We specify an abstract model for dynamic distributed control systems in which the component objects make local decisions based on system-wide constraints and approximate global state. We focus on the issue of distributed resource management, exploring a solution that is both compositional and scalable because it builds global events into the Java infrastructure by exploiting its multicast facilities. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

We consider a system with the infrastructure for the creation and interconnection of large numbers of distributed persistent objects. This system is exemplified by the Internet: potentially, every appliance and document on the Internet has both persistent state and the ability to interact with large numbers of other appliances and documents on the Internet. This paper elucidates the characteristics of such a system, and proposes the compositional requirements of its corresponding infrastructure. We explore the problems of specifying, composing, reasoning about and implementing applications in such a system. A specific concern of our research is developing the infrastructure to support structuring distributed applications by using sequential, choice and parallel composition, in the anarchic environment where application compositions may be unforeseeable and interactions may be unknown prior to actually occurring. The structuring concepts discussed are relevant to a wide range of distributed applications; our implementation is illustrated with collaborative Java processes interacting over the Internet, but the methodology provided can be applied independent of specific platforms.

This paper describes the design of a distributed system built using Java that supports peer-to-peer communication among processes spread across a network. We identify the requirements of a software layer that supports distributed computing, and we propose a design that meets those requirements. Our primary concerns are (I) the identification, specification, and implementation of software components that can be composed in different ways to develop correct distributed applications; (2) reasoning about the components systematically; and (3) providing services to the components. This paper deals with the last of these concerns. Though our implementation uses Java, the fundamental ideas apply to any object-oriented language that supports messaging and threads. Alternative implementations use such languages coupled with object request brokers or remote procedure invocation mechanisms.

This paper takes the stand that it is never too early to teach so-called “hard” concepts in computer science. Specifically, basic principles in parallel algorithm development and software engineering can be introduced to students first learning about computers. The key is to present ideas in a manner that is simple, fun and suited to the audience. We discuss an interactive exercise developed with this premise in mind, based on sorting algorithms, that we conducted with one hundred minority students aged 14 to 17, on March 19, 1993. Our students, relative neophytes to high level computer science notions, had fun while learning alleged difficult concepts.

How can parallel programming be made tractable for students in high schools and community colleges, to programmers in four-year colleges, to commercial and government employees, to interested independent users learning on their own, and as CASE tools for professional software designers? We aim not only to enable people to use more powerful computers, but also to enable people to use computers more powerfully, by nurturing the techniques that enable them to develop efficient, correct code with relative ease. This paper briefly presents the concept of an Archetype, a software engineering methodology developed at the Caltech for patterns of problem solving, and for providing media for quick reference and natural software reuse. We then describe eText, an interactive multimedia electronic textbook that facilitates the teaching of, navigating through, and referring to Archetypes. Initial experience with Archetypes and the electronic textbook suggests that this approach to teaching parallel programming can aid computer users in the immediate future.