Scripting Multiple CPUs with Safe Data Sharing

Scripting languages are very popular and are being used to implement a wide range of applications. Meanwhile, multi-core processors are everywhere, from dektop computers to mobile devices, and concurrency has become the only means to improve performance. However, concurrent programming remains difficult and despite some interest in researching new concurrency models for compiled languages, the conventional concurrency support in scripting languages is still lacking. In this paper we are interested in emph{safe data sharing for scripting languages}. We explore the landscape of conventional concurrency support in popular scripting languages and discuss some of its limitations. Then, we identify some emerging concurrency patterns in scripting languages, namely: no-default sharing, data ownership, futures and data immutability. Finally, we analyze some limitations in existing mechanisms and discuss how the patterns we identified can be used to provide safe data sharing in scripting languages.