TransactionalMemory - Revision history

JaroslavTulach at 15:46, 6 June 2025

JaroslavTulach — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 15:46:51 GMT

←Older revision		Revision as of 15:46, 6 June 2025
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-	[[TransactionalMemory]] is an attempt to bring the power of databases to general purpose programming languages. [[wikipedia:Transactional Memory]] should be the ultimate source of information, however it seems that much better understanding of [[TransactionalMemory]] can be obtained by reading follwing [http://joeduffyblog.com/2010/01/03/a-brief-retrospective-on-transactional-memory/ practitioner's report]. Joe Duffy's text is worth reading - it shows why weak [[TransactionalMemory]] cannot work. In the process of showing that it describes the gory details that remain unnoticed in the general overview at [[wikipedia:Transactional Memory]].	+	[[TransactionalMemory]] is an attempt to bring the power of databases to general purpose programming languages. Read below to learn how such an effort failed, but also how to take the ''best of it''!
		+
		+	== Overview & History (of the failure) ==
		+
		+	[[wikipedia:Transactional Memory]] should be the ultimate source of information, however it seems that much better understanding of [[TransactionalMemory]] can be obtained by reading follwing [http://joeduffyblog.com/2010/01/03/a-brief-retrospective-on-transactional-memory/ practitioner's report]. Joe Duffy's text is worth reading - it shows why weak [[TransactionalMemory]] cannot work. In the process of showing that it describes the gory details that remain unnoticed in the general overview at [[wikipedia:Transactional Memory]].

	As far as I can tell Joe's [http://joeduffyblog.com/2010/01/03/a-brief-retrospective-on-transactional-memory/ write up] is one of the best texts on internet I have read in months. It is deep, detailed, informative, entertaining and contains pieces of wisdom you don't want to miss. Like the ''"these kinds of moments make me a believer in formal computer science"'' acknowledgement.		As far as I can tell Joe's [http://joeduffyblog.com/2010/01/03/a-brief-retrospective-on-transactional-memory/ write up] is one of the best texts on internet I have read in months. It is deep, detailed, informative, entertaining and contains pieces of wisdom you don't want to miss. Like the ''"these kinds of moments make me a believer in formal computer science"'' acknowledgement.
		+
		+	== [[TransactionalDataStructure]] ==
		+
		+	Looking back at Joe's fifteen years old post, I have to nod: The [[TransactionalMemory]] buzz is over. I haven't hard about [[TransactionalMemory]], but that ''doesn't mean the whole idea was wrong''! Recently (at [[GeeCON]] 2025) I heard a presentation about [[LockFreeAlgorithm]]s. The name didn't ring any bell in my head, but after a while [[I]] realized it is actually talking about data structures that resemble very closely the concepts of [[TransationalMemory]]. For lack of better name, let's call them [[TransactionalDataStructure]]s.
		+
		+	Read on to [[TransactionalDataStructure]] article to learn what '''best to take''' from [[TransactionalDataStructure]], how to fight [[deadlock]]s and even [[deadlock]] when designing an [[API]] when certainly part of the code isn't under your control and can do anything (wild).
		+
		+
		+	== Meta Conclusion ==

	A more meta-level thought: Joe's [http://joeduffyblog.com/2010/01/03/a-brief-retrospective-on-transactional-memory/ text] shows why it is important to properly document failures. Why it is important to describe roads that lead nowhere. As [[wikipedia:Jára_Cimrman\|Jára Cimrman]] says: Should not we value the person who tried to blow a cigarette smoke into watter to find out that this process does not produce gold? Thanks Joe for showing us that (weak) [[TransactionalMemory]] does not help to build reliable programming environment.		A more meta-level thought: Joe's [http://joeduffyblog.com/2010/01/03/a-brief-retrospective-on-transactional-memory/ text] shows why it is important to properly document failures. Why it is important to describe roads that lead nowhere. As [[wikipedia:Jára_Cimrman\|Jára Cimrman]] says: Should not we value the person who tried to blow a cigarette smoke into watter to find out that this process does not produce gold? Thanks Joe for showing us that (weak) [[TransactionalMemory]] does not help to build reliable programming environment.

