Abstract: A multiprocessor data processing system is described wherein the processor (12a, 12b, 12c) communicate to each other via a shared memory (10). Each of the processors comprises an administration unit (18a) and a computational unit (12a). The administration unit of a writing processor (11a) maintains information defining a section in the memory (10) which is free for storing data objects for readout by the reading processor (12b). The administration unit (18b) of the reading processor (11b) maintains information defining a section in the memory (10) in which the writing processor has written completed data for the data objects. The processors are arranged to signal a message (M, M?) to another processor via a processor synchronization channel for updating the information in the administration unit of said other processor. Each of the processors is arranged to suspend processing the stream of data objects when a location which it needs to access is outside the section defined by its administration unit.

Abstract: The invention is based on the idea to effectively separate communication hardware, e.g. busses and memory, and computation hardware, e.g. processors, in a data processing system by introducing a communication means for each processor. By introducing this separation the processors can concentrate on performing their function-specific tasks, while the communication means provide the communication support for the respective processor. Therefore, a data processing system is provided with a computation, a communication support and a communication network layer. The computation layer comprises a first and at least a second processor for processing a stream of data objects. The first processor passes a number of data objects from a stream to the second processor which can then process the data objects. The communication network layer includes a memory and a communication network for linking the first processor and the second processors with said memory.