Rain: A New Concurrent Process-Oriented Programming Language

This paper details the design of a new concurrent process-oriented programming language, Rain. The language borrows heavily from occam-π and C++ to create a new language based on process-oriented programming, marrying channel-based communication, a clear division between statement and expression, and elements of functional programming. An expressive yet simple type system, coupled with templates, underpins the language. Modern features such as Unicode support and 64-bit integers are included from the outset, and new ideas involving permissions and coding standards are also proposed. The language targets a new virtual machine, which is detailed in a companion paper along with benchmarks of its performance.