Re: state terminology

[Ingo Oeser]

Hi Jan,

On Saturday 14 January 2006 22:34, you wrote:
> Is there a specific term (other than "hang") associated with this 
> situation? It's not a "dead-lock", because there is no other process 
> (anymore) which could potentially up the semaphore.

This is a simple "resource leak" (or "semaphore leak" in this case).

Explanation follows:

The resource semaphore is not usable by anyone anymore 
and is still around.

Its pretty much the same as a memory leak. There is no one, who
could free the memory anymore.

The reasons for the resource not being usable anymore is
not significant for a resource leak.

Also insignificant is the fact that the amount of semaphores
are just limited by available memory. If you repeat starting threads 
doing the semaphore leak game from your example, you'll run out
of memory and thus out of semaphores. This is another sign of leakage.

Do the above explanations sound ok?


Regards

Ingo Oeser

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