Title: The Quest for Future Proof Interoperability
Speaker: Paul Grace (Lancaster University)
When: Thursday, 19/04/2012, time 2-3pm, Huxley Building, room 218
Abstract: Over the history of distributed systems, a number of interoperability solutions have emerged both in terms of proposed standards for interoperability and solutions to bridging between standards. Distributed systems have, however continued to evolve and we particularly note two important trends: the dramatically increasing level of heterogeneity coupled by the increasing dynamism in contemporary distributed systems. The end result is that it is very difficult to achieve interoperability in any systematic way. Indeed, we can say that distributed systems are in crisis with no principled solutions to interoperability for such complex distributed systems of today, and highlights the role of emergent middleware as a possible solution to this problem. Emergent middleware is an interoperability solution whereby the required connectivity is generated at run-time to match the current context and requirements. A models@runtime approach is put forward as a solution towards achieving the run time generation of middleware; and in particular the Starlink software framework is investigated. Finally, the talk also considers the potential role of ontologies in supporting meaning and reasoning in the connection of networked services.
Short Bio: Paul Grace is a senior research associate in the School of Computing and Communications at Lancaster University; he has previously spent time working as a research scientist at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. At Lancaster, he’s currently working on the Connect project investigating dynamic interoperability solutions in complex distributed systems. His research interests are in distributed systems architecture and middleware, adaptive software solutions, and the application of model-driven engineering in systems software. He received his PhD from Lancaster in 2004, an MSc from the same institution in 2000 and a BSc from the University of York in 1999.