Abstract
We propose obstruction-free step complexity, a new complexity measure for nonblocking algorithms. We believe that this measure provides a more pragmatic quanti.cation of nonblocking algorithms than previous measures, providing better guidance for designers of practical nonblocking algorithms.
In our opinion, the main shortcoming of existing complexity measures for nonblocking algorithms is that they are targeted towardsworst-case behavior inworstcase scenarios, and say little about behavior inmore common cases.This is true for the sensitivity measure of Attiya and Dagan [1], and the d-local step complexity of Afek et al. [2]. These measures are directed at evaluating the behavior of algorithms under contention, i.e., when concurrent operations actively interfere with each other’s progress. However, in practice, a well-designed system manages contention so that it does not impact performance too greatly. Thus, these previous measures do not evaluate the behaviour that is likely to be observed.
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References
Attiya, H., Dagan, E.: Improved implementations of binary universal operations. J. ACM 48, 1013–1037 (2001)
Afek, Y., Merritt, M., Taubenfeld, G., Touitou, D.: Disentangling multi-object oeprations. In: Proceedings of the 16th Annual ACM Symposium on Principles of Distributed Computing, pp. 111–120 (1997)
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Fich, F.E., Luchangco, V., Moir, M., Shavit, N. (2005). Obstruction-Free Step Complexity: Lock-Free DCAS as an Example. In: Fraigniaud, P. (eds) Distributed Computing. DISC 2005. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 3724. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/11561927_37
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/11561927_37
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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