Run-time detection of potential deadlocks for programs with locks, semaphores, and condition variables

Concurrent programs are notorious for containing errors that are difficult to reproduce and diagnose. A common kind of concurrency error is deadlock, which occurs when some threads are permanently blocked. This paper defines a runtime notion of potential deadlock in programs with locks, semaphores, and condition variables. Informally, an execution has potential for a deadlock if some feasible permutation of the execution results in a deadlock. Feasibility of a permutation is determined by ordering constraints amongst events in the execution. Previous work on run-time detection of potential deadlocks are for programs that use locks. This paper presents run-time algorithms to detect potential deadlocks in programs that use locks (block structured as well as non block structured), semaphores, and condition variables. Categories and Subject Descriptors

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2006
• Where: ISSTA
• Authors: Rahul Agarwal, Scott D. Stoller
• Keywords: Concurrent Programs, Condition Variables, ISSTA 2006, Potential Deadlocks