A programming model for wide-area computing

Abstract

During the last decade there have been great strides in broadband communication, and the World Wide Web provides a giant repository of information. This combination promises development of a new generation of distributed applications, ranging from mundane office tasks- e.g., planning a meeting by reading the calendars of the participants - to real-time distributed control and coordination of hundreds of machines e.g., as would be required in a recovery effort from an earthquake.