Documents

This is a collection of documents dealing with my (very old) DBOS project. There is some general knowledge in here.

WARNING! If you see "Incomplete", it is incomplete! Many incomplete documents end in random sentences, and are at best half-baked. If you read an incomplete document, I am not responsible for the resulting confusion.

Languages

Name	Description
Language Aspects	A list of aspects that make languages expressive. Includes an analysis of a few popular languages.
CLOS Advantages	A summary of CLOS advantages over some other common object systems
Continuations	Structured programming replaces the need for continuations
Covariant Function Inheritance	Covers the definition of covariant function inheritance.
The Dynamic Dispatch Problem	Incomplete. Dynamic dispatch creates a problem with interface specifications.
Infix Operators	The advantages of infix operators
Lazy Evaluation	Incomplete. Semantics of Lazy Evaluation
Macros and Higher Order Functions	Looking at the various aspects of functions as parameters.
Multimethods	Multimethod protocols
Partial Evaluation	Comparing Partial Evaluation with Lazy Evaluation and Currying
Prototype Inheritance	A description of how inheritance can be implemented in a prototype based language.
Refactorings	Incomplete. A random list of refactorings.
Whitespace	Incomplete. Should whitespace have semantic meaning in a language?

Meta Object Protocol

Name	Description
Inheritance and Instantiation	A clean, formal definition of inheritance and instantiation and the relationship between them.
Inheritance or Encapsulation	For single inheritance systems, when should we inherit, when should we encapsulate?
Multiple Instantiation	The implementation of multiple Instantiation
Primitive Attributes	A list of minimal primitive functionality in a computing environment.
Reflection	Incomplete, An enumeration of some types of reflection.

Database Application

Name	Description
Aggregation Semantics	Incomplete, description of aggregation semantics in an OO environment and its relationship to spaces.
Aggregation Types	Describe the types of aggregation for implementing fast incremental versions.
Object-Table Mapping	How DBOS maps class definitions to tables
Record or Attribute Locking	Advocates the use of fine attribute level locking.
Self Joins	Incomplete, Adding a ninth database operator
Spaces	Description of spaces and why they are useful
UID Management	How the DBOS manages Unique IDs.
Var_Elem_Rec	A look at the relationship between variables, elements and records.

DBOS Function Model

Name	Description
Deadlock Avoidance	The DBOS avoids deadlocks by removing the conceptual mistake called "resources".
Function	Definition of a DBOS function
MSM	The Messaging State Machine definition
Return	Return values are modeled as messages.
Exceptions	Exceptions are a specialization of returns.

Other Important DBOS Aspects

Name	Description
Bit Field	Information and order are related .
Projects	Incomplete. Projects manage programming assumptions. This is an investigation into how assumptions should be managed.
Stability	How to implement a stable reflective system
Template	Definition of the template
Versioning	Incomplete, look at the implementation of versioning to the DBOS
Visual API	Overview of concepts in the DBOS visual API.

Other Documents

Name	Description
Definitions	List of definitions both for DBOS and generally
Garbage Collection	An investigation into a GC technique
Migration	A high level review of migration, and an attack plan for implementation.
References	Describes what references and symbols are, and how they are modeled in a reflective architecture
Serialization	Incomplete
State Machines	Incomplete, Examine the continuum from DFA to NDFA, and find an 0(n) conversion.