Here is the outline I promised you. It details the content of my article, Build A Portable Multitasking Environment in ``C''.
The article addresses the problems of multitasking understanding and portability within the small systems world. Through both discussion and construction, the article will teach the reader about the major terms, concepts, and applications of multitasking. Included with the manuscript will be a complete portable multitasking environment which the reader may include in his or her own programs.
With regards to the outline, Build A Portable Multitasking Environment in ``C'' will have introductory and concluding paragraphs, as well as two body sections (addressing the multitasking understanding and portability needs respectively). The first section, ``The Dimensions of Concurrent Processing'' will concisely introduce the major concepts & terms of concurrent processing. Though brief, this first section will insure that even the non-programmer will be able to understand and appreciate the second section. The second section, ``The Mailbox Multitasker'', will systematically introduce the portable multitasker I have written in ``C''. The section takes a bottom-up approach to `Mailbox', from its lowest level of portability (and functionality) to its highest.
With the manuscript, I will also include roughly 8 illustrations. For each of the 3 portability layers (see outline), I will include one specifying the function call interface to the layer (similar to the ``MAN'' page I included in the last letter), and another illustrating the data structures the layer manages. I will also add a couple of illustrations for the concepts introduced in the ``Dimensions of Concurrent Processing''.
Finally, I will include the disk of source- and compiled-code for the multitasker described in the article, so you may distribute it on BIX. It will run on the IBM PC and UNIX machines, and, with little modification, on almost any other machine with a ``C'' compiler. This is a valuable piece of software. Commercial packages without the source code and which are not portable sell for several hundred dollars (for example, the LIFEBOAT TimeSlicer lists at $295, or $1000 with source code). When you distribute this package on BIX, I would like it to treated as a ``shareware'' product.1
As far as length of the article goes, I am aiming for a concise 12 pages2. Roughly, the first 1/4th of the article will be spent illuminating the ``Dimensions of Concurrent Processing'', while the remaining 3/4ths will focus on ``The Mailbox Multitasker'' (1/4th for each of the 3 portability layers).
As far as time goes, I will finish the article over the MIT spring break, March 21-25. This is the only time I will have to really work on the article before the semester ends, so it is important we get to confirm arrangements before then.
What follows is the outline for your review. Thank you for your time and interest in my article. I look forward to working with you.
Sincerely,
BYTE Article Outline: Build A Portable Multitasking Environment in ``C''
Both Sequential and Parallel Flow
(Addressing the Portability Need)
(Sacrificing Efficiency for Simplicity: Portability and Understandability)
(Adding layers to match the desired functionality & portability)