The “worm” programs were an experiment in the development of distributed computations: programs that span machine boundaries and also replicate themselves in idle machines. A “worm” is composed of multiple “segments,” each running on a different machine. The underlying worm maintenance mechanisms are responsible for maintaining the worm—finding free machines when needed and replicating the program for each additional segment. These techniques were successfully used to support several real applications, ranging from a simple multimachine test program to a more sophisticated real-time animation system harnessing multiple machines.
The “worm” programs—early experience with a distributed computation
The Latest from CACM
Shape the Future of Computing
ACM encourages its members to take a direct hand in shaping the future of the association. There are more ways than ever to get involved.
Get InvolvedCommunications of the ACM (CACM) is now a fully Open Access publication.
By opening CACM to the world, we hope to increase engagement among the broader computer science community and encourage non-members to discover the rich resources ACM has to offer.
Learn More
Join the Discussion (0)
Become a Member or Sign In to Post a Comment