A data value that is complete in and of itself, without reference to other data values. Numbers, strings, and ODB addresses are examples of atomic data values.
Main thread:
The primary or executive thread that spawns and manages child threads to do portions of a complex or time-consuming task.
Mutex:
Mutually-exclusive-access flag. Another name for a Semaphore.
Non-atomic data value:
A data value that consists of multiple data values, and which is logically complete only if all of its constituent values are defined. Non-atomic data values can temporarily take on invalid states while being updated, as multiple constituent parts are individually written.
Semaphore:
A flag used to indicate that a routine cannot proceed if a shared resource is already in use by another routine.
Thread:
Short for thread of execution.
One of a potentially large number of processes running in parallel within the same application.
