Programming language support for real-time distributed systems

Abstract

This paper advocates the use of a high-level, distributed programming language for programming realtime distributed systems. The advantages of this approach include the program structure imposed by an appropriate language design, static checking provided by the compiler, and efficient execution. A structured approach to the issues of user control of machine dependencies, process scheduling, timing constraints, and interprocess communication is suggested, with specific examples drawn from modern programming languages designed for realtime and distributed programming.