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Method and apparatus for synchronized message passing using shared resources
| Details |
Inventors: Harter, Jr., Paul Karl; Fraser, Jr., James Ian;
Assignee: Compaq Information Technologies Group, L.P. (Houston, TX)
Primary Examiner: Courtenay, III; St. John
Assistant Examiner: Bullock, Jr.; Lewis A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Hamilton, Brook, Smith & Reynolds, P.C.
Techniques used in communicating messages between processes are described using a shared message buffer pool and incoming message lists associated with each process. Associated with each process is message management information. Using the message management information, incoming messages to a process are retrieved, outgoing messages to another process are sent, and message buffers are allocated as needed from a free message buffer list. The free message buffer list is a shared resource from which processes obtain a free message buffer to send a message to another process. Access to the shared free message buffer list and process message lists is synchronized through discipline imposed upon updating and accessing various fields of the data structure without requiring a global locking mechanism for synchronization of shared resources. |
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION In accordance with principles of the present invention, to facilitate communication between a first and second process, access to shared resources is synchronized through discipline imposed upon updating and accessing the shared resources without requiring a global locking mechanism for synchronization.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention is a method for sending messages from the first process to the second process.
The method includes initializing a first message buffer containing message data, and adding the first message buffer to a list of incoming messages to the second process.
Initializing the first message buffer includes setting a first flag indicating that the first message buffer contains a message not yet completely processed by the second process, and setting a first link field indicating that the first message buffer is the last message in the list of incoming messages to the second process.
The list of incoming messages to the second process includes a second message buffer.
The step of adding the first message buffer includes updating a second link field associated with the second message buffer to identify the first message buffer being added.
Further in accordance with another aspect of the invention is an apparatus for sending a message from a first process to a second process.
The apparatus includes a first data structure, a second data structure, and a messsage buffer.
The first data structure is associated with the first process and includes a remote tail pointer identifying an incoming message associated with the second process.
The second data structure is associated with the second process and includes a head pointer to the incoming message list associated with the second process.
The message buffer includes a link field identifying a next message in the incoming message list, and a state field indicating whether the message buffer has been processed by the second process.
Further in accordance with yet another aspect of the invention is a method for allocating a message buffer from a free list when sending a message between a first and second process
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File Sharing 
