Gossiping and broadcasting versus computing functions in networks Original Research Article

In the theory of dissemination of information in interconnection networks (gossiping and broadcasting) one assumes that a message consists of a set of distinguishable, atomic pieces of information, and that one communication pattern is used for solving a task. In this paper, a close connection is established between this theory and a situation in which functions are computed in synchronous networks without restrictions on the type of message used and with possibly different communication patterns for different inputs. The following restriction on the way processors communicate turns out to be essential: