A new solution to the critical section problem

Abstract

A classical problem in concurrent program control is to provide a mechanism whereby several processes running concurrently can gain exclusive control of a resource. For each process, the section of its program in which it accesses the resource is called its critical section, and the problem is called the critical section problem. A solution to the critical section problem guarantees that no more than one process can be in its critical section at any time. The solution presented here improves on previous solutions by allowing processes to enter their critical sections on a first-come first-served basis.