Goal-oriented programming, or composition using events, or threads considered harmful

with this, the thread abstraction was introduced. While threads are handling events, or awaiting specific events, unrelated events can be handled by other threads. Unfortunately, anybody who has ever used threads extensively will agree that threads are error prone, hard to debug, and often non-portable. g packages that use different thread abstractions is usually not possible or extremely hard. The only widely popular language that supports threads well, Java, is still rarely used for serious distributed systems applications. Even there, simple applets that use threads often have bugs in them, in that they do not stop when they are off the screen, do not start up correctly when they reappear, or have race or deadlock conditions when they access shared object instances. I believe that thread fork is the goto equivalent of parallel programming. Both request a transfer to a particular entry in your program, with no indication of scope. Once you use a bunch of these in your program, any...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1998
• Where: SIGOPSE
• Authors: Robbert van Renesse
• Keywords: Different Thread Abstractions, Operating System, SIGOPSE 1998, Thread Abstractions, Threads