CSR: SHF: Small: Propagator-Based Computing, A Programming Foundation for Decentralized Systems

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This project develops the Propagator Model, a concurrent decentralizedframework designed to support computing in large, open, dynamicenvironments. It provides powerful tools for organizing computationsto operate effectively in a world of rapidly changing and globallyinconsistent data by adopting a fundamental shift in viewpoint: thethings manipulated by basic computing elements are not fixed values.Rather, they are information about values, and this information iscontinually refined as new information becomes available.This project creates the architectural and linguistic foundations forsystems that can operate effectively in environments where there is nocentral management, and where one cannot rely on resources beingconsistently available or consistently operating, and where the data israpidly changing and globally inconsistent. Using three mechanismsimplicit in the computational substrate: (1) constraint propagation,(2) partial information structures, and (3) dependencies, systemsbuilt on the propagator model automatically have the ability tosupport their conclusions with arguments and report on the provenanceof the ingredients. They can automatically discover and useconsistent subsystems of inconsistent data.This project erects a naturally concurrent and distributed model andinfrastructure for computation that makes it easier to build systemsthat are reliable in the face of natural failures and deliberateattacks. It provides support for auditable and accountable systemsthat are robust and adaptable to novel applications.