A language for specifying and implementing the low-level functions of media access protocols

The programmable network prototyping system (PNPS) is a facility used for the rapid prototyping of communication network protocols. It consists of a collection of node emulators, a programmable channel that supports a transmission rate of 10 Mb/s, and a backbone system used for configuration, data collection, and data analysis. The authors describe PNPS in general and its network controller in particular. Then they describe LIFP, the language used to specify and implement the low-level functions of media access protocols. They illustrate its use with the CSMA/CD (carrier-sort multiple-access with collision detection) protocol and discuss the implementation of the compiler and debugger.<<ETX>>