First of all, quick thanks to Bill Lancaster who pointed me in the right
direction to find information on the workings of the dispatcher.  Knowledge,
it seems, engenders curiosity, however, for I've now some questions . . .

1)  In _Using_the_HP_3000_Workload_Manager_, "An Overview of Scheduling
    Characteristics", I find mention of a "preemption threshold".  What is
    the value of this threshold?

2)  Also, it gives me reason to believe that certain processes at certain times
    are not preemptable.  Why not and when?

3)  Farther down it says that the priority decay is based on the quantum
    divided by a constant.  What constant?  Better yet, what is the formula?

4)  I've heard mentioned before that a process which has a given resource which
    is needed by a higher priority process has its priority boosted temporarily
    to the priority of the other process.  Is this true?  If so, where can I
    learn more about it (which resources, whether the priority boost is a
    visible change of number or an internal change of number or simply an
    effective boost, etc.)?  The best I've found so far is an AIF call which
    will return a reason for a decayable or non-decayable boost.  But further
    discussion I've yet to find.

5)  In the error manual, there are a number of errors which relate to the
    dispatcher being disabled.  When does that happen?

6)  What is a Dispatcher Transaction?  In the passage listed under #7, it gives
    a terminal read as the most common way to end a transaction.  Does a
    terminal read *always* end a dispatcher transaction?  What other things
    can end a transaction?

7)  In the following passage,

      A process in the CS, DS, or ES scheduling subqueues typically begin
      execution at the base priority. When the process stops (for disk I/O,
      terminal I/O, preemption, etc.), the amount of CPU it has consumed is
      used to determine its new priority. If the process has completed a
      Dispatcher transaction, typically by issuing a terminal read, its
      priority is reset to the base, and the quantum value for that workgroup
      is recalculated. If the process has exceeded the quantum (filter) value
      since its priority was last reduced, the priority is decreased without
      exceeding the limit priority. If the boost property for the workgroup is
      oscillate, process priorities are reset to the base value once they decay
      to the limit.

    would it not better read, ". . . and the quantum value for that workgroup
    is recalculated.  If, during a given transaction, the process exceeds the
    quantum . . ."?

8)  In the following paragraph, what "means that it contributes towards the
    system CS-SAQ"?

2018   Degradable priority? (B) Put: Yes; Verify: Yes; Release 3.0
       Returns or modifies whether the process undergoes priority decay. True
       indicates that the process will undergo the normal priority decay from
       base to limit to base of the scheduled class it is in (CS, DS, ES),
       while it is in a circular queue. False causes the priority to remain
       fixed at the current priority. Classes are obtaining through AIFSCGET.
       This item makes sense only for processes in the circular classes (CS,
       DS, ES) since the linear queue processes do not undergo priority decay.
       Also, a process that has gone through decayable boosting is always
       subject to priority drop. This also means that it contributes towards
       the system CS-SAQ.

Thanks in advance for any assistance,
Ted
--
Ted Ashton ([log in to unmask]), Info Serv, Southern Adventist University
          ==========================================================
Mark all mathematical heads which be wholly and only bent on these sciences,
how solitary they be themselves, how unfit to live with others, how unapt to
serve the world.
                                       -- Ascham, Roger (1515-1568)