Section: Overall Objectives

Overall Objectives

The goal of the Indes team is to study models for diffuse computing and develop languages for secure diffuse applications. Diffuse applications, of which Web 2.0 applications are a notable example, are the new applications emerging from the convergence of broad network accessibility, rich personal digital environment, and vast sources of information. Strong security guarantees are required for these applications, which intrinsically rely on sharing private information over networks of mutually distrustful nodes connected by unreliable media.

Diffuse computing requires an original combination of nearly all previous computing paradigms, ranging from classical sequential computing to parallel and concurrent computing in both their synchronous / reactive and asynchronous variants. It also benefits from the recent advances in mobile computing, since devices involved in diffuse applications are often mobile or portable.

The Indes team contributes to the whole chain of research on models and languages for diffuse computing, going from the study of foundational models and formal semantics to the design and implementation of new languages to be put to work on concrete applications. Emphasis is placed on correct-by-construction mechanisms to guarantee correct, efficient and secure implementation of high-level programs. The research is partly inspired by and built around Hop, the web programming model proposed by the former Mimosa team, which takes the web as its execution platform and targets interactive and multimedia applications.