Concurrency: State Models and Java Programs

Preface

This book arose from concurrent programming courses taught by the authors at Imperial College London and from their experience with using concurrency in industrial applications. It was motivated by dissatisfaction with the lack of practical and accessible techniques that aid reasoning about designs for concurrent software.

Most courses and textbooks in this area are targeted at either the theory and formal methods aspects of concurrency or the practical aspects of concurrent programming and concurrency in operating systems. Due to the lack of a widely available concurrent programming language, textbooks had to resort to special purpose notations that could not easily be related by the reader to normal sequential programming practice. Two recent technical developments have made it possible to offer a practical and accessible approach to learning about concurrency and concurrent programming. First, model-checking tools have made the use of design models for concurrent behavior practical, informative and rewarding. Second, the availability and widespread use of Java has solved the problem of finding an accessible general purpose programming language with in-built concurrency constructs. As a result, this book offers a soundly-based systematic approach to the development of concurrent software which is supported by software tools, is interesting and fun to use, and can be used to develop practical concurrent programs.

What Can Readers Expect from this Book?

The book provides a ...