On the Design and Implementation of Parallel Programs Through Coordination

• Published in: Software Engineering Research and Applications pp. 156 - 170
• Main Authors: Chiang, Chia-Chu, Lee, Roger, Yang, Hae-Sool
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin, Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2006
• Series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science
• Subjects: Adapter Layer; Interface Description; Multiple Data Stream; Parallel Program; Thread Manager
• ISBN: 9783540321330; 3540321330
• ISSN: 0302-9743; 1611-3349
• DOI: 10.1007/11668855_12

The current state of art in existing middleware technologies does not support the development of distributed applications that need processes to complete a task collaboratively. What is needed in the next generation of middleware is synergy of heterogeneity, distribution, communication, and coordination. We are proposing to augment the existing middleware technologies to provide collaboration support through Multiparty Interaction (MI) protocol rather than design a new programming language for distributed coordinated programming. In this paper, a 4-layered interaction model will be presented to decouple the applications and their underlying middleware implementations including coordination protocols by providing a set of generic interfaces to the applications. The decoupling of applications and middleware technologies by isolating computation, communication, and coordination promotes reuse, improves comprehension, and eases maintenance due to software evolution.