then unlock the mutex. This shortcut will only work on all the code located below the #define line. More information about the mechanics can be found by looking at the source code.

Alternative std::thread interface

The library also supports the construction of minimal std::thread as indicated in C++11. std::thread always allocates it's own stack of the default size. In addition, a minimal std::mutex and std::lock_guard are also implemented. See http://www.cplusplus.com/reference/thread/thread/

Example:

void run() {
  std::thread first(thread_func);
  first.detach();
}

The following members are implemented:

namespace std {
  class thread {
    bool joinable();
    void detach();
    void join();
    int get_id();
  }
  class mutex {
    void lock();
    bool try_lock();
    void unlock();
  };
  template <class Mutex> class lock_guard {
    lock_guard(Mutex& m);
  }
}

Notes on implementation

Threads take turns on the CPU and are switched by the context_switch() function, written in assembly. This function is called by the SysTick ISR. The library overrides the default systick_isr() to accomplish switching. On the Teensy by default, each tick is 1 millisecond long. By default, each thread runs for 100 ticks, or 100 milliseconds, but this can be changed by setTimeSlice().

Much of the Teensy core software is thread-safe, but not all. When in doubt, stop and restart threading in critical areas. In general, functions that share global variables or state should not be called on different threads at the same time. For example, don't use Serial in two different threads simultaneously; it's ok to make calls on different threads at different times.

The code comments on the source code give some technical explanation of the context switch process:

/*
 * context_switch() changes the context to a new thread. It follows this strategy:
 *
 * 1. Abort if called from within an interrupt
 * 2. Save registers r4-r11 to the current thread state (s0-s31 is using FPU)
 * 3. If not running on MSP, save PSP to the current thread state
 * 4. Get the next running thread state
 * 5. Restore r4-r11 from thread state (s0-s31 for FPU)
 * 6. Set MSP or PSP depending on state
 * 7. Switch MSP/PSP on return
 *
 * Notes:
 * - Cortex-M4 has two stack pointers, MSP and PSP, which I alternate. See the
 *   CPU reference manual under the Exception Model section.
 * - I tried coding this in asm embedded in Threads.cpp but the compiler
 *   optimizations kept changing my code and removing lines so I have to use
 *   a separate assembly file. But if you try C++, make sure to declare the
 *   function "naked" so the stack pointer SP is not modified when called.
 *   This means you can't use local variables, which are stored in stack.
 *   Also turn optimizations off using optimize("O0").
 * - Function is called from systick_isr (also naked) via a branch. Again, this is
 *   to preserve the stack and LR. I override the default systick_isr().
 * - Since Systick can be called from within another interrupt, I check
 *   for this and abort.
 * - Teensy uses MSP for it's main thread; I preserve that. Alternatively, I
 *   could have used PSP for all threads, including main, and reserve MSP for
 *   interrupts only. This would simplify the code slightly, but could introduce
 *   incompatabilities.
 * - If this interrupt is nested within another interrupt, all kinds of bad
 *   things can happen. This is especially true if usb_isr() is active. In theory
 *   we should be able to do a switch even within an interrupt, but in my
 *   tests, it would not work reliably.
 */

Todo

• Optimize assembler and other switching code.
• Support unlimited threads.
• Check for stack overflow during context_change() to aid in debugging; or have a stack that grows automatically if it gets close filling.
• Fully implement the new C++11 std::thread or POSIX threads. See http://www.cplusplus.com/reference/thread/thread/.

Changes

Revision 0.2: March 2017

1. Change default time slice to 10 milliseconds
2. Add setDefaultTimeSlice(), setDefaultStackSize().
3. Support slices smaller than 1 ms using IntervalTimer; see setMicroTimer().
4. Rename to use TeensyThreads.h to avoid conflicts

Revision 0.3: April 2017

1. Rename Threads::Lock to Threads::Suspend
2. Add setSliceMicros() and setSliceMillis()
3. "lock" will suspend blocking thread until "unlock" and then give thread priority
4. Add ThreadWrap macro and supporting classes
5. Support linking with LTO (link time optimization)

Revision 0.4: July 2017

1. Make ThreadInfo dynamic, saving memory for unused threads

Other

See this thread for development discussion:

https://forum.pjrc.com/threads/41504-Teensy-3-x-multithreading-library-first-release

This project came about because I was coding a Teensy application with multiple things happening at the same time, wistfully reminiscing about multithreading available in other OSs. I searched for threading tools, but found nothing for my situation. This combined with boredom and abundant free time resulting in complete overkill for the solution and thus this implementation of preemptive threads.

Copyright 2017 by Fernando Trias. See license.txt for details.