Eiffel Linda: an object-oriented Linda dialect

ABSTRACT

Eiffel is a statically-typed object-oriented language which supports good software engineering techniques but provides no support for concurrency; Linda is a parallel programming model which provides a uniform semantics for coordination and communication among multiple processes. This paper describes an Eiffel Linda which injects the Linda operations into the Eiffel language. The resulting synthesis extends both Eiffel and Linda; the implications of the synergy between the two systems are examined, and suggestions for future work are proposed.We begin with an examination of the Eiffel execution model, with particular reference to its emphasis on the correct construction of software systems. We briefly describe the Linda language, and compare it to other parallelism models. The unified Eiffel Linda language is then presented, with discussion of the semantic issues which were considered in the course of its evolution, and details of the interesting features of our particular implementation. Comparisons to past work in Linda and in object-oriented concurrency are offered. In conclusion, we reflect on the significance of Eiffel Linda, and consider its relevance to future work in object-based concurrency.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  D. Software
  D.3 PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
      D.3.2 Language Classifications

          Nouns: Eiffel

Additional Classification:
  D. Software
  D.1 PROGRAMMING TECHNIQUES
  D.3 PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
      D.3.2 Language Classifications
          Subjects: Object-oriented languages
          Nouns: Linda

General Terms:
Languages