MAP: mobile assistant programming for large scale communication networks

We have defined a new network programming model called mobile assistant programming (MAP) for development and execution of communication applications in large scale networks of heterogeneous computers. MAP assistants are high-level interpreted programs that can move between nodes, create clones and report results, Their execution is asynchronous and persistent to allow client disconnections and survival of node failures. We have implemented the mobile assistant programming model using the World-Wide Web framework and the scheme programming language. Our initial experience shows that the MAP model is a useful paradigm for programming communication applications in large scale networks