[euccastro]

> use your language and/or library's native thread synchronization features

You may try using a single thread and cooperative multitasking. It helps if your language makes this convenient, e.g., Stackless Python or Scheme:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45561

Just remember to yield every now and then if you do anything lengthy. Depending on your application, it may not be that bad, and if you don't need anything fancier in the way of scheduling fairness, it makes your life really simple.

[ralph]

Yep, the CSP style of channel communication is great. Those thinking Erlang is better than sliced bread need to make sure they're up on what came before and after; http://swtch.com/~rsc/thread/ Personally, I find Erlang to be too clunky as a language. Good for special purpose telephone switching software maybe, but for general programming the CSP style can be done in nicer ways than having to switch to a whole new language.

[jgrahamc]

Not often we hear about CSP here. I did my doctorate in it (Hoare was the head of department at the time). Are you using CSP for something real?

[ralph]

Not CSP, no, but libraries that bolt onto existing languages, e.g. C, Python. I'd love to see it become more of a mainstream technique in Python than `import threading', etc.

For those that wonder what we're wittering on about, visit http://www.cs.kent.ac.uk/teaching/07/modules/CO/6/31/slides/ and read these PDF slides in this order.

    motivation.pdf -- just pages 1-39
    basics.pdf
    applying.pdf
    choice.pdf
    replicators.pdf
    protocol.pdf
    shared-etc.pdf

Ignore the crufty Occam (Transputer anyone?) syntax, just concentrate on the concepts. Although some of the PDFs seem to have many pages, often a page is the same as the previous with a minor change; they're slides!