Downloads & Free Reading Options - Results

Any programming language that supports concurrency needs a synchronization construct with which to express access control for shared resources. This thesis examines synchronization constructs from the standpoint of language design for reliable software. The criteria a synchronization mechanism must satisfy to support construction of reliable, easily maintainable concurrent software are defined. Some of these criteria, such as expressive power, can be defined only with respect to the set of problems the mechanism is expected to handle. A definition of the range of problems considered to be synchronization problems is therefore needed. Such a definition is provided by describing the possible types of constraints that may be imposed on access to shared resources. We then use this taxonomy of synchronization constraints to develop techniques for evaluating how well synchronization constructs meet the criteria discussed. These techniques are then applied to three existing synchronization mechanisms: monitors, path expressions, and serializers. Evaluations are presented, and the three mechanisms compared. (Author)