(that is, if <i>W</i>(<i>r</i>) = <i>w</i>),
then <i>w</i> is synchronized before <i>r</i>.
Informally, the synchronized before relation is a subset of the implied total order
mentioned in the previous paragraph,
limited to the information that <i>W</i> directly observes.
</p>

<p>
The <i>happens before</i> relation is defined as the transitive closure of the
union of the sequenced before and synchronized before relations.