Methods and systems to identify and reproduce concurrency violations in multi-threaded programs using expressions

An apparatus to detect a concurrency bug in a multi-threaded program, the apparatus comprising:

• a processor;
• a memory to store machine readable instructions and a data type, the data type comprising:
• a first program instruction invoking a first predicate, the first predicate specifying a first condition;
• a second program instruction invoking a second predicate, the second predicate specifying a second condition;
• and
• an expression defining a relationship between the first predicate and the second predicate.

A machine readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed, cause a machine to at least:

• recognize a concurrency bug detector conforming to a data type, the data type being defined to include:
• a first predicate associated with a first thread of a multi-threaded program, the first predicate being associated with a first condition;
• a second predicate associated with a second thread of the multi-threaded program, the second predicate being associated with a second condition;
• and
• an expression, the expression defining a relationship between the first predicate and the second predicate.

A storage medium as defined in claim 19, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, further cause the machine to:

• determine whether the first predicate is satisfied;
• determine whether the second predicate is satisfied;
• and
• determine whether the expression is satisfied.