Role model analysis of an asynchronous communication mechanism

Abstract

The properties of asynchronous communication mechanisms which use multiple shared memory locations (slots) to transfer data, together with co-ordination of access to these slots by small shared control variables, can be examined by analysing the dynamically changing roles of the slots during asynchronous operation. The paper describes the application of the role modelling technique to a new form of four-slot mechanism, and analyses the correctness of the mechanism with respect to its coherence and freshness properties. It is shown how other aspects, such as data sequencing and the failure modes of faulty implementation, can also be addressed.