Thread algebra for poly-threading

Abstract

Threads as considered in basic thread algebra are primarily looked upon as behaviours exhibited by sequential programs on execution. It is a fact of life that sequential programs are often fragmented. Consequently, fragmented program behaviours are frequently found. In this paper, we consider this phenomenon. We extend basic thread algebra with the barest mechanism for sequencing of threads that are taken for fragments. This mechanism, called poly-threading, supports both autonomous and non-autonomous thread selection in sequencing. We relate the resulting theory to the algebraic theory of processes known as ACP and use it to describe analytic execution architectures suited for fragmented programs. We also consider the case where the steps of fragmented program behaviours are interleaved in the ways of non-distributed and distributed multi-threading.