Declarative, sliding window aggregations for computations at the edge

Abstract

We present a work in progress report on a new programming model that supports declarative, functional style aggregation operations over devices at the edge. This programming model bridges the gap between the two competing approaches for large-scale aggregations, streaming all data back to a central coordinator versus designing an optimized, distributed algorithm, by leveraging convergent data structures, dynamic scoping, and a declarative functional semantics implemented by a distributed runtime. We motivate our design with an industrial application susceptible to message reordering and arbitrary message delays on an unreliable network.