AFIrM: An Adaptive Functional Middleware

Languages commonly used to implement adaptive middleware systems are object-oriented with reflective capability, what entails in performance overhead, exposure of internal structure and also limits the abstraction level. In this paper, we propose an adaptive middleware, namely AFIrM, developed in Haskell, a purely functional language whose features like algebraic data types, no reflection, and control of side effects, provide a new approach for developing this kind of system. The evaluation of the proposed middleware concentrated on measure the impact caused by the use of functional features on its execution. We intend that developers of Haskell applications use the proposed middleware as a solution to deal with distribution and adaptation issues, and also to show that purely functional programming can facilitate the development of adaptive middleware systems, and hence should be considered as an alternative to traditional approaches.