What do we really know about data flow languages?

Abstract

Over the last years, a number of languages based on data flow abstractions have been proposed in different important areas including Big Data, stream processing, reactive programming, real time analytics. While there is a general agreement that the data flow style simplifies the access to such complex systems compared to low level imperative APIs, this design has been substantiated by little evidence. In this paper, we advocate a systematic investigation of the design principles of data flow languages and suggest important research questions that urge to be addressed.