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Priority inversion caused problems for Mars pathfinder

Priority inversion caused problems for Mars pathfinder

Posted Apr 6, 2006 14:32 UTC (Thu) by dwheeler (guest, #1216)
Parent article: Priority inheritance in the kernel

The Mars Pathfinder had problems due to priority inversion. Frankly, it seems like a good idea to include support for priority inversion in the kernel. It's very hard to be SURE that priority inversion can't happen, and in some circumstances if the problem occurs you are in deep trouble. At the least, support for them in user space sounds like a good thing.


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Priority inversion caused problems for Mars pathfinder

Posted Apr 6, 2006 19:12 UTC (Thu) by Los__D (guest, #15263) [Link]

"Frankly, it seems like a good idea to include support for priority inversion in the kernel."

Hmmm.. I'm sure that's not what you really meant, eh? I'd quite prefer priority inversion avoided, using priority inheritance... ;p

priority inversion support

Posted Apr 8, 2006 0:48 UTC (Sat) by giraffedata (subscriber, #1954) [Link]

The posting uses the word "support," which can mean lots of different things. To some, "support for priority inversion" would mean code that effects priority version. For others, it means code that recognizes and/or handles priority inversion.

I always encourage people to avoid the term "support" altogether, because there is always a plainer, more informative word you can use. In this case, I would say "handling of priority inversion" or "priority inheritance function."

Remember that support really means to hold up or assist, and priority inversion doesn't require any support; it does fine all by itself.

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