Modern Multithreading

Book excerpt: Master the essentials of concurrent programming,including testingand debugging This textbook examines languages and libraries for multithreadedprogramming. Readers learn how to create threads in Java and C++,and develop essential concurrent programming and problem-solvingskills. Moreover, the textbook sets itself apart from othercomparable works by helping readers to become proficient in keytesting and debugging techniques. Among the topics covered, readersare introduced to the relevant aspects of Java, the POSIX Pthreadslibrary, and the Windows Win32 Applications ProgrammingInterface. The authors have developed and fine-tuned this book through theconcurrent programming courses they have taught for the past twentyyears. The material, which emphasizes practical tools andtechniques to solve concurrent programming problems, includesoriginal results from the authors' research. Chaptersinclude: * Introduction to concurrent programming * The critical section problem * Semaphores and locks * Monitors * Message-passing * Message-passing in distributed programs * Testing and debugging concurrent programs As an aid to both students and instructors, class libraries havebeen implemented to provide working examples of all the materialthat is covered. These libraries and the testing techniques theysupport can be used to assess student-written programs. Each chapter includes exercises that build skills in programwriting and help ensure that readers have mastered the chapter'skey concepts. The source code for all the listings in the text andfor the synchronization libraries is also provided, as well asstartup files and test cases for the exercises. This textbook is designed for upper-level undergraduates andgraduate students in computer science. With its abundance ofpractical material and inclusion of working code, coupled with anemphasis on testing and debugging, it is also a highly usefulreference for practicing programmers.