Linda meets Minix

Abstract

Currently large interest is devoted to the development of systems supporting parallel and distributed programming over a network of workstations. We are exploring operating system support for this kind of programming, that instead is usually implemented at the user process level. We have chosen the Linda model as the basis of a programming system for networks of personal computers running Minix, a Unix-like operating system for personal computers.In this paper we shortly describe the Minix operating system and its services for remote communication based on the Amoeba protocol. We have extended Minix with new communication primitives based on Linda; we show their implementation, describing the new system architecture, and compare the new system with other Linda implementations.

References

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Index Terms

• Computing methodologies

  • Concurrent computing methodologies

    • Concurrent programming languages

• Software and its engineering

  • Software notations and tools

    • General programming languages

      • Language types

        • Concurrent programming languages

  • Software organization and properties

    • Contextual software domains

      • Operating systems

    • Software system structures

      • Distributed systems organizing principles