LYNX

Developed by:
University of Wisconsin , USA Michael L. Scott and Raphael A. Finkel

Short Description:
LYNX is a message-based distributed programming language with novel facilities for communication between processes and for management of context within processes. LYNX was first implemented on the Crystal multicomputer at the University of Wisconsin. It has subsequently been ported to the Butterfly Parallel Processor at the University of Rochester. A programming language can provide much better support for interprocess communication than a library package can. Most message-passing languages limit this support to communication between the pieces of a single program, but this need not be the case. Lynx facilitates convenient, typesafe message-passing not only within applications, but also between applications, and among distributed collections of servers . Specifically, it addresses issues of compiler statelessness, late binding, and protection that allow run-time interaction between processes that were developed independently and that do not trust each other. Implementation experience with Lynx has yield ed important insights into the relationship between distributed operating systems and language run-time support packages, and into the inherent costs of high-level message-passing semantics.

Model: multiprocessor, homogeneous
Properties: datagram/messages, synchronization, heavyweight processes, RPC
Transparency:
Running on: Crystal multicomputer, Butterfly Parallel Processor
Date: 01.01.84 Ð ?

References:
Michael L. Scott; Raphael A. Finkel; "LYNX: A dynamic distributed programming language". IEEE Proceedings of the 1984 International Conference on Parallel Processing, August 1984, pp. 395-401.

M. L. Scott; "LYNX Reference Manual"; Computer Science Department, University of Rochester, BPR 7, August 1986.