Related papers: Contracts in distributed systems
Recent trends like the Internet of Things (IoT) suggest a vision of dense and multi-scale deployments of computing devices in nearly all kinds of environments. A prominent engineering challenge revolves around programming the collective…
There are proposed models of contracts, technological equipment and gas networks and methods of their optimization. The flow in network undergoes restrictions of contracts and equipment to be operated. The values of sources and sinks are…
In this paper, we present a probabilistic adaptation of an Assume/Guarantee contract formalism. For the sake of generality, we assume that the extended state machines used in the contracts and implementations define sets of runs on a given…
In calculi for modelling communication protocols, internal and external choices play dual roles. Two external choices can be viewed naturally as dual too, as they represent an agreement between the communicating parties. If the interaction…
We present an approach for modelling the structure and coarse content of legal documents with a view to providing automated support for the drafting of contracts and contract database retrieval. The approach is designed to be applicable…
When developing complex software and systems, contracts provide a means for controlling the complexity by dividing the responsibilities among the components of the system in a hierarchical fashion. In specific application areas, dedicated…
We present assume-guarantee contracts for continuous-time linear dynamical systems with inputs and outputs. These contracts are used to express specifications on the dynamic behaviour of a system. Contrary to existing approaches, we use…
Data sharing is central to a wide variety of applications such as fraud detection, ad matching, and research. The lack of data sharing abstractions makes the solution to each data sharing problem bespoke and cost-intensive, hampering value…
We consider a calculus of resources and processes as a basis for modelling decision-making in multi-agent systems. The calculus represents the regulation of agents' choices using utility functions that take account of context. Associated…
We compare mechanisms for compensation handling and dynamic update in calculi for concurrency. These mechanisms are increasingly relevant in the specification of reliable communicating systems. Compensations and updates are intuitively…
In this position paper, we consider some foundational topics regarding smart contracts (such as terminology, automation, enforceability, and semantics) and define a smart contract as an automatable and enforceable agreement. We explore a…
We consider a general framework of optimal mechanism design under adverse selection and ambiguity about the type distribution of agents. We prove the existence of optimal mechanisms under minimal assumptions on the contract space and prove…
We initiate the study of online contracts, which integrate the game-theoretic considerations of economic contract theory, with the algorithmic and informational challenges of online algorithm design. Our starting point is the classic online…
Distributed interactions can be suitably designed in terms of choreographies. Such abstractions can be thought of as global descriptions of the coordination of several distributed parties. Global assertions define contracts for…
The paper proposes a surprisingly simple characterization of a large class of models of distributed computing, via an agreement function: for each set of processes, the function determines the best level of set consensus these processes can…
Combinatorial contracts are emerging as a key paradigm in algorithmic contract design, paralleling the role of combinatorial auctions in algorithmic mechanism design. In this paper we study natural combinatorial contract settings involving…
Smart contracts are computer programs that are executed by a network of mutually distrusting agents, without the need of an external trusted authority. Smart contracts handle and transfer assets of considerable value (in the form of…
The ability to negotiate contracts for a wide range of aspects and to provide services conforming to them is a most pressing need in service-oriented architectures. High-level models of contracts are making their way into the area, but…
The paper outlines ongoing research on logic-based tools for the analysis and representation of legal contracts of the kind frequently encountered in large-scale engineering projects and complex, long-term trading agreements. We consider…
We give a geometry of interaction model for a typed lambda-calculus endowed with operators for sampling from a continuous uniform distribution and soft conditioning, namely a paradigmatic calculus for higher-order Bayesian programming. The…