JaroslavTulach: New URL for Joe's weblog

JaroslavTulach — Sat, 14 Sep 2019 09:43:48 GMT

New URL for Joe's weblog

←Older revision		Revision as of 09:43, 14 September 2019
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-	[[TransactionalMemory]] is an attempt to bring the power of databases to general purpose programming languages. [[wikipedia:Transactional Memory]] should be the ultimate source of information, however it seems that much better understanding of [[TransactionalMemory]] can be obtained by reading follwing [http://~~www.bluebytesoftware~~.com~~/blog~~/2010/01/03/~~ABriefRetrospectiveOnTransactionalMemory.aspx~~ practitioner's report]. Joe Duffy's text is worth reading - it shows why weak [[TransactionalMemory]] cannot work. In the process of showing that it describes the gory details that remain unnoticed in the general overview at [[wikipedia:Transactional Memory]].	+	[[TransactionalMemory]] is an attempt to bring the power of databases to general purpose programming languages. [[wikipedia:Transactional Memory]] should be the ultimate source of information, however it seems that much better understanding of [[TransactionalMemory]] can be obtained by reading follwing [http://joeduffyblog.com/2010/01/03/a-brief-retrospective-on-transactional-memory/ practitioner's report]. Joe Duffy's text is worth reading - it shows why weak [[TransactionalMemory]] cannot work. In the process of showing that it describes the gory details that remain unnoticed in the general overview at [[wikipedia:Transactional Memory]].

-	As far as I can tell Joe's [http://~~www.bluebytesoftware~~.com~~/blog~~/2010/01/03/~~ABriefRetrospectiveOnTransactionalMemory.aspx~~ write up] is one of the best texts on internet I have read in months. It is deep, detailed, informative, entertaining and contains pieces of wisdom you don't want to miss. Like the ''"these kinds of moments make me a believer in formal computer science"'' acknowledgement.	+	As far as I can tell Joe's [http://joeduffyblog.com/2010/01/03/a-brief-retrospective-on-transactional-memory/ write up] is one of the best texts on internet I have read in months. It is deep, detailed, informative, entertaining and contains pieces of wisdom you don't want to miss. Like the ''"these kinds of moments make me a believer in formal computer science"'' acknowledgement.

-	A more meta-level thought: Joe's [http://~~www.bluebytesoftware~~.com~~/blog~~/2010/01/03/~~ABriefRetrospectiveOnTransactionalMemory.aspx~~ text] shows why it is important to properly document failures. Why it is important to describe roads that lead nowhere. As [[wikipedia:Jára_Cimrman\|Jára Cimrman]] says: Should not we value the person who tried to blow a cigarette smoke into watter to find out that this process does not produce gold? Thanks Joe for showing us that (weak) [[TransactionalMemory]] does not help to build reliable programming environment.	+	A more meta-level thought: Joe's [http://joeduffyblog.com/2010/01/03/a-brief-retrospective-on-transactional-memory/ text] shows why it is important to properly document failures. Why it is important to describe roads that lead nowhere. As [[wikipedia:Jára_Cimrman\|Jára Cimrman]] says: Should not we value the person who tried to blow a cigarette smoke into watter to find out that this process does not produce gold? Thanks Joe for showing us that (weak) [[TransactionalMemory]] does not help to build reliable programming environment.

JaroslavTulach at 11:48, 2 December 2010

JaroslavTulach — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 11:48:49 GMT

←Older revision		Revision as of 11:48, 2 December 2010
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	[[TransactionalMemory]] is an attempt to bring the power of databases to general purpose programming languages. [[wikipedia:Transactional Memory]] should be the ultimate source of information, however it seems that much better understanding of [[TransactionalMemory]] can be obtained by reading follwing [http://www.bluebytesoftware.com/blog/2010/01/03/ABriefRetrospectiveOnTransactionalMemory.aspx practitioner's report]. Joe Duffy's text is worth reading - it shows why weak [[TransactionalMemory]] cannot work. In the process of showing that it describes the gory details that remain unnoticed in the general overview at [[wikipedia:Transactional Memory]].		[[TransactionalMemory]] is an attempt to bring the power of databases to general purpose programming languages. [[wikipedia:Transactional Memory]] should be the ultimate source of information, however it seems that much better understanding of [[TransactionalMemory]] can be obtained by reading follwing [http://www.bluebytesoftware.com/blog/2010/01/03/ABriefRetrospectiveOnTransactionalMemory.aspx practitioner's report]. Joe Duffy's text is worth reading - it shows why weak [[TransactionalMemory]] cannot work. In the process of showing that it describes the gory details that remain unnoticed in the general overview at [[wikipedia:Transactional Memory]].

