Method and apparatus for passing messages between application programs on host processors coupled to a record lock processor

摘要

A method and apparatus for coordinating activities of data base management systems operable on Closely-Coupled Host Processors. In particular, messages can be quickly passed between data base management systems executing on Host Processors which are coupled to a Record Lock Processor. One or more receiver processes register with the operating system to receive messages. When the operating system detects a message a Receiver Process begins processing the message. When a data base management system detects that other data base management systems should be notified of an event, a message sending interface is called with a parameter which indicates particular Host Processors and a parameter containing the message to send, and the message is sent to the Host Processors specified. Programs sending messages may elect to have execution suspended until a response message is received from the other Host Processors. When a program which has sent a message is suspended, information regarding the suspended program is placed in a queue which stores information from other suspended programs. A timeout function periodically checks the queue for programs which have been suspended for an extended length of time, and resumes execution of those suspended programs where the time for which the program has been suspended exceeds some predetermined length of time.