Distributed Virtual Machines : Inside the Rotor CLI

✍ Scribed by Gary Nutt

• Year: 2004
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 219
• Edition: US ed
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

The Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) is a multiple language runtime system, first implemented as the .NET Common Language Runtime (CLR). In March, 2002 Microsoft released the Shared Source CLI implementation (aka Rotor)for general educational use. The CLI technology can be used to address a spectrum of software design and development barriers that cut across compilers, runtime systems, and operating systems. This book focuses on the parts of the technology that are directly related to Distributed Virtual Machine technology. It covers assembly architecture, assembly loading, downloading, the execution engine, security, CLI interobject communication (remoting), and more. This book is available entirely online at http://aw-bc.com/nutt/cli for professor evaluation and classroom use, and for general readers interested in the Rotor CLI.

✦ Table of Contents

Cover......Page 1
1 Distributed Virtual Machines for Scientific Programming......Page 2
1.1 User Space DVM Technology......Page 3
1.2 HPCC: High Performance Computing and Communication......Page 13
1.3 PVM: The Parallel Virtual Machine......Page 14
1.4 The Beowulf Cluster Computing Environment......Page 15
1.5 The Open Systems Foundation (Open Group) DCE......Page 16
1.6 HPCC Today: Grid Computing......Page 21
Installing Rotor on Your UNIX Development Machine......Page 23
1.7 Exercise Suggestions......Page 24
2 Second Generation DVMs......Page 33
2.1 Mobile Code......Page 36
2.2 Objects......Page 37
2.3 The Execution Model......Page 41
2.4 Secure Operation......Page 43
2.5 Threads and Active Objects......Page 44
2.6 Lab Exercise: Writing C# Programs......Page 46
3 .NET and the CLI: A Contemporary DVM......Page 53
3.1 CLI: The Common Language Infrastructure......Page 56
3.2 The CLI DVM Model of Operation......Page 59
3.3 CLI Class Libraries......Page 66
3.4 Programming the .NET Environment......Page 67
3.5 Lab Exercise: Multi Assembly Program......Page 68
4.1 The Software Distribution......Page 71
4.3 The Class Loader......Page 73
4.5 The Execution Engine......Page 74
4.7 Communicating Across Application Domains......Page 80
4.8 The Platform Adaptation Layer......Page 81
4.9 Design Summary......Page 82
4.10 Lab Exercise: The Code that Launches an Application......Page 83
5.1 The Type System......Page 88
5.2 Modules and Portable Execution Files......Page 90
5.3 The Metadata......Page 94
5.4 The CIL......Page 100
5.5 Lab Exercise: Inspecting Assemblies......Page 106
6 The Assembly Loader......Page 108
6.1 Address Spaces......Page 109
6.2 Overview of the Fusion Assembly Loader......Page 111
6.3 Downloading the Assembly......Page 117
6.4 Binding the Assembly to the App Domain......Page 126
6.5 Lab Exercise: Refining the Rotor Downloader......Page 129
7 The Execution Engine......Page 134
7.1 Application Domains......Page 135
7.2 Managed Threads......Page 139
7.3 The Class Loader......Page 141
7.4 Preparing Native Code......Page 145
7.5 Invoking EE Features......Page 148
7.6 Lab Exercise: EE Data Structures......Page 150
8 Protection Mechanisms and Security Policy Management......Page 152
8.1 Base Technology......Page 153
8.2 The Sandbox......Page 160
8.3 The Policy Manager......Page 172
8.4 Administering the Security Policy......Page 182
8.5 Lab Exercise: Customizing the Security Policy......Page 184
9.1 A Model of Communication Approaches......Page 188
9.2 Using Remoting......Page 191
9.3 Channels......Page 195
9.4 Proxies......Page 199
9.5 Lab Exercise: Using Remoting for Code Mobility......Page 204
10.1 The Base Class Library......Page 207
10.2 The Platform Adaptation Layer......Page 208