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Abstracts - 1997 ANNUAL TECHNICAL CONFERENCE

On Designing Lightweight Threads for Substrate Software

Matthew Haines
Department of Computer Science, University of Wyoming

Abstract

Existing user-level thread packages employ a "black box" design approach, where the implementation of the threads is hidden from the user.

While this approach is often sufficient for application-level programmers, it hides critical design decisions that system-level programmers must be able to change in order to provide efficient service for high-level systems.

By applying the principles of Open Implementation Analysis and Design, we construct a new user-level threads package that supports common thread abstractions and a well-defined meta-interface for altering the behavior of these abstractions.

As a result, system-level programmers will have the advantages of using high-level thread abstractions without having to sacrifice performance, flexibility, or portability.

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