Can usTaskCheckFreeStackSpace() be right?

Kernel
1

johnnybosc wrote on Tuesday, October 21, 2008:

I’m a tad confused abt. the usTaskCheckFreeStackSpace() function in task.c.  Allow me to quote it in full  (sry 'bout that) from the provided source code:

unsigned portSHORT usTaskCheckFreeStackSpace( const unsigned portCHAR * pucStackByte )
{
  register unsigned portSHORT usCount = 0;

  while( *pucStackByte == tskSTACK_FILL_BYTE )
  {
    pucStackByte -= portSTACK_GROWTH;
    usCount++;
  }

  usCount /= sizeof( portSTACK_TYPE );

  return usCount;
}

Now, on a PIC32 MCU portSTACK_GROWTH is = -4, i.e. every iteration in the while() loop will increase the tested address by 4 – looks very much like we’re counting 32-bit integers, doesn’t it?

However, on exiting the while() loop the count of 32-bit integers in usCount is divided by sizeof(portSTACK_TYPE)!

In the PIC32 port, sizeof(portSTACK_TYPE) is = 4.  In other words, I end up with a stack high water mark that is 4 TIMES TOO SMALL.  This is borne out by setting a breakpoint in usTaskCheckFreeStackSpace() and just doing a memory dump of the memory being scanned.

Am I missing something really silly here, or is this a bona fide bug?

2

rtel wrote on Tuesday, October 21, 2008:

Yes it ‘was’ a bug.  It got fixed in the SVN copy a few days ago but is not yet in the download.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Regards.

3

johnnybosc wrote on Tuesday, October 21, 2008:

Thanks for the practically instantaneous answer.

Now, if I’d only bothered to read grahamfclark’s post from just a couple of days ago…

4

johnnybosc wrote on Tuesday, October 21, 2008:

Richard,

While you’re at it can you confirm (or dis-) that the various forms of the macro taskCHECK_FOR_STACK_OVERFLOW() in task.c will in fact detect a stack *underflow* when portSTACK_GROWTH > 0?  Granted, not that I know about a whole lot of CPU:s where the stack grows “upwards”.

5

rtel wrote on Tuesday, October 21, 2008:

As per your original question - the current SVN version handles cases where the stack grows up from low memory (portSTACK_GROWTH > 0), but the current release version doesn’t.

The SVN repository is public (read only).

Regards.