MetaKlaim: Meta-programming for Global Computing

Most foundational models for global computing have focused on the spatial dimension of computations, however global computing requires also new ways of thinking about the temporal dimension. In particular, with no central control and the need to operate with incomplete information there is a compelling need to interleave meta-programming activities (like assembly and linking of code fragments), security checks (like type-checking at administrative boundaries) and normal computational activities. MetaKlaim is a case study in modeling both spatial and temporal aspects of computing by integrating MetaML (an extension of SML for multi-stage programming) and Klaim (a Kernel Language for Agents Interaction and Mobility). The staging annotations of MetaML provide a fine-grain control of the temporal aspects, while Klaim allows to model and program the spatial aspects of distributed concurrent applications. Our approach for combining these aspects is quite general and should be applicable to other languages/systems for network programming.