The ProcessWall: a process state server approach to process programming

The ProcessWall is a process state server providing storage for process states plus operations for defining and manipulating the structure of those states. It separates the state of a software process from any program for constructing that state. Instead, client programs implement the processes for operating on the process state. This approach has a number of potential benefits such as support for process formalism interoperability, support for multiple process languages, low-cost retro-fitting of process into existing environments, and support for long-term execution of processes. The process server interface provides descriptive mechanisms for representing process state as well as product state. A classification of client programs is provided to show how the state server can be used in a variety of ways.