-	As far as I can tell Joe's [http://www.bluebytesoftware.com/blog/2010/01/03/ABriefRetrospectiveOnTransactionalMemory.aspx write up] is one of the best ~~text~~ on internet I have read in months. It is deep, detailed, entertaining and contains pieces of wisdom you don't want to miss. Like the ''"these kinds of moments make me a believer in formal computer science"'' acknowledgement.	+	As far as I can tell Joe's [http://www.bluebytesoftware.com/blog/2010/01/03/ABriefRetrospectiveOnTransactionalMemory.aspx write up] is one of the best texts on internet I have read in months. It is deep, detailed, informative, entertaining and contains pieces of wisdom you don't want to miss. Like the ''"these kinds of moments make me a believer in formal computer science"'' acknowledgement.

	A more meta-level thought: Joe's [http://www.bluebytesoftware.com/blog/2010/01/03/ABriefRetrospectiveOnTransactionalMemory.aspx text] shows why it is important to properly document failures. Why it is important to describe roads that lead nowhere. As [[wikipedia:Jára_Cimrman\|Jára Cimrman]] says: Should not we value the person who tried to blow a cigarette smoke into watter to find out that this process does not produce gold? Thanks Joe for showing us that (weak) [[TransactionalMemory]] does not help to build reliable programming environment.		A more meta-level thought: Joe's [http://www.bluebytesoftware.com/blog/2010/01/03/ABriefRetrospectiveOnTransactionalMemory.aspx text] shows why it is important to properly document failures. Why it is important to describe roads that lead nowhere. As [[wikipedia:Jára_Cimrman\|Jára Cimrman]] says: Should not we value the person who tried to blow a cigarette smoke into watter to find out that this process does not produce gold? Thanks Joe for showing us that (weak) [[TransactionalMemory]] does not help to build reliable programming environment.

JaroslavTulach at 11:47, 2 December 2010

JaroslavTulach — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 11:47:15 GMT

←Older revision		Revision as of 11:47, 2 December 2010
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	[[TransactionalMemory]] is an attempt to bring the power of databases to general purpose programming languages. [[wikipedia:Transactional Memory]] should be the ultimate source of information, however it seems that much better understanding of [[TransactionalMemory]] can be obtained by reading follwing [http://www.bluebytesoftware.com/blog/2010/01/03/ABriefRetrospectiveOnTransactionalMemory.aspx practitioner's report]. Joe Duffy's text is worth reading - it shows why weak [[TransactionalMemory]] cannot work. In the process of showing that it describes the gory details that remain unnoticed in the general overview at [[wikipedia:Transactional Memory]].		[[TransactionalMemory]] is an attempt to bring the power of databases to general purpose programming languages. [[wikipedia:Transactional Memory]] should be the ultimate source of information, however it seems that much better understanding of [[TransactionalMemory]] can be obtained by reading follwing [http://www.bluebytesoftware.com/blog/2010/01/03/ABriefRetrospectiveOnTransactionalMemory.aspx practitioner's report]. Joe Duffy's text is worth reading - it shows why weak [[TransactionalMemory]] cannot work. In the process of showing that it describes the gory details that remain unnoticed in the general overview at [[wikipedia:Transactional Memory]].

-	I ~~especially like~~ the ''"these kinds of moments make me a believer in formal computer science"'' acknowledgement.	+	As far as I can tell Joe's [http://www.bluebytesoftware.com/blog/2010/01/03/ABriefRetrospectiveOnTransactionalMemory.aspx write up] is one of the best text on internet I have read in months. It is deep, detailed, entertaining and contains pieces of wisdom you don't want to miss. Like the ''"these kinds of moments make me a believer in formal computer science"'' acknowledgement.

	A more meta-level thought: Joe's [http://www.bluebytesoftware.com/blog/2010/01/03/ABriefRetrospectiveOnTransactionalMemory.aspx text] shows why it is important to properly document failures. Why it is important to describe roads that lead nowhere. As [[wikipedia:Jára_Cimrman\|Jára Cimrman]] says: Should not we value the person who tried to blow a cigarette smoke into watter to find out that this process does not produce gold? Thanks Joe for showing us that (weak) [[TransactionalMemory]] does not help to build reliable programming environment.		A more meta-level thought: Joe's [http://www.bluebytesoftware.com/blog/2010/01/03/ABriefRetrospectiveOnTransactionalMemory.aspx text] shows why it is important to properly document failures. Why it is important to describe roads that lead nowhere. As [[wikipedia:Jára_Cimrman\|Jára Cimrman]] says: Should not we value the person who tried to blow a cigarette smoke into watter to find out that this process does not produce gold? Thanks Joe for showing us that (weak) [[TransactionalMemory]] does not help to build reliable programming environment.

