A Semantic Framework for the Design of Distributed Reactive Real-Time Languages and Applications

Abstract

The proliferation of on-demand internet services delivered over a network of a heterogeneous set of computing devices has created the need for high-performing dynamic systems in real-time. Services such as audio and video streaming, self-driving cars, the Internet of things (IoT), or instant communication on social networks have forced system designers to rethink the architectures and tools for implementing computer systems. Reactive programming has been advocated as a programming paradigm suitable for implementing dynamic applications with complex and heterogeneous architectural needs. However, there is no consensus on the core set of features that a reactive framework must-have. Furthermore, the current set of features proposed in reactive tools seems very restricted to cope with the actual needs for concurrency and distribution in modern systems. In this paper, several alternative semantics for distributed reactive languages are investigated, addressing complex open issues such as glitch avoidance, explicit distribution support, and constructs for explicit time management. First, we propose a reactive event-based programming language with explicit support for distribution, concurrency, and explicit time manipulation (ReactiveXD). Second, we present a reactive event-based semantic framework called Distributed Reactive Rewriting Framework (DRRF). The framework uses rewriting logic to model the components of a distributed base application, observables, and observers, and predicates supporting explicit time manipulation. Finally, to validate the proposal, the paper discusses the specification of the semantics of ReactiveXD and a scenario describing a case of intrusion detection on IoT networks.

Keywords

• Distributed computing
• the Internet of Things (IoT)
• logical clocks
• Maude
• real-time languages
• reactive programming