Method and apparatus for selecting a locking policy based on a per-object locking history

A computer-implemented method for acquiring ownership of an object in an object-based environment using a current thread, the computer-implemented method comprising:

• determining when the object is owned by another thread;
• locking the object when it is determined that the object is not owned by the another thread;
• determining when the current thread is in an information gathering position when it is determined that the object is owned by the another thread;
• implementing a first spinning process when it is determined that the object is owned by the another thread and the current thread is not in the information gathering position, the first spinning process being arranged such that the current thread spins for up to a predetermined number of spin cycles associated with the current thread and the object, the predetermined number of spin cycles being determined using historical information;
• determining when the object has been locked by the current thread during the first spinning process;
• and
• implementing a first blocking process when it is determined that the object has not been locked by the current thread during the first spinning process, wherein during the first blocking process, the current thread awaits notification that the object is available for locking;
• and
• wherein when it is determined that the current thread is in the information gathering position, the method further includes,
• implementing a second spinning process, the second spinning process being arranged such that the current thread spins for up to a maximum number of spin cycles, the maximum number of spin cycles being specified by the object-based environment;
• and
• storing information associated with the second spinning process.

An object-based computing environment, the object-based computing environment including an object, the object having an associated locking mechanism, the object-based computing environment comprising:

• at least one processor;
• a first thread, the first thread being in possession of the locking mechanism;
• and
• a current thread, the current thread being arranged to determine when the locking mechanism is possessed by the first thread, the second thread further being arranged to implement a first spinning process when it is determined that the locking mechanism is possessed by the first thread, the first spinning process being arranged such that the current thread spins for up to a predetermined number of spin cycles associated with the current thread and the object, the predetermined number of spin cycles being determined using historical information.

A computer program product for acquiring ownership of an object in an object-based environment using a current thread, the computer program product comprising:

• computer code for determining when the object is owned by another thread;
• computer code for locking the object when it is determined that the object is not owned by the another thread;
• computer code for implementing a first spinning process when it is determined that the object is owned by the another thread, the first spinning process being arranged such that the current thread spins for up to a predetermined number of spin cycles associated with the current thread and the object, the predetermined number of spin cycles being determined using historical information;
• computer code for determining when the object has been locked by the current thread during the first spinning process;
• computer code for implementing a first blocking process when it is determined that the object has not been locked by the current thread during the first spinning process, wherein during the first blocking process, the current thread awaits notification that the object is available for locking;
• and
• a computer-readable medium that stores the computer codes.

A computer-implemented method for acquiring ownership of an object in an object-based system, the computer-implemented method comprising:

• obtaining historical spinning information, the historical spinning information including data associated with a number of times a current thread has previously spun while attempting to acquire ownership of the object;
• reducing the historical spinning information to determine a suitable number of spin cycles;
• spinning the current thread for up to the suitable number of spin cycles, wherein between spin cycles, the current thread attempts to acquire ownership of the object;
• determining when the current thread has acquired ownership of the object;
• and
• blocking the current thread when it is determined that the current thread has not acquired ownership of the object.