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Typed dataspace actors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2020

SAM CALDWELL Open the ORCID record for SAM CALDWELL [Opens in a new window] ,
TONY GARNOCK-JONES  and
MATTHIAS FELLEISEN
SAM CALDWELL
Affiliation:
Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA (e-mails: samc@ccs.neu.edu, tonyg@leastfixedpoint.com, matthias@ccs.neu.edu)
TONY GARNOCK-JONES
Affiliation:
Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA (e-mails: samc@ccs.neu.edu, tonyg@leastfixedpoint.com, matthias@ccs.neu.edu)
MATTHIAS FELLEISEN
Affiliation:
Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA (e-mails: samc@ccs.neu.edu, tonyg@leastfixedpoint.com, matthias@ccs.neu.edu)
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Abstract

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Actors collaborate via message exchanges to reach a common goal. Experience has shown, however, that pure message-based communication is limiting and forces developers to use design patterns. The recently introduced dataspace actor model borrows ideas from the tuple space realm. It offers a tightly controlled, shared storage facility for groups of actors. In this model, actors assert facts that they wish to share and interests in such assertions. The dataspace notifies interested parties of changes to the set of assertions that they are interested in. Although it is straightforward to add the dataspace model to untyped languages, adding a typed interface is both necessary and challenging. Without restrictions on exchanged data, a faulty actor may propagate erroneous data through a malformed assertion, causing an otherwise well-behaved actor to crash—violating the key principle of failure isolation. A properly designed type system can prevent this scenario and rule out other kinds of uncooperative actors. This paper presents the first structural type system for the dataspace model of actors; it does not address the question of behavioral types for assertion-oriented protocols.

Video Abstract

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Functional Programming , Volume 30 , 2020 , e27
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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