An efficient scheme for accepting recursive method calls in object‐oriented concurrent programming

Abstract

AbstractWith object‐oriented concurrent programming languages that perform mutual exclusion at the level of objects, deadlock can easily occur due to recursive method calls. We propose a transparent mechanism to programmers called the Key/Lock method, which enables recursive method calls by eliminating recursion deadlock. The Key/Lock method assigns keys, which are uniquely associated with exclusive methods, to messages and especially accepts messages to which these keys are appended. This technique, which can reduce the overhead that accompanies message transmission and reception compared with conventional research techniques, is particularly effective when there are numerous thread branches. We incorporated the Key/Lock method in the concurrent programming language SR and performed performance evaluations to verify the effectiveness of this technique. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Comp Jpn, 34(14): 101–109, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/scj.1226