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Axum (programming language)
Encyclopedia
Axum is a domain specific concurrent programming language
, based on the Actor model
, being developed by Microsoft
. It is an object-oriented language
based on the .NET
Common Language Runtime
using a C
-like syntax which, being a domain-specific language, is intended for development of portions of a software application that is well-suited to concurrency. But it contains enough general-purpose constructs that one need not switch to a general-purpose programming language (like C#) for the sequential parts of the concurrent components.
The main idiom of programming in Axum is an Agent (or an Actor), which is an isolated entity that executes in parallel with other Agents. In Axum parlance, this is referred to as the agents executing in separate isolation domains; objects instantiated within a domain cannot be directly accessed from another. Agents are loosely-coupled (i.e., the number of dependencies between agents is minimal) and do not share resources like memory (unlike the shared memory
model of C# and similar languages); instead a message passing
model is used. To co-ordinate agents or having an agent request the resources of another, an explicit message must be sent to the agent. Axum provides Channels to facilitate this.
Channels can be regarded as a directional pathway to communicate between agent instances. The member functions of a Channel object, after it has been bound to an agent instance, can be used to communicate with it. A Channel contains input and output ports, which are queues which are used to send data to an agent or receive data from one. To co-ordinate the communication between agents, Axum allows each channel to have a user-defined protocol for communication. The protocol is defined as a state machine. The data sent over a channel can be optionally restricted to conform to a certain pre-defined schema. The compiler and runtime will enforce the conformance with the schema. Under the hood, a schema is translated into a serializable
.NET class that contains only properties and side effect-free methods.
Axum is currently a prototype with working Microsoft Visual Studio
integration. Microsoft has made a CTP of Axum available to the public.
Microsoft has decided not to turn Axum into a project.
Programming language
A programming language is an artificial language designed to communicate instructions to a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages can be used to create programs that control the behavior of a machine and/or to express algorithms precisely....
, based on the Actor model
Actor model
In computer science, the Actor model is a mathematical model of concurrent computation that treats "actors" as the universal primitives of concurrent digital computation: in response to a message that it receives, an actor can make local decisions, create more actors, send more messages, and...
, being developed by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
. It is an object-oriented language
Object-oriented programming
Object-oriented programming is a programming paradigm using "objects" – data structures consisting of data fields and methods together with their interactions – to design applications and computer programs. Programming techniques may include features such as data abstraction,...
based on the .NET
.NET Framework
The .NET Framework is a software framework that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It includes a large library and supports several programming languages which allows language interoperability...
Common Language Runtime
Common Language Runtime
The Common Language Runtime is the virtual machine component of Microsoft's .NET framework and is responsible for managing the execution of .NET programs. In a process known as just-in-time compilation, the CLR compiles the intermediate language code known as CIL into the machine instructions...
using a C
C (programming language)
C is a general-purpose computer programming language developed between 1969 and 1973 by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories for use with the Unix operating system....
-like syntax which, being a domain-specific language, is intended for development of portions of a software application that is well-suited to concurrency. But it contains enough general-purpose constructs that one need not switch to a general-purpose programming language (like C#) for the sequential parts of the concurrent components.
The main idiom of programming in Axum is an Agent (or an Actor), which is an isolated entity that executes in parallel with other Agents. In Axum parlance, this is referred to as the agents executing in separate isolation domains; objects instantiated within a domain cannot be directly accessed from another. Agents are loosely-coupled (i.e., the number of dependencies between agents is minimal) and do not share resources like memory (unlike the shared memory
Shared memory
In computing, shared memory is memory that may be simultaneously accessed by multiple programs with an intent to provide communication among them or avoid redundant copies. Depending on context, programs may run on a single processor or on multiple separate processors...
model of C# and similar languages); instead a message passing
Message passing
Message passing in computer science is a form of communication used in parallel computing, object-oriented programming, and interprocess communication. In this model, processes or objects can send and receive messages to other processes...
model is used. To co-ordinate agents or having an agent request the resources of another, an explicit message must be sent to the agent. Axum provides Channels to facilitate this.
Channels can be regarded as a directional pathway to communicate between agent instances. The member functions of a Channel object, after it has been bound to an agent instance, can be used to communicate with it. A Channel contains input and output ports, which are queues which are used to send data to an agent or receive data from one. To co-ordinate the communication between agents, Axum allows each channel to have a user-defined protocol for communication. The protocol is defined as a state machine. The data sent over a channel can be optionally restricted to conform to a certain pre-defined schema. The compiler and runtime will enforce the conformance with the schema. Under the hood, a schema is translated into a serializable
Serialization
In computer science, in the context of data storage and transmission, serialization is the process of converting a data structure or object state into a format that can be stored and "resurrected" later in the same or another computer environment...
.NET class that contains only properties and side effect-free methods.
Axum is currently a prototype with working Microsoft Visual Studio
Microsoft Visual Studio
Microsoft Visual Studio is an integrated development environment from Microsoft. It is used to develop console and graphical user interface applications along with Windows Forms applications, web sites, web applications, and web services in both native code together with managed code for all...
integration. Microsoft has made a CTP of Axum available to the public.
Microsoft has decided not to turn Axum into a project.