Language constructs for cooperative systems design

Abstract

This paper presents the basic constructs of CSDL, a language designed for both specifying and designing synchronous cooperative systems. It is part of a project that deals with the building of an environment supporting design and execution of computer-based multimedia cooperative systems. CSDL tries to address the difficulties of integrating different aspects of cooperative systems: cooperation control, communication, and system modularization. CSDL's basic unit is the coordinator. It is composed of a specification, a body, and a context. The specification defines the cooperation policy, the body controls the underlying communication channels, and the context defines coordinators' interaction in complex and modular systems.