Clarifications.

[pintos-anon] / doc / threads.texi

diff --git a/doc/threads.texi b/doc/threads.texi
index 694c40e03b5c7ea51c494ae9f61d5295ef311c4c..ac9ccd43cef23abedec89ab50b69e7fa1c79c258 100644 (file)
--- a/doc/threads.texi
+++ b/doc/threads.texi
@@ -332,39 +332,53 @@ and options @option{-j} and @option{-r} are mutually exclusive.
 @node Tips
 @section Tips
 
+@itemize @bullet
+@item
 There should be no busy-waiting in any of your solutions to this
-assignment.  Furthermore, resist the temptation to directly disable
-interrupts in your solution by calling @func{intr_disable} or
+assignment.
+
+@item
+Do your best to resist the temptation to directly disable interrupts
+in your solution by calling @func{intr_disable} or
 @func{intr_set_level}, although you may find doing so to be useful
 while debugging.  Instead, use semaphores, locks and condition
 variables to solve synchronization problems.  Read the tour section on
-synchronization (@pxref{Synchronization}) or the comments
-in @file{threads/synch.h} if you're unsure what synchronization
+synchronization (@pxref{Synchronization}) or the comments in
+@file{threads/synch.h} if you're unsure what synchronization
 primitives may be used in what situations.
 
 Given some designs of some problems, there may be one or two instances
 in which it is appropriate to directly change the interrupt levels
-instead of relying on the given synchroniztion primitives.  This must
+instead of relying on the given synchronization primitives.  This must
 be justified in your @file{DESIGNDOC} file.  If you're not sure you're
 justified, ask!
 
-While all parts of this assignment are required if you intend to earn
-full credit on this project, keep in mind that Problem 1-2 (Join) will
-be needed for future assignments, so you'll want to get this one
-right.  We don't give out solutions, so you're stuck with your Join
-code for the whole quarter.  Problem 1-1 (Alarm Clock) could be very
-handy, but not strictly required in the future.  The upshot of all
-this is that you should focus heavily on making sure that your
-implementation of @func{thread_join} works correctly, since if it's
-broken, you will need to fix it for future assignments.  The other
-parts can be turned off in the future if you find you can't make them
-work quite right.
-
-Also keep in mind that Problem 1-4 (the MLFQS) builds on the features you
-implement in Problem 1-3, so to avoid unnecessary code duplication, it
+@item
+All parts of this assignment are required if you intend to earn full
+credit on this project.  However, some will be more important in
+future projects:
+
+@itemize @minus
+@item
+Problem 1-1 (Alarm Clock) could be handy for later projects, but it is
+not strictly required.
+
+@item
+Problem 1-2 (Join) will be needed for future projects.  We don't give
+out solutions, so to avoid extra work later you should make sure that
+your implementation of @func{thread_join} works correctly.
+
+@item
+Problems 1-3 and 1-4 won't be needed for later projects.
+@end itemize
+
+@item
+Problem 1-4 (MLFQS) builds on the features you
+implement in Problem 1-3.  To avoid unnecessary code duplication, it
 would be a good idea to divide up the work among your team members
 such that you have Problem 1-3 fully working before you begin to tackle
 Problem 1-4.
+@end itemize
 
 @node Problem 1-1 Alarm Clock
 @section Problem 1-1: Alarm Clock