Circular queue for microkernel operating system

One or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media embodying software that is operable when executed to cause a kernel of an operating system executing on a computing device to:

• receive a request to store a message to communicate from a producer process to a consumer process using a circular buffer, wherein the circular buffer comprises memory segments;
• determine an ownership of a first memory segment of the circular buffer, based on a corresponding first ownership segment of an ownership array for the circular buffer, wherein the ownership array comprises a corresponding ownership segment for each memory segment of the circular buffer;
• determine, based on the determined ownership of the first memory segment, that the first segment is available to the producer process;
• determine that criteria are satisfied after a comparison of a current iteration around the circular buffer taken by the producer process to a number of messages previously stored in the first memory segment, wherein the satisfied criteria indicate that the messages previously stored in the first memory segment have been consumed;
• and
• responsive to determining that the first memory segment is available to the producer process and that the criteria are satisfied:
• store the message in the first memory segment;
• and
• after storing the message in the first memory segment, change a value stored in the first ownership segment to indicate the first memory segment is owned by the consumer process to allow the consumer process to consume the stored message.

A system comprising:

• one or more processors;
• and
• one or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media coupled to one or more of the processors and comprising instructions operable when executed by one or more of the processors to cause a kernel of an operating system executing on the system to:
• receive a request to store a message to communicate from a producer process to a consumer process using a circular buffer, wherein the circular buffer comprises memory segments;
• determine an ownership of a first memory segment of the circular buffer, based on a corresponding first ownership segment of an ownership array for the circular buffer, wherein the ownership array comprises a corresponding ownership segment for each memory segment of the circular buffer;
• determine, based on the determined ownership of the first memory segment, that the first segment is available to the producer process;
• determine that criteria are satisfied after a comparison of a current iteration around the circular buffer taken by the producer process to a number of messages previously stored in the first memory segment, wherein the satisfied criteria indicate that the messages previously stored in the first memory segment have been consumed;
• and
• responsive to determining that the first memory segment is available to the producer process and that the criteria are satisfied:
• store the message in the first memory segment;
• and
• after storing the message in the first memory segment, change a value stored in the first ownership segment to indicate the first memory segment is owned by the consumer process to allow the consumer process to consume the stored message.