XML CO631 Anonymous Questions and Answers Keyword Index

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Question 38 (2002):

Taken from the module webpage:

The course does not take a historical approach (e.g. through the study of semaphores, monitors and traditional threads standards such as posix)

Yet your notes say that fork is a simple semaphore - why are we set an assignment using something we haven't studied?

Answer 38:

The course neither teaches nor requires any knowledge of semaphores, monitors, posix etc.. Slide 6-60 defines a fork process purely in terms of channel communication and ALTing. In passing, it notes that a fork is a simple semaphore. If you had been at the lecture, you would have known that this is a remark directed at anyone who happens to know about semaphores and might be interested in comparing ideas. If you don't know what a semaphore is, the remark can be safely ignored until such time that you do. In no way are you expected to know anything about them for this course, its assignments or its exam.

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