Skip to main content
Log in

A classification of process coordination schemes in descriptive power

  • Published:
International Journal of Computer & Information Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Nineteen process coordination schemes are comparatively studied and classified to provide operating system designers with a cookbook type manual. The criteria for the classification cover most practically important considerations for process coordination such as process synchronization, nutual exclusions, logical conditions, multiplexing, deadlock prevention, counting of event occurrences, allocation of reusable and consumable resources, explicit perferences among processes, and order of event occurrences. Language levels, implementations, and overhead are also discussed. A suggestion in selecting a proper set of schemes is provided.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. J. L. Baer, “Theoretical aspects of multiprocessing,”Comp. Surveys 5(1):31–80 (March 1973).

    Google Scholar 

  2. P. Brinch Hansen,Operating System Principles. (Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1973).

    Google Scholar 

  3. R. H. Campbell and A. N. Haberman, “The specification of process synchronization by path expression,”Proceedings of an International Symposium on Operating Systems (April 23–25, 1974),Lecture Notes in Computer Science, (Springer, New York, 1974), Vol. 16, pp. 89–102.

    Google Scholar 

  4. R. C. Chen, “Representation of process synchronization,”Proceedings ACM SIGCOMM/SIGOPS Interprocess Communications Workshop, Santa Monica, California (March 24–25, 1975), pp. 37–42.

    Google Scholar 

  5. M. Conway, “A multiprocessor system design,”AFIPS 1963 FJCC (Spartan Books, New York, 1963), pp. 139–146.

    Google Scholar 

  6. E. W. Dijkstra, “Cooperating sequential processes,” InProgramming Languages, F. Genuys, Ed., (Academic Press, New York, 1968), pp. 43–112.

    Google Scholar 

  7. E. Engeler,Introduction to the Theory of Computation (Academic Press, New York, 1973).

    Google Scholar 

  8. R. S. Gaines, “An operating system based on the concept of a supervisory computer,”Comm. ACM (3):150–156 (March 1972).

  9. C. A. R. Hoare, “Monitors: An operating system structuring concept.Comm. ACM 17 (10):549–557 (October 1974).

    Google Scholar 

  10. R. C. Holt, On Deadlock in Computer Systems, Ph. D. Thesis, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York (1971).

    Google Scholar 

  11. S.-T. Hu,Mathematical Theory of Switching Circuits and Automata (University of California Press, Los Angeles, California, 1968).

    Google Scholar 

  12. S. R. Kosaraju, “Limitations of Dijkstra's semaphore primitive and Petri nets,”Fourth Symposium on Operating System Principles, IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York (October 15–17, 1973), pp. 122–126.

    Google Scholar 

  13. R. J. Lipton, “A comparative study of models of parallel computation,”15th Annual Symposium on Switching and Automata Theory (1974), pp. 145–155.

  14. M. Maekawa, “Detection of parallelism between statements by decomposing into separate sequential processes,”Internat. J. Comp. Inform. Sci. 5 (3):239–255 (September 1976).

    Google Scholar 

  15. M. Maekawa, “Interprocess communications in a highly diversified distributed system,”Information Processing 77 (North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1977).

    Google Scholar 

  16. M. Maekawa, “A consideration of process coordination,”Technical Report, Toshiba Research and Development Center (1978).

  17. R. E. Miller, “A comparison of some theoretical models of parallel computation,”IEEE Trans. Computers C-22:710–717 (August 1973).

    Google Scholar 

  18. S. S. Patil, “Limitations and Capabilities of Dijkstra's Semaphore Primitives for Coordination Among Processes,” Project MAC Computational Structure Group Memo 57.

  19. J. L. Peterson and T. H. Bredt, “A comparison of models of parallel computation,”Information Processing 74 (North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1974).

    Google Scholar 

  20. L. Presser, “Multiprogramming coordination,”Comp. Surveys 7(1):21–44 (March 1975).

    Google Scholar 

  21. J. H. Saltzer, “Traffic Control in a Multiplexed Computer System,” Ph. D. Thesis, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts (1966).

    Google Scholar 

  22. H. Vantiborgh and A. Lamsweerde, “On an extension of Dijkstra's semaphore primitives,”Inform. Proc. Letters 1:181–186 (1972).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Maekawa, M. A classification of process coordination schemes in descriptive power. International Journal of Computer and Information Sciences 9, 383–406 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00978521

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00978521

Key words

Navigation