JaroslavTulach at 11:32, 2 December 2010

JaroslavTulach — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 11:32:12 GMT

←Older revision		Revision as of 11:32, 2 December 2010
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	I especially like the ''"these kinds of moments make me a believer in formal computer science"'' acknowledgement.		I especially like the ''"these kinds of moments make me a believer in formal computer science"'' acknowledgement.

-	A more meta-level thought: Joe's [http://www.bluebytesoftware.com/blog/2010/01/03/ABriefRetrospectiveOnTransactionalMemory.aspx text] shows why it is important to properly document failures. Why it is important to describe roads that lead nowhere. As [[wikipedia:Jára_Cimrman\|Jára Cimrman]] says: Should not we value the person who tried to blow a cigarette smoke into watter to find out that this process does not produce gold? Thanks Joe for showing us that (weak) [[TransactionalMemory]] ~~can't work~~.	+	A more meta-level thought: Joe's [http://www.bluebytesoftware.com/blog/2010/01/03/ABriefRetrospectiveOnTransactionalMemory.aspx text] shows why it is important to properly document failures. Why it is important to describe roads that lead nowhere. As [[wikipedia:Jára_Cimrman\|Jára Cimrman]] says: Should not we value the person who tried to blow a cigarette smoke into watter to find out that this process does not produce gold? Thanks Joe for showing us that (weak) [[TransactionalMemory]] does not help to build reliable programming environment.

JaroslavTulach at 11:31, 2 December 2010

JaroslavTulach — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 11:31:23 GMT

←Older revision		Revision as of 11:31, 2 December 2010
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	I especially like the ''"these kinds of moments make me a believer in formal computer science"'' acknowledgement.		I especially like the ''"these kinds of moments make me a believer in formal computer science"'' acknowledgement.

-	A more meta-level thought: Joe's [http://www.bluebytesoftware.com/blog/2010/01/03/ABriefRetrospectiveOnTransactionalMemory.aspx text] shows why it is important to properly document failures. Why it is important to describe roads that lead nowhere. As [[wikipedia:Jára_Cimrman\|Jára Cimrman]] says: Should not we value the person who tried to blow a cigarette smoke into watter to find out that this process does not ~~produces~~ gold? Thanks Joe for showing us that (weak) [[TransactionalMemory]] can't work.	+	A more meta-level thought: Joe's [http://www.bluebytesoftware.com/blog/2010/01/03/ABriefRetrospectiveOnTransactionalMemory.aspx text] shows why it is important to properly document failures. Why it is important to describe roads that lead nowhere. As [[wikipedia:Jára_Cimrman\|Jára Cimrman]] says: Should not we value the person who tried to blow a cigarette smoke into watter to find out that this process does not produce gold? Thanks Joe for showing us that (weak) [[TransactionalMemory]] can't work.

JaroslavTulach at 11:30, 2 December 2010

JaroslavTulach — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 11:30:54 GMT

←Older revision		Revision as of 11:30, 2 December 2010
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	I especially like the ''"these kinds of moments make me a believer in formal computer science"'' acknowledgement.		I especially like the ''"these kinds of moments make me a believer in formal computer science"'' acknowledgement.

-	A more meta-level thought: Joe's [http://www.bluebytesoftware.com/blog/2010/01/03/ABriefRetrospectiveOnTransactionalMemory.aspx text] shows why it is important ~~do describe~~ failures. Why it is important to describe roads that lead nowhere. As [[wikipedia:Jára_Cimrman\|Jára Cimrman]] says: Should not we value the person who tried to blow a cigarette smoke into watter to find out that this process does not produces gold? Thanks Joe for showing us that (weak) [[TransactionalMemory]] can't work.	+	A more meta-level thought: Joe's [http://www.bluebytesoftware.com/blog/2010/01/03/ABriefRetrospectiveOnTransactionalMemory.aspx text] shows why it is important to properly document failures. Why it is important to describe roads that lead nowhere. As [[wikipedia:Jára_Cimrman\|Jára Cimrman]] says: Should not we value the person who tried to blow a cigarette smoke into watter to find out that this process does not produces gold? Thanks Joe for showing us that (weak) [[TransactionalMemory]] can't work.

