Modular heterogeneous system development: a critical analysis ofJava

摘要

Java supports heterogeneous applications by transforming aheterogeneous network of machines into a homogeneous network of Javavirtual machines. This approach abstracts over many of the complicationsthat arise from heterogeneity, providing a uniform API to all componentsof an application. However, for many applications heterogeneity is anintentional feature where components and resources are co-located foroptimal performance. The authors argue that Java's API does not providean effective means for building applications in such an environment.Specifically, they suggest improvements to Java's existing mechanismsfor maintaining consistency (e.g. synchronized), and controllingresources (e.g. thread scheduling). They also consider the recentaddition of a CORBA API in JDK 1.2. They argue that while such anapproach provides greater flexibility for heterogeneous applications,many key problems still exist from an architectural standpoint. Finally,they consider the future of Java as a foundation for component-basedsoftware in heterogeneous environments and suggest architecturalabstractions which will prove key to the successful development of suchsystems. They drive the discussion with examples and suggestions fromtheir work on the Actor model of computation