Mobile processing in open systems

A universal spatial automaton, called WAVE, for highly parallel processing in arbitrary distributed systems is described. The automaton is based on a virus principle where recursive programs, or waves, self-navigate in networks of data or processes in multiple cooperative parts while controlling and modifying the environment they exist in and move through. The layered general organisation of the automaton as well as its distributed implementation in computer networks are discussed. As the automaton dynamically creates, modifies, activates and processes any knowledge networks arbitrarily distributed in computer networks, it can easily model any other paradigms for parallel and distributed computing. Comparison of WAVE with some known programming models and languages, and ideas of their possible integration are also given.