Lamport’s bakery algorithm

August 14th, 2008 at 1:31 · Filed Under Blogging, Computing 

The comment(s) in one of my earlier post here inspired my long sleeping passion in distributed computing. After reading about Leslie Lamport and some of his papers, I find his stories fascinating and one of his paper about bakery algorithm is most compelling and has profound effect on me. He has also done many great works such as the Paxos algorithm.

Leslie invented bakery algorithm but he insisted that he discovered it. He wrote

For a couple of years after my discovery of the bakery algorithm, everything I learned about concurrency came from studying it. … The bakery algorithm marked the beginning of my study of distributed algorithms.

He enthralls me with his attitude towards knowledge and learning. His discovery was the beginning of his study of distributed algorithms.

How many people find a solution to a problem, then continue to study the solution for years and learning from it?

Leslie gives me a new inspiration and a whole new perspective towards learning. After reading his paper about bakery algorithm, I have a clearer inspiration in distributed computing. If I choose to specialize in this field, I need more of such inspiration coming to burn a bigger fire.

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Comments

12 Responses to “Lamport’s bakery algorithm”

  • Sonja M. Baumer on August 18th, 2008 10:03 1

    Hi Adrian,

    Great post! I am reading about Lamport and have the same thinking about him.

    Do you do Java? I am looking for Java implementation of bakery algorithm.

    Thanks.

    Sonja

  • Adrian Hoe on August 18th, 2008 10:09 2

    Hi Sonja,

    Thanks for sharing the same view. He has great influence on me. But, I am sorry to say that I don’t do Java.

    Are you doing distributed computing or some related field?

  • TALL ROSE on August 18th, 2008 19:31 3

    try tabu search algorithm…

  • Adrian Hoe on August 18th, 2008 19:33 4

    Hello? Do you really know what you are talking about? Tabu Search is a different algorithm. Try to read about Lamport’s bakery algorithm before you made a suggestion.

    If you were that “BIG” rose, I think your Ph.D. is very really incompetent! I think you are not that “BIG”, just one of his scum bag.

  • Sonja M. Baumer on August 20th, 2008 1:28 5

    I am doing Internet Technology, 1st year.

    Too bad. I am looking for some example Java code for bakery algorithm.

  • Adrian Hoe on August 25th, 2008 10:28 6

    I read the article before but I forgot the link. I took some time to find the link again.

    Here is the uri: http://www.onjava.com/pub/a/onjava/2006/04/05/ajax-mutual-exclusion.html

    It is a Javascript example. Hope this helps.

  • Kick his Rosy ass! on August 29th, 2008 16:17 7

    Hi,

    Thank you for your time to allow a tele-conversation with me.

    And you are right, I don’t think “Big Rose” Ph.D. is competent enough. He gave an assignment about image processing which we are required to download Shepp-Logan phantom image from the faculty website.

    My friend Googled it and found an exact copy of the same assignment from Technical University of Denmark. Our Ph.D. “teachers” told us not to plagiarize works but they themselves plagiarized other people’s work.

    And when we went to see him to seek his help, he told us to try our best very really hard and Google for solution. We have no idea how to enter into the problem and that’s why we went to seek his help but were told to GOOGLE for it.

    I think this “Big Rose” himself doesn’t know how to solve the problem because he plagiarizes the exercise from other university. Is he capable to teach in a university? I don’t see his Ph.D. has any competency to teach.

    We pay so much money to study in MMU and we were told by Ph.D. senior lecturer to Google for answer. Why the hell we pay for a degree course in MMU? Why not we pay Google “University” to Google for answer and get a Google degree?

    I really feel like to kick his Big Rosy ass!

    Some of my friends are talking about boycotting his class and assignment. I don’t know if they have good enough guts to do so but if they do, I am sure to join them!

  • Adrian Hoe on August 29th, 2008 18:31 8

    The problem is that students are too cowardly to stand up to fight for their rights. Universities in Malaysia use the convenient of law to suppress students for their financial gain.

    And some Master and Ph.D. continue to teach for a convenient and comfortable lifestyle. People “respect” their Ph.D. and they love it.

    I will certainly support your friends to boycott this lecturer. If you need my help to call a press conference, just ask.

    I think nothing much you and your friends can change but certainly will ring a bell to the public.

    What you can do is to just graduate from MMU and leave and forget about it. Then you can help to spread the words how MMU profiteering on students but not delivering high standards of teaching.

    Another path is that you can continue to do your postgraduate studies in US with a scholarship. If you are interested, you can always give me a call for a counseling.

  • Adrian Hoe on August 29th, 2008 18:36 9

    Oh! Yes, I have a copy of the assignment and the website of TU Denmark. They are absolutely the same except the links to download the Shepp-Logan phantom images.

    Not only that, I have a few other copies of course material and slides from other Ph.D. lecturers as well.

    Please send me more if you come across any.

  • Pragmatic Revelations : A disgrace to Malaysian tertiary education on August 30th, 2008 19:30 10

    [...] Many of my friends and I do not see education in Malaysia at par with many western countries and even neighboring country like Singapore. Some students even revealed to me Ph.D. lecturers plagiarized lecture notes and assignments from foreign university’s websites and setting silly question in mid-term paper for final year students. Some of them even were told to Google for answer when they approached their Ph.D. lecturers for pointers. Many of them have now realized how serious our tertiary education has deteriorated or has not even achieved in standards at all. But there are also some short sighted students do not agree with that and continue to feel proud to be tertiary educated by Malaysia education. Read the comment by a student nick named “Kick his Rosy ass” here. [...]

  • stcin on September 3rd, 2008 2:45 11

    aiyah, what has ‘bakery’ to do with computers ah !? i thought it was about baking bread = roti,
    do you really need a phd fellow to research baking ‘roti canai’ !?

  • Adrian Hoe on September 3rd, 2008 9:33 12

    Are you doing this impishly or being ignorant? You just made a fool out of yourself.

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