Apparatus and method for writing an item to a line in a memory table

Abstract

A process and apparatus for writing an item of data to a line in a memory table shared by a plurality of processors is disclosed. The process comprises the steps of determining if the item is already in the line; if the item is not in the line, then determining if the line is empty; if the line is empty, then performing the following steps: creating a reservation for the line for a processor requesting to write the item to the line and trying to write, by the processor requesting to write the item to the line, the item to the line. Although more than one processor can hold a reservation for the line, only one processor can add an item to the line since the reservation for the line is removed or cleared in all processors when the first processor, holding a reservation for the line, writes an item to the line.