The initial value of @var{recent_cpu} is 0 in the first thread
created, or the parent's value in other new threads. Each time a timer
interrupt occurs, @var{recent_cpu} is incremented by 1 for the running
-thread only. In addition, once per second the value of @var{recent_cpu}
+thread only, unless the idle thread is running. In addition, once per
+second the value of @var{recent_cpu}
is recalculated for every thread (whether running, ready, or blocked),
using this formula:
The value of @var{recent_cpu} can be negative for a thread with a
negative @var{nice} value. Do not clamp negative @var{recent_cpu} to 0.
+You may need to think about the order of calculations in this formula.
+We recommend computing the coefficient of @var{recent_cpu} first, then
+multiplying. Some students have reported that multiplying
+@var{load_avg} by @var{recent_cpu} directly can cause overflow.
+
You must implement @func{thread_get_recent_cpu}, for which there is a
skeleton in @file{threads/thread.c}.