A general purpose programming framework for ubiquitous computing environments

Stevenson, G. and Nixon, P. and Ferguson, R.I. (2003) A general purpose programming framework for ubiquitous computing environments. In: Ubisys: System Support for Ubiquitous Computing Workshop (UbiCom), 2003-10-12.

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Abstract

It is important to note that the need to support ad-hoc and potentially mobile arrangements of devices in ubiquitous environments does not fit well within the traditional client/server architecture. We believe peer-to-peer communication offers a preferable alternative due to its decentralised nature, removing dependence on individual nodes. However, this choice adds to the complexity of the developers task. In this paper, we describe a two-tiered approach to address this problem: A lower tier employing peer-to-peer interactions for managing the network infrastructure and an upper tier providing a mobile agent based programming framework. The result is a general purpose framework for developing ubiquitous applications and services, where the underlying complexity is hidden from the developer. This paper discusses our on-going work; presenting our design decisions, features supported by our framework, and some of the challenges still to be addressed in a complex programming environment.

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