DSpace: A Simplified Linda Space API for Rapidly Prototyping User Experiences

The idea behind a Linda model is to create a space where programs can put things in the space and other programs can later read them out. This space model is simple to understand and it decouples readers and writers in both time and space.

For rapid prototyping, where physical sensors might be hooked up and other applications might react to the sensors, this model makes it very easy to rapidly prototype different interactions. For example, you might place a bend-sensor in the mailbox and when the box gets opened, the application "drops" a time-stamp in the Linda Space. Other applications, as they come into existence (e.g. your car-puter when it comes home) can read the space, see that the mail has arrived and alert the car.

The Linda Space uses tuples to completely separate knowledge that the sender and the reader might share. Searching the tuple-space allows the reader to find the data that they are interested in.In this D-Space model, we've relaxed that independence in favor of a simpler, faster API. It basically comes down to these commands:

• CreateSpace: create a new, named space on the network
• ConnectToSpace: connect to an existing space
• SetObject: put an object in a space or set an existing object's value
• ReadObject: read an object's value
• TakeObject: remove an object from the space
• RegisterNotification: request notification on a space or object change
• OnNotification: the notification event

Generally, spaces are treated as objects as well, so they can be added into other spaces.

Paper coming soon