Concurrent Programming In Ada

Ada is the only ISO-standard, object-oriented, concurrent, real-time programming language. It is intended for use in large, long-lived applications where reliability and efficiency are essential, particularly real-time and embedded systems. In this book, Alan Burns and Andy Wellings give a thorough, self-contained account of how the Ada tasking model can be used to construct a wide range of concurrent and real-time systems. This is the only book that focuses on an in-depth discussion of the Ada tasking model. Following on from the authors' earlier title Concurrency in Ada, this book brings the discussion up to date to include the new Ada 2005 language and the recent advances in real-time programming techniques. It will be of value to software professionals and advanced students of programming alike: indeed every Ada programmer will find it essential reading and a primary reference work that will sit alongside the language reference manual.

Concurrent C is a superset of C that provides parallel programming facilities such as those for the declaring and creating processes, for process synchronization and interaction, and for process termination and abortion. Concurrent C was designed for the effective utilization of multiprocessors and multicomputers. Concurrent C, as a compile-time option, also works with C++, an object-oriented superset of C.

A major feature of the Ada programming language is the facilities it provides for concurrent programming. Alan Burns and Andy Wellings provide here a thorough and self-contained account of concurrent programming in Ada, and so show users, even beginners, how to harness the full power of the whole language. After giving an overview of the non-concurrent features of Ada, the authors proceed to examine in detail the uses of concurrent programming and the inherent difficulties in providing inter-process communication. The Ada tasking model is then introduced; the way it deals with these and related matters is explained in a number of separate chapters, covering system programming, real-time issues, distribution, object-oriented programming and re-use. This is the first book which deals with concurrent features in the new Ada standard, and it offers practical advice to the programmer needing to use it for embedded systems, while those interested more broadly in the development of programming languages will find many otherwise inaccessible issues probed in depth. It will thus be of value to professional software engineers and advanced students of programming alike; indeed, every Ada programmer will find it essential reading and a primary reference work. For the paperback edition the authors have made revisions throughout the text, updating and correcting where appropriate.

This book is aimed at readers with a good knowledge of a high-level sequential programming language such as C or Pascal, or the sequential part of Ada. The book explains Ada's concurrent programming facilities and shows how to use them. It also discusses concurrent programming facilities in other languages, some issues specific to concurrent programming and the limitations of concurrent programming facilities in Ada.