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Operating system providing a mutual exclusion mechanism

  • US 8,161,481 B2
  • Filed: 04/01/2005
  • Issued: 04/17/2012
  • Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2004
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. An apparatus comprising a processor and a memory storing computer program code, wherein the memory and stored computer program code are configured, with the processor, to cause the apparatus to at least:

  • implement a scheduler incorporating an algorithm for ordering the running of threads of execution having different priorities, the scheduler maintaining a ready list of threads which are scheduled to run on the device, ordered by priority; and

    implement at least one locking mechanism configured to block access to a resource from all threads except for a thread that holds the locking mechanism,wherein the at least one locking mechanism comprises a mutex including a pointer, the pointer included in the mutex pointing to the thread holding the mutex or being null if the mutex is free, the mutex further including a flag indicating whether or not the mutex is contested, andwherein in an instance in which the scheduler selects a thread on the ready list to run, but the selected thread is blocked from running because a resource it requires is blocked, the scheduler does not switch to the blocked thread but retains the blocked thread in its place by priority on the ready list and instead yields to the thread which holds the locking mechanism and causes the thread which holds the locking mechanism to run.

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