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CHAPTER
6 Snoop-Based Multiprocessor Design
Starvation does not stop overall progress, but is an extreme form of unfairness in
which one or more processors make no progress while others continue to do so. For
instance, in the traffic example, the livelock problem can be solved by a simple pri-
ority scheme. If a northbound car is given higher priority than an eastbound car, the
latter must pull back and let the former through before trying to move forward
again; similarly, a southbound car may have higher priority than a westbound car.
Unfortunately, this does not solve starvation: in heavy traffic, an eastbound car may
never pass the intersectio ...