Retrofitting Zeroconf to Type-Safe Self-Organising Systems

The notion of a self-organising system as used within this paper, is of a system that optimises and adapts its architectural composition based on evidence accrued from both internal and external influences. In this way, a self-organising system is defined to be a fluid, unbounded set of components that are organised and configured on demand and at runtime in reaction to the current configuration of the system´s operating environment. This paper outlines current theory and assumption in component-based self-organisation, discussing the limitations that exist when producing such systems. The paper highlights, through example, how the introduction of type-safety at a network layer aided by Zeroconf (zero configuration networking) and the author´s own Neptune language can yield a powerful self-organisational model, concluding with its use within a healthcare agenda system