Mechanisms for obtaining access to shared resources using a single timestamp technique

A computer program product for providing access to a shared resource in a computing environment, comprising a computer usable medium storage device including a computer readable program including program instructions stored thereon, wherein the computer readable program when executed on a computer causes the computer to:

• maintain a resource timestamp in association with a shared resource;
• receive a request to access the shared resource from a requesting process;
• detect if the shared resource is reserved by another process before allowing access to the shared resource by the requesting process, by:
• reading the resource timestamp associated with the shared resource;
• comparing the resource timestamp to a current time;
• and
• in response to the resource timestamp representing a future time relative to the current time, indicating that the shared resource is reserved;
• and
• delaying access to the shared resource by the requesting process in response to the resource timestamp representing a future time relative to the current time, wherein if the resource timestamp does not represent a future time relative to the current time, then the resource timestamp represents a last time the shared resource was accessed.

A system for providing access to a shared resource in a computing environment, comprising:

• a shared resource;
• a storage device for storing a resource timestamp in association with the shared resource;
• and
• a resource access module, implemented using at least one processor of the system, and configured for detecting if the shared resource is reserved by another process before providing access to the shared resource to a requesting process submitting a request to access the shared resource, by:
• reading the resource timestamp associated with the shared resource;
• comparing the resource timestamp to a current time;
• and
• in response to the resource timestamp representing a future time relative to the current time, indicating that the shared resource is reserved;
• and
• delaying access to the shared resource by the requesting process in response to the resource timestamp representing a future time relative to the current time, wherein if the resource timestamp does not represent a future time relative to the current time, then the resource timestamp represents a last time the shared resource was accessed.