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Extensible 3D Simulation of Aggregated Systems with FCPP

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Coordination Models and Languages (COORDINATION 2022)

Part of the book series: IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology ((LNCS,volume 13271))

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Abstract

Programming massively distributed systems in unreliable environments poses several non-trivial challenges. Such systems need to be able to adapt and self-organise, and special algorithms need to be developed for this purpose. In particular, simulators provide an irreplaceable tool for the development process.

Among other tools for programming self-organizing systems, the FieldCalc++ (FCPP, implementing the field calculus in C++) library stands out for its efficiency, portability and extensibility, and its support for aggregate programs. On the other hand, the simulator’s output was limited up to now to numeric statistical information, reducing the user’s ability to understand and interact with the system under simulation.

In this paper, we present a novel graphical user interface for FCPP, allowing for a real-time, interactive and three-dimensional visualization of the simulated system. Through this interface, the user can control the simulation flow, visualize summary information of the network at a single glance, and inspect detailed information via auxiliary windows. The interface is designed to require minimal effort from the end user for its setup, and can be further extended for increased interaction.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWsNqJMVxKs.

  2. 2.

    https://github.com/fcpp/fcpp-exercises#readme.

  3. 3.

    Accessible starting from: https://fcpp.github.io.

  4. 4.

    Acronym for Same Instruction, Multiple Data.

  5. 5.

    Acronym for Frames Per Second.

  6. 6.

    For instance, while simulating the flying patterns of a group of drones, a top-view of a city could be applied on the grid plane in order to compare the positions of the drones with the city blocks.

  7. 7.

    The framebuffer is a buffer storing frames to be rendered, and swapping such buffer basically means to display its content on screen.

  8. 8.

    MacBook Pro, 2.4GHz intel Core i9 8-core, 32GB RAM, Intel UHD Graphics 630.

  9. 9.

    https://github.com/fcpp/fcpp-sample-project, non-retractable version evaluated with this paper: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6480037.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Università Degli Studi di Torino, Torino, Italy

    Giorgio Audrito, Luigi Rapetta & Gianluca Torta

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  1. Giorgio Audrito
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  2. Luigi Rapetta
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  3. Gianluca Torta
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Correspondence to Giorgio Audrito .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto di Scienza e Tecnologie dell'In, Pisa, Italy

    Maurice H. ter Beek

  2. Mälardalen University, Västerås, Sweden

    Marjan Sirjani

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Audrito, G., Rapetta, L., Torta, G. (2022). Extensible 3D Simulation of Aggregated Systems with FCPP. In: ter Beek, M.H., Sirjani, M. (eds) Coordination Models and Languages. COORDINATION 2022. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, vol 13271. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08143-9_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08143-9_4

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