Method and apparatus for serializing access to multithreading unsafe resources
US5630136A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 9, 1995 |
| Grant date | May 13, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 9, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F9/526
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An improved technique for serializing access to multithreading unsafe resources is described. A baton manager is used to manage the serializing of accesses to a multithreading unsafe resource. For a thread to access the multithreading unsafe resource, the thread must first obtain a baton from the baton manager. Then, once the thread has finished accessing the multithreading unsafe resource, the thread releases the baton to the baton manager. Hence, by using the baton manager to manage the baton, accesses to multithreading unsafe resources are serialized while program crashes or deadlocks are minimized. The multithreading unsafe resource will typically have a plurality of baton objects associated therewith. The baton objects are objects of object-oriented programming. The baton manager will permit at most one of the baton objects for a given multithreading unsafe resource to own the baton at a time. The threads associated with the baton objects waiting to own the baton must wait until they receive the baton before they can access the multithreading unsafe resource.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.