The main purpose of this paper is to discuss processor management in a Concurrent Pascal Kernel for PDP-11 computers, by comparing three algorithms for dealing with an aspect of processor allocation.This Kernel performs functions which are comparable with those performed by central parts (often termed "executive" or "monitor") of many operating systems. As an introduction to the detailed discussion of the Kernel's processor management, an overview of its function and structure is given first. In this way this paper serves another purpose, in that it shows how such operating system "kernels" can be constructed in general.
This paper presents a medium‐sized operating system written in Concurrent Pascal, thereby describing further experience with this language and giving further indications of its scope. The operating system was developed to support an application in the area that is usually termed ‘commercial’ or ‘administrative’. Both the functional capabilities and the structure of the operating system are described, with emphasis on its facilities for data file management, and its size and performance are given. A secondary theme of the paper is the relationship of the operating system's qualities to the properties and facilities of the programming language Concurrent Pascal used for its development.
This most recent book of Brinch Hansen is a compilation of twenty-five papers published previously in, among others, Software --Practice & Experience, IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, Communications of the ACM, Concurrency --Practice & Experience. It covers the whole of his career, from the beginning --he started in 1963 as a systems programmer at the Danish computer company Regnecentralen --up to his current work on computational science, as a professor at Syracuse University. It contains a number of personal recollections and historical reflections, both explicitly --for example in its preface and in papers as "The programmer as a young dog" and "Monitors and Concurrent Pascal: A personal history"--and implicitly, by means of the acknowledgements and references included in each paper. This gives the book a "history of computer-science" as well as an autobiographical character.The main subject of Brinch Hansen's work during the whole of this period has been parallel programming. For a considerable number of years this was directed at the design of operating systems (see, e.g., "The nucleus of a multiprogramming system") and at the reliable and adaptable implementation thereof, by means of high-level programming languages of which Concurrent Pascal has drawn the most attention (see, among others, the abovementioned paper). Since 1988 he has been active in another area, namely the development of parallel programs for the solution of problems in engineering and science (see, e.g., "Model programs for computational science: A programming methodology for multicomputers"). These subjects are dealt with individually and more extensively in his books Operating System Principles (Prentice-Hall, 1973), The Architecture of Concurrent Programs (Prentice-Hall, 1977), and Studies inn Computational Science: Parallel Programming Paradigms (Prentice-Hall, 1995).One might, using a gross simplification, say that Brinch Hansen belongs to the Algol-Pascal school in computer science which has provided such outstanding computer scientists as E.W. Dijkstra, C.A.R. Hoare, E Naur, and N. Wirth. He denotes, in the title of this book, the corresponding line of conduct as a "search for simplicity". This, it seems to me, could better be characterised as: a search for ultimate clarity, precision and elegance combined. The underlying conception is stated in one of Brinch Hansen's favourite maxims: "Programming is the art of writing essays in crystal clear prose and making them execute."Brinch Hansen certainly delivers according to this maxim. His work has been accompanied by the development of high-level programming languages adequate for "crystal clear" and reliable parallel programming: besides Concurrent Pascal, also Edison, Joice and recently SuperPascal. These languages serve both for publication and for implementation purposes. He consequently has also a considerable experience in programming language implementation and compiler development. (Actually, one of his first papers, in BIT vol. 6 no. 1 (1966), dealt with the impleme...
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