Programming Distributed Computing Systems ─ A Foundational Approach

Starting from the premise that understanding the foundations of concurrentprogramming is key to developing distributed computing systems, this book first presents thefundamental theories of concurrent computing and then introduces the programming languages that helpdevelop distributed computing systems at a high level of abstraction. The major theories ofconcurrent computation -- including the p-calculus, the actor model, the join calculus, and mobileambients -- are explained with a focus on how they help design and reason about distributed andmobile computing systems. The book then presents programming languages that follow the theoreticalmodels already described, including Pict, SALSA, and JoCaml. The parallel structure of the chaptersin both part one (theory) and part two (practice) enable the reader not only to compare thedifferent theories but also to see clearly how a programming language supports a theoretical model.The book is unique in bridging the gap between the theory and the practice of programmingdistributed computing systems. It can be used as a textbook for graduate and advanced undergraduatestudents in computer science or as a reference for researchers in the area of programming technologyfor distributed computing. By presenting theory first, the book allows readers to focus on theessential components of concurrency, distribution, and mobility without getting bogged down insyntactic details of specific programming languages. Once the theory is understood, the practicalpart of implementing a system in an actual programming language becomes much easier.