From: Kuba Piecuch <jpiecuch@google.com>
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 2026 16:57:44 +0000 (+0000)
Subject: sched_ext: Documentation: improve accuracy of task lifecycle pseudo-code
X-Git-Url: http://git.ipfire.org/index.cgi?a=commitdiff_plain;h=71ba9a5cb125998a875e3f008cbb28b028b609aa;p=thirdparty%2Fkernel%2Flinux.git

sched_ext: Documentation: improve accuracy of task lifecycle pseudo-code

* Add ops.quiescent() and ops.runnable() to the sched_change path.
  When a queued task has one of its scheduling properties changed
  (e.g. nice, affinity), it goes through dequeue() -> quiescent() ->
  (property change callback, e.g. ops.set_weight()) -> runnable() ->
  enqueue().

* Change && to || in ops.enqueue() condition. We want to enqueue tasks
  that have a non-zero slice and are not in any DSQ.

* Call ops.dispatch() and ops.dequeue() only for tasks that have had
  ops.enqueue() called. This is to account for tasks direct-dispatched
  from ops.select_cpu().

* Add a note explaining that the pseudo-code provides a simplified view
  of the task lifecycle and list some examples of cases that the
  pseudo-code does not account for.

Fixes: a4f61f0a1afd ("sched_ext: Documentation: Add ops.dequeue() to task lifecycle")
Signed-off-by: Kuba Piecuch <jpiecuch@google.com>
Reviewed-by: Andrea Righi <arighi@nvidia.com>
Signed-off-by: Tejun Heo <tj@kernel.org>
---

diff --git a/Documentation/scheduler/sched-ext.rst b/Documentation/scheduler/sched-ext.rst
index ec594ae8086de..03d595d178ea4 100644
--- a/Documentation/scheduler/sched-ext.rst
+++ b/Documentation/scheduler/sched-ext.rst
@@ -408,8 +408,8 @@ for more information.
 Task Lifecycle
 --------------
 
-The following pseudo-code summarizes the entire lifecycle of a task managed
-by a sched_ext scheduler:
+The following pseudo-code presents a rough overview of the entire lifecycle
+of a task managed by a sched_ext scheduler:
 
 .. code-block:: c
 
@@ -423,20 +423,25 @@ by a sched_ext scheduler:
         ops.runnable();         /* Task becomes ready to run */
 
         while (task_is_runnable(task)) {
-            if (task is not in a DSQ && task->scx.slice == 0) {
+            if (task is not in a DSQ || task->scx.slice == 0) {
                 ops.enqueue();  /* Task can be added to a DSQ */
 
                 /* Task property change (i.e., affinity, nice, etc.)? */
                 if (sched_change(task)) {
                     ops.dequeue(); /* Exiting BPF scheduler custody */
+                    ops.quiescent();
+
+                    /* Property change callback, e.g. ops.set_weight() */
+
+                    ops.runnable();
                     continue;
                 }
-            }
 
-            /* Any usable CPU becomes available */
+                /* Any usable CPU becomes available */
 
-            ops.dispatch();     /* Task is moved to a local DSQ */
-            ops.dequeue();      /* Exiting BPF scheduler custody */
+                ops.dispatch();     /* Task is moved to a local DSQ */
+                ops.dequeue();      /* Exiting BPF scheduler custody */
+            }
 
             ops.running();      /* Task starts running on its assigned CPU */
 
@@ -456,6 +461,30 @@ by a sched_ext scheduler:
     ops.disable();              /* Disable BPF scheduling for the task */
     ops.exit_task();            /* Task is destroyed */
 
+Note that the above pseudo-code does not cover all possible state transitions
+and edge cases, to name a few examples:
+
+* ``ops.dispatch()`` may fail to move the task to a local DSQ due to a racing
+  property change on that task, in which case ``ops.dispatch()`` will be
+  retried.
+
+* The task may be direct-dispatched to a local DSQ from ``ops.enqueue()``,
+  in which case ``ops.dispatch()`` and ``ops.dequeue()`` are skipped and we go
+  straight to ``ops.running()``.
+
+* Property changes may occur at virtually any point during the task's lifecycle,
+  not just when the task is queued and waiting to be dispatched. For example,
+  changing a property of a running task will lead to the callback sequence
+  ``ops.stopping()`` -> ``ops.quiescent()`` -> (property change callback) ->
+  ``ops.runnable()`` -> ``ops.running()``.
+
+* A sched_ext task can be preempted by a task from a higher-priority scheduling
+  class, in which case it will exit the tick-dispatch loop even though it is runnable
+  and has a non-zero slice.
+
+See the "Scheduling Cycle" section for a more detailed description of how
+a freshly woken up task gets on a CPU.
+
 Where to Look
 =============