Accord: a programming framework for autonomic applications

The emergence of pervasive wide-area distributed computing environments, such as pervasive information systems and computational grids, has enabled new generations of applications that are based on seamless access, aggregation, and interaction. However, the inherent complexity, heterogeneity, and dynamism of these systems require a change in how the applications are developed and managed. In this paper, we present a programming framework that extends existing programming models/frameworks to support the development of autonomic self-managing applications. The framework enables the development of autonomic elements and the formulation of autonomic applications as the dynamic composition of autonomic elements. The operation of the proposed framework is illustrated using a forest fire management application.