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88 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
88 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
[< back to index](../index.md)
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# Reentrancy
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A function is called reentrant,
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when its execution can be interrupted and the function can be then safely called again.
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When programming in Millfork, you need to distinguish conceptually three kinds of reentrant functions:
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* nesting-safe
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* recursion-safe
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* interrupt-safe
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As Millfork is a middle-level language, it leaves taking care of those issues to the programmer.
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## Nesting safety
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Nesting occurs when a function is called when calculating parameters for another call of the same function:
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f(f(4))
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f(0, f(1,1))
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f(g(f(5))
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f(g()) // where g calls f, directly or indirectly
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Since parameters are passed via global variables,
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calling a function while preparing parameters for another call to the same function may cause undefined behaviour.
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For that reason, a function is considered nesting-safe if it has maximum one parameter.
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It is possible to make a safe nested call to a non-nesting safe function, provided two conditions are met:
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* the function cannot modify its parameters
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* the non-nested parameters have to have the same values in all co-occurring calls: `f(5, f(5, 6, 7), 7)`
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In all other cases, the nested call may cause undefined behaviour.
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## Recursion safety
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A function is recursive if it calls itself, either directly or indirectly.
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Since most automatic variables will be overwritten by the inner call, the function is recursive-safe if:
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* parameters are no longer read after the recursive call is made
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* an automatic variable is not read from without reinitialization after each recursive call
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* all the other variables are stack variables
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In all other cases, the recursive call may cause undefined behaviour.
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The easiest, but suboptimal way to make a function recursion-safe is to make all local variables stack-allocated
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and assigning all parameters to variables as soon as possible. This is slow though, so don't do it unless really necessary.
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## Interrupt safety
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A function is interrupt-safe if it can be safely called, either directly or indirectly,
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simultaneously by the main code and by an interrupt routine.
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The only way to make a function interrupt-safe is:
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* have either no parameters, or just one parameter passed via registers that is immediately assigned to a local stack-allocated variable
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* if there is a parameter: enable optimizations
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* make all local variables stack-allocated,
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* have a return type that can be returned via registers.
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The size limit on the parameter and the return type depends on architecture:
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* for 6502-like architectures: 2 bytes
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* for 8080-like architectures: 4 bytes
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All built-in functions and operators are designed to be interrupt-safe.
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# Reentrancy safety violations
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Each of the following things is a violation of reentrancy safety rules and will cause undefined behaviour with high probability:
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* calling a non-nesting-safe function without extra precautions as above while preparing another call to that function
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* calling a non-recursion-safe function from within itself recursively
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* calling a non-interrupt-safe function from both the main code and an interrupt |