(ref.doc)Kala

Kala - Main Concepts
version 1.0, 1 June 1990
Sergiu Simmel
Samsung Software America, Inc. and Penobscot Research Center, Inc.

Two main categories of data:
- bits
- references to other data

monad:   Element of data stored under Kala.
         Immutable (may be replaced with a new one with a new id, but
         not changed). Identified (through a Kala id). May contain
         bits and references. May be addressed from either a reference
         (in an other monad, which it depends from), or from an
         external handle.

handle:  Reference to a monad (External, i.e. not itself in a monad?
         Conceptual anyway).

basket:  Set of handles (may contain 0, 1, or more of them). Concrete
         and dynamic grouping of monads. May be thought as a view
         (database terminology) into the Kala data.

kin:     Abstract static grouping of monads. In one basket, there
         cannot be handles to several monads of the same kin. A monad
         is of one and only one kin.

BSL:     Basket Search List. Hierarchical set of baskets. One for
         every Kala client.  Default: Process, Session, User, and
         Public baskets.

splatter commit:
         moving of the contents of the process basket into the baskets
         where handles had been primarily copied from, at process
         termination.

value:   The totality of a monad's bits and references.

mid:     Monad identifier. Identifiers are never reused.

kid:     Kin identifier.

antimonad:
         Monad value class; supports delayed monad deletion.

thunk:   Monad value class; value computed on request, rather than
         stored and loaded

freezing and thawing:
         locking and unlocking of handles (monads are immutable
         anyway).

scavenger: Kala garbage collector.

Possible mappings:

       entity : kin
      version : monad
configuration : basket

  transaction : basket