Randomized testing within transactional execution

• US 9,378,024 B2
• Filed: 03/03/2013
• Issued: 06/28/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Greiner, Dan F., Jacobi, Christian, Slegel, Timothy J.
• Primary Examiner(s): CALDWELL, ANDREW T
• Assistant Examiner(s): Metzger, Michael
• Application Number:
  US13/783,357
• Publication Number:
  US 20130339705A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,213 Days
• Field of Search: 712/229
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1474 in transactions G06F16/20 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3636 by tracing the execution of the program
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/366 using diagnostics G06F11/0703 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3688 for test execution, e.g. scheduling of test suites
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4068 Electrical coupling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/87 Monitoring of transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/3861 Recovery, e.g. branch miss-prediction, exception handling error detection or correction G06F11/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/466 Transaction processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/467 Transactional memory G06F9/528 takes precedence

Abstract

Task specific diagnostic controls are provided to facilitate the debugging of certain types of abort conditions. The diagnostic controls may be set to cause transactions to be selectively aborted, allowing a transaction to drive its abort handler routine for testing purposes. The controls include, for instance, a transaction diagnostic scope and a transaction diagnostic control. The transaction diagnostic scope indicates when the transaction diagnostic control is to be applied, and the transaction diagnostic control indicates whether transactions are to selectively aborted.

Claims

1. A method of controlling execution of transactions in a computing environment, said method comprising:

initiating a transaction in a computing environment, the transaction effectively delaying committing transactional stores to main memory until completion of a selected transaction; and

determining, by a processor, whether the transaction is to be aborted, the determining employing one or more controls of a control register used by the processor, the one or more controls to indicate whether transactions are to be randomly selected to be aborted for testing purposes, and wherein the control register comprises;

a transaction diagnostic control, wherein a first value of the transaction diagnostic control indicates transactions are not to be aborted based on the transaction diagnostic control, a second value of the transaction diagnostic control indicates each transaction is to be aborted based on the transaction diagnostic control, and a third value of the transaction diagnostic control indicates transactions are to be randomly selected to be aborted; and

a transaction diagnostic scope to indicate whether the transaction diagnostic control is to be applied, wherein a first value of the transaction diagnostic scope indicates the transaction diagnostic control is to be applied based on the processor being in a problem state or a supervisor state, and a second value of the transaction diagnostic scope indicates the transaction diagnostic control is to be applied exclusive to the processor being in the problem state.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining comprises based on the one or more controls indicating transactions are to be randomly selected to be aborted, determining whether the transaction is to be selected for aborting, and wherein the method further comprises based on the determining indicating the transaction is to be selected for aborting, aborting the transaction.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the determining whether the transaction is to be aborted comprises:

checking a value of the transaction diagnostic control of the control register; and

based on the value indicating transactions are to be randomly selected to be aborted, the processor further determining based on a selection control whether the transaction is to be selected for aborting.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the aborting comprises aborting the transaction at a selected instruction within the transaction.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the aborting further comprises executing an abort handler to provide testing associated with the aborting.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more controls are task specific in that the one or more controls are for a specific task and are set based on user-provided information, the specific task to include the transaction.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein based on the determining indicating the transaction is to be aborted, the transaction is to drive its abort handler for testing purposes.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the testing purposes includes debugging certain types of abort conditions.