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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