On the importance of registers for computability

Rati Gelashvili; Mohsen Ghaffari; Jerry Li; Nir Shavit

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-14472-6_12

On the importance of registers for computability

Rati Gelashvili^*, Mohsen Ghaffari, Jerry Li, Nir Shavit

^*Corresponding author for this work

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

Abstract

All consensus hierarchies in the literature assume that we have, in addition to copies of a given object, an unbounded number of registers. But why do we really need these registers?.

This paper considers what would happen if one attempts to solve consensus using various objects but without any registers. We show that under a reasonable assumption, objects like queues and stacks cannot emulate the missing registers. We also show that, perhaps surprisingly, initialization, shown to have no computational consequences when registers are readily available, is crucial in determining the synchronization power of objects when no registers are allowed. Finally, we show that without registers, the number of available objects affects the level of consensus that can be solved.

Our work thus raises the question of whether consensus hierarchies which assume an unbounded number of registers truly capture synchronization power, and begins a line of research aimed at better understanding the interaction between read-write memory and the powerful synchronization operations available on modern architectures.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Principles of Distributed Systems - 18th International Conference, OPODIS 2014, Proceedings
Editors	Marcos K. Aguilera, Leonardo Querzoni, Marc Shapiro
Publisher	Springer Verlag
Pages	171-185
Number of pages	15
ISBN (Electronic)	9783319144719
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14472-6_12
State	Published - 2014
Externally published	Yes
Event	18th International Conference on Principles of Distributed Systems, OPODIS 2014 - Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy Duration: 16 Dec 2014 → 19 Dec 2014

Publication series

Name	Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
Volume	8878
ISSN (Print)	0302-9743
ISSN (Electronic)	1611-3349

Conference

Conference	18th International Conference on Principles of Distributed Systems, OPODIS 2014
Country/Territory	Italy
City	Cortina d’Ampezzo
Period	16/12/14 → 19/12/14

Funding

Funders	Funder number
National Science Foundation	CCF-1301926, CCF-1217921, IIS-1447786
National Science Foundation
Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering	1217921, 1447786, 1301926

Access to Document

10.1007/978-3-319-14472-6_12

Cite this

Gelashvili, R., Ghaffari, M., Li, J., & Shavit, N. (2014). On the importance of registers for computability. In M. K. Aguilera, L. Querzoni, & M. Shapiro (Eds.), Principles of Distributed Systems - 18th International Conference, OPODIS 2014, Proceedings (pp. 171-185). (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics); Vol. 8878). Springer Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14472-6_12

Gelashvili, Rati ; Ghaffari, Mohsen ; Li, Jerry et al. / On the importance of registers for computability. Principles of Distributed Systems - 18th International Conference, OPODIS 2014, Proceedings. editor / Marcos K. Aguilera ; Leonardo Querzoni ; Marc Shapiro. Springer Verlag, 2014. pp. 171-185 (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)).

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abstract = "All consensus hierarchies in the literature assume that we have, in addition to copies of a given object, an unbounded number of registers. But why do we really need these registers?.This paper considers what would happen if one attempts to solve consensus using various objects but without any registers. We show that under a reasonable assumption, objects like queues and stacks cannot emulate the missing registers. We also show that, perhaps surprisingly, initialization, shown to have no computational consequences when registers are readily available, is crucial in determining the synchronization power of objects when no registers are allowed. Finally, we show that without registers, the number of available objects affects the level of consensus that can be solved.Our work thus raises the question of whether consensus hierarchies which assume an unbounded number of registers truly capture synchronization power, and begins a line of research aimed at better understanding the interaction between read-write memory and the powerful synchronization operations available on modern architectures.",

author = "Rati Gelashvili and Mohsen Ghaffari and Jerry Li and Nir Shavit",

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Gelashvili, R, Ghaffari, M, Li, J & Shavit, N 2014, On the importance of registers for computability. in MK Aguilera, L Querzoni & M Shapiro (eds), Principles of Distributed Systems - 18th International Conference, OPODIS 2014, Proceedings. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), vol. 8878, Springer Verlag, pp. 171-185, 18th International Conference on Principles of Distributed Systems, OPODIS 2014, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, 16/12/14. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14472-6_12

On the importance of registers for computability. / Gelashvili, Rati; Ghaffari, Mohsen; Li, Jerry et al.
Principles of Distributed Systems - 18th International Conference, OPODIS 2014, Proceedings. ed. / Marcos K. Aguilera; Leonardo Querzoni; Marc Shapiro. Springer Verlag, 2014. p. 171-185 (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics); Vol. 8878).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

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Gelashvili R, Ghaffari M, Li J, Shavit N. On the importance of registers for computability. In Aguilera MK, Querzoni L, Shapiro M, editors, Principles of Distributed Systems - 18th International Conference, OPODIS 2014, Proceedings. Springer Verlag. 2014. p. 171-185. (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)). doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-14472-6_12

On the importance of registers for computability

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