Late Adaptation of Method Invocation Semantics

Markus Hof
Johannes Kepler University Linz
Institute for Practical Computer Science
Altenbergerstr. 69, A-4040 Linz
hof@ssw.uni-linz.ac.at

Abstract

In distributed object systems, one has the possibility to make method invocations on objects located on other host. During such an invocation, data is sent to another host and back. However, the system tries to hide this and simulate a standcard method invocation as close as possible. Some systems [Voyager] try to offer other invocation semantics, e.g. asynchronous method invocation. We try to go a step further and offer the actual invocation as first class abstractions. The programmer can build his own abstractions by either implementing his own or by combining existing abstractions. With this system, he can build arbitrary invocations semantics, e.g. synchronous method invocation with transactional semantics, which also logs all method invocations.

Paper at "PSI99: Perscpectives of System Informatics", Novosibirsk, Russia, July 6-9, 1999.
Published in Lecture Notes in Computer Science 1755 (pp. 396-401), ISBN 3-540-67102-1, Springer-Verlag, 1999.

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