Multiprocessing EVM propaganda (was: Re: Concatenating atoms)

Jani Launonen jabba@REDACTED
Wed Feb 2 11:56:27 CET 2005


> "Joe Armstrong \(AL/EAB\)" <joe.armstrong@REDACTED> writes:
> [...]
>> Modules (after loading) share pointers into hash tables
>> Which is *evil*
>>
>
> We intentionally violate many good design principles and
> in general do many evil things inside the emulator, so that
> Erlang application developers can write clean and fast
> Erlang applications.

This is a point of view that I've been thinking too with regard to 
multithreading EVM. If EVM does take care of the multithreading for 
multiprocessor machines it makes application developers job a whole lot 
easier and more simpler --- no need to develop a load balancing mechanics 
for each problem. Let EVM run Erlang processes with their isolation 
properties in different threads (or processes --- make it a choice in a 
start up time how many threads one EVM can use for Erlang processes. It 
makes EVM developers life more difficult but application developers could 
build more clean applications) and let OS make judgement where and when 
each thread executes.

It would make newbies easy to get advantage of Erlang and 
multiprocessors machines automagically --- that would certainly help 
underline Erlang's suitability to highly parallel processing that seems to 
be inevitable in some years.

> Performance DOES matter.
>
> /Björn
>
> -- 
> Björn Gustavsson, Erlang/OTP, Ericsson AB
>

-+-+-+-
Jani Launonen 
Student. . . . . . . . . .University of Oulu, Dept. of El. & Inf. Eng.

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making future plans."
  - Alfred E. Neuman


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