A type language for message passing component-based systems

TL;DR

This paper introduces a type language for message passing component-based systems that enables the specification and verification of component behavior and protocol compatibility in distributed environments.

Contribution

It presents a novel type language that captures component behavior and ensures compatibility with communication protocols, facilitating independent and reactive component assembly.

Findings

Type language effectively models component behavior.

Ensures compatibility between components and protocols.

Provides progress property for component interactions.

Abstract

Component-based development is challenging in a distributed setting, for starters considering programming a task may involve the assembly of loosely-coupled remote components. In order for the task to be fulfilled, the supporting interaction among components should follow a well-defined protocol. In this paper we address a model for message passing component-based systems where components are assembled together with the protocol itself. Components can therefore be independent from the protocol, and reactive to messages in a flexible way. Our contribution is at the level of the type language that allows to capture component behaviour so as to check its compatibility with a protocol. We show the correspondence of component and type behaviours, which entails a progress property for components.