JaroslavTulach at 11:30, 2 December 2010

JaroslavTulach — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 11:30:23 GMT

←Older revision		Revision as of 11:30, 2 December 2010
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	[[TransactionalMemory]] is an attempt to bring the power of databases to general purpose programming languages. [[wikipedia:Transactional Memory]] should be the ultimate source of information, however it seems that much better understanding of [[TransactionalMemory]] can be obtained by reading follwing [http://www.bluebytesoftware.com/blog/2010/01/03/ABriefRetrospectiveOnTransactionalMemory.aspx practitioner's report]. Joe Duffy's text is worth reading - it shows why weak [[TransactionalMemory]] cannot work. In the process of showing that it describes the gory details that remain unnoticed in the general overview at [[wikipedia:Transactional Memory]].		[[TransactionalMemory]] is an attempt to bring the power of databases to general purpose programming languages. [[wikipedia:Transactional Memory]] should be the ultimate source of information, however it seems that much better understanding of [[TransactionalMemory]] can be obtained by reading follwing [http://www.bluebytesoftware.com/blog/2010/01/03/ABriefRetrospectiveOnTransactionalMemory.aspx practitioner's report]. Joe Duffy's text is worth reading - it shows why weak [[TransactionalMemory]] cannot work. In the process of showing that it describes the gory details that remain unnoticed in the general overview at [[wikipedia:Transactional Memory]].

-	I especially like ~~certain quotes like~~ ''these kinds of moments make me a believer in formal computer science''.	+	I especially like the ''"these kinds of moments make me a believer in formal computer science"'' acknowledgement.

	A more meta-level thought: Joe's [http://www.bluebytesoftware.com/blog/2010/01/03/ABriefRetrospectiveOnTransactionalMemory.aspx text] shows why it is important do describe failures. Why it is important to describe roads that lead nowhere. As [[wikipedia:Jára_Cimrman\|Jára Cimrman]] says: Should not we value the person who tried to blow a cigarette smoke into watter to find out that this process does not produces gold? Thanks Joe for showing us that (weak) [[TransactionalMemory]] can't work.		A more meta-level thought: Joe's [http://www.bluebytesoftware.com/blog/2010/01/03/ABriefRetrospectiveOnTransactionalMemory.aspx text] shows why it is important do describe failures. Why it is important to describe roads that lead nowhere. As [[wikipedia:Jára_Cimrman\|Jára Cimrman]] says: Should not we value the person who tried to blow a cigarette smoke into watter to find out that this process does not produces gold? Thanks Joe for showing us that (weak) [[TransactionalMemory]] can't work.

JaroslavTulach: New page: TransactionalMemory is an attempt to bring the power of databases to general purpose programming languages. wikipedia:Transactional Memory should be the ultimate source of informat...

JaroslavTulach — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 11:28:42 GMT

New page: TransactionalMemory is an attempt to bring the power of databases to general purpose programming languages. wikipedia:Transactional Memory should be the ultimate source of informat...

New page

[[TransactionalMemory]] is an attempt to bring the power of databases to general purpose programming languages. [[wikipedia:Transactional Memory]] should be the ultimate source of information, however it seems that much better understanding of [[TransactionalMemory]] can be obtained by reading follwing [http://www.bluebytesoftware.com/blog/2010/01/03/ABriefRetrospectiveOnTransactionalMemory.aspx practitioner's report]. Joe Duffy's text is worth reading - it shows why weak [[TransactionalMemory]] cannot work. In the process of showing that it describes the gory details that remain unnoticed in the general overview at [[wikipedia:Transactional Memory]].

I especially like certain quotes like ''these kinds of moments make me a believer in formal computer science''.

A more meta-level thought: Joe's [http://www.bluebytesoftware.com/blog/2010/01/03/ABriefRetrospectiveOnTransactionalMemory.aspx text] shows why it is important do describe failures. Why it is important to describe roads that lead nowhere. As [[wikipedia:Jára_Cimrman|Jára Cimrman]] says: Should not we value the person who tried to blow a cigarette smoke into watter to find out that this process does not produces gold? Thanks Joe for showing us that (weak) [[TransactionalMemory]] can't work.