A Preliminary Investigation into Dynamic Distributed Workflow

Abstract

In this thesis, we describe the concept of dynamic distributed workflow. We briefly discuss three possible approaches to the construction of a system to support dynamic distributed workflow, and identify theoretical questions which arise when considering the operation of such a system. We also present UberNet, a Java-based system which implements inter-object communication as a limited form of dynamic distributed workflow. This system, which provides extremely powerful communication capabilities to distributed Java objects, serves both as a proof of concept for dynamic distributed workflow and as a starting point for the future implementation of more complex dynamic distributed workflow systems.