June 18th, 2008 — The C++ Memory Model — Bartosz Milewski

Published: Sun 01 June 2008
By nwcpp

In 2008.

Location

Building 41
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, Washington 98052

Abstract

What is a memory model and why does C++ need it so badly? I’ll try to explain both the practical and the theoretical side of things. We’ll look into a few simple multithreaded idioms, sketch the Java memory model, and show the differences between Java and C++. For the theoretically minded, I’ll do my best to explain sequential consistency and the “happens before” relationship necessary to describe data races. We’ll look into the C++ atomic library.

Bio

Bartosz Milewski has a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics. He published several papers on Quantum Gravity and String Theory before he switched to programming and Computer Science. He was project lead for the Microsoft search engine before the Internet explosion. He published a book, C++ In Action. Bartosz keeps up with the latest developments in CS by attending graduate courses and seminars at the UW. He actively works on the design of the D language.

Resources

Download the slides of the presentation.

Watch the video of the presentation.