Year: 2000
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: This paper describes alternative memory semantics for Java programs using an enriched version of the Commit/Reconcile/Fence (CRF) memory model [16]. It outlines a set of reasonable practices for safe multithreaded programming in Java. Our semantics allow a number of optimizations such as load reordering that are currently prohibited. Simple thread-local algebraic rules express the effects of optimizations at the source or bytecode level. The rules focus on reordering source-level operations; they yield a simple dependency analysis algorithm for Java. An instruction-by-instruction translation of Java memory operations into CRF operations captures thread interactions precisely. The fine-grained synchronization of CRF means the algebraic rules are easily derived from the translation. CRF can be mapped directly to a modern architecture, and is thus a suitable target for optimizing memory coherence during code generation.
Authors: Jan-Willem Maessen, Xiaowei Shen
Language: English
Subfield: Hardware and Architecture
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funder: National Science Foundation
OpenAlex ID: W2092002125
