Dynamic application composition for distributed systems

大多数人使用的软件被设计和打包为在单个设备上运行(例如，在个人计算机上运行的电子表格)。这种方法的例外通常限于不在传统台式机器或个人计算设备(例如，蜂窝电话、PDA等)上运行的高端科学和商业应用。这种“标准”编程方法隐含地假设了一个基本的计算模型，其中所有的工作都在一台通用计算机上完成。然而，随着新的移动和嵌入式设备的普及，这种模式正在悄然消退。越来越多地，这种相互连接的设备协同参与计算。这种现象的众多例子包括对等文件共享应用程序和多用户游戏(大规模)以及在iPod、手机等上运行的多媒体工具(小规模)。

The software that most people use is designed and packaged to run on a single device (e.g. a spreadsheet running on a personal computer). Exceptions to this approach are normally restricted to high-end scientific and business applications that do not run on conventional desktop machines or personal computing devices (e.g. cell phones, PDAs, etc.). This "standard" programming approach implicitly assumes an underlying model of computing where everything is done on a single, general purpose computer. This model, however, is quietly fading as new mobile and embedded devices become prevalent. Increasingly, such interconnected devices are collaboratively involved in computations. Among the multitude of examples of this phenomenon are Peer-To-Peer file sharing applications and multi-user gaming (at the large scale) and multimedia tools running on iPods, cell phones, etc. (at the small scale).