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Title |
Moti's Distributed Alogrithms in Java |
Summary |
These Java applets are used for studying distributed algorithms. They presume familiarity with distributed algorithms. The applets are not simple animations where you passively watch the algorithm. Instead, they are interactive, visual, study aids for studying distributed algorithms. I characterize them as (i) interactive because you must explicitly specify every step of the interleaved execution sequence, as (ii) visual because the state of the nodes is continuously displayed, and as (iii) study aids because they solve one of the most difficult problems encountered by students of these algorithms by automatically doing the necessary "book-keeping". Byzantine Generals is used to demonstrate the implementation of a reliable system in the presence of faults. A loyal general will relay messages exactly as they are received, while a traitorous general may relay a message incorrectly. The goal of the algorithm is for the loyal generals to come to a consensus in the presence of traitors. Three loyal generals can come to a consensus even in the presence of a fourth general who is a traitor. |
Author |
Mordechai (Moti) Ben-Ari ntbenari@wis.weizmann.ac.il |
Platform requirements |
Java Virtual Machine 1.1.6 or higher |
Supplemental
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Suggestions for running the algorithms. Suggestions for using the applets in the classroom. M. Ben-Ari, Principles of Concurrent and Distributed Programming, Prentice-Hall International, 1990, ISBN 0-13-711821-X. M. Ben-Ari, "Distributed Algorithms in Java" SIGCSE Bulletin 29(3), 1997, 62-64. |