Algorithmic Foundations

Summary

This chapter presents a technique for designing decentralized spatial computing algorithms, based on the combination and extension of some conventional algorithm design tools. First, the chapter sets out a language for specifying decentralized spatial algorithms, based on the specification of local protocols for individual node behavior, rather than on global system behavior. Next, the approach defines a structured analysis technique for understanding and identifying any failures in the global system behavior that emerge from the local protocols. The technique is iterative, successively identifying and then correcting faults, refining the algorithm until it performs as expected.