Primitives for distributed computing

Distributed programs that run on nodes of a network are now technologically feasible, and are well-suited to the needs of organizations. However, our knowledge about how to construct such programs is limited. This paper discusses primitives that support the construction of distributed programs. Attention is focussed on primitives in two major areas: modularity and communication. The issues underlying the selection of the primitives are discussed, especially the issue of providing robust behavior, and various candidates are analyzed. The primitives will ultimately be provided as part of a programming language that will be used to experiment with construction of distributed programs.