Coding the Continuum

In 2001, as early high-speed networks were deployed, George Gilder observed that “when the network is as fast as the computer's internal links, the machine disintegrates across the net into a set of special purpose appliances.” Two decades later, our networks are 1,000 times faster, our appliances are increasingly specialized, and our computer systems are indeed disintegrating. As hardware acceleration overcomes speed-of-light delays, time and space merge into a computing continuum. Familiar questions like “where should I compute,” “for what workloads should I design computers,” and "where should I place my computers” seem to allow for a myriad of new answers that are exhilarating but also daunting. Are there concepts that can help guide us as we design applications and computer systems in a world that is untethered from familiar landmarks like center, cloud, edge? I propose some ideas and report on experiments in coding the continuum.