An actor model of concurrency for the Swift programming language

The Swift programming language is rapidly rising in popularity but it lacks the facilities for true concurrent programming. In this paper we describe an extension to the language which enables access to said concurrent capabilities and provides an api for supporting such interactions. We adopt the ACTOR model of concurrent computation and show how it can be successfully incorporated into the language. We discuss early findings on our prototype implementation and show its usage via an appropriate example. This work also suggests a general design pattern for the implementation of the ACTOR model in the Swift programming language

An aspect-oriented framework for F#

This paper presents the research, design and devel- opment of an aspect-oriented framework for F#, a functional programming language developed by Microsoft on the .NET platform[3]. Our framework allows one to insert advice before, after, or around the call to a particular function. We provide two distinct approaches to weaving the advice to the source code: using a monad-based weaver, and using a weaver built on meta- programming technologies

An architecture and implementation of the actor model of concurrency

In this paper we describe an architecture and implementation of the ACTOR model of concurrent computation which exploits the multi-core processors of modern day computer architectures. A novel aspect of our approach, and where it differs from many other implementations, is that it is hosted in an existing programming language as native constructs; we employ Swift which is rapidly rising in popularity but in its standard distribution lacks the facilities for true concurrent programming. We describe an extension to the language which enables access to concurrent features and provides an API for supporting such interactions. We consider the various architectural issues, competing approaches, and discuss early findings from our prototype implementation

User modelling in search for people with Autism

We present the architecture and prototype imple- mentation of JELLIBEANS, a web search tool for assisting users with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)1. The system models user interactions within the search process, utilising a user profile, and by integrating insights from the core features of the Autistic condition. The system has an integrated infra-red motion controlled user interface component, utilising gesture and hand movement data to enhance the interactive search process. The work provides insights into how search can be improved for users on the Autistic spectrum and includes an analysis of experiments carried out with the system

First steps in creative computational thinking with natural language programming and Lego MINDSTORMS

We describe the design and implementation of a prototype Android application to help promote the development of creative computational thinking in the UK Key Stage 1 and 2 classroom. The system is based on the combination of a natural language interface and Lego MINDSTORMS robots [1], focussing on engaging children and teachers who would not naturally be interested in computer programming. The prototype was tested with groups of children at local schools. We describe the stages of development for the application and test results. The paper concludes with a brief comparison of other programming applications, and suggests ways forward for the further development of this work

Further exploration with ACTORKIT: an actor model of concurrency

In this paper, we describe further explorations with our prototype architecture and implementation of the Actor model[1] of concurrent computation, ACTORKIT[2][3]. Actors provide a mechanism to exploit the multi-core processors of modern day computer architectures, in an intuitive and natu- ral fashion. ACTORKIT is hosted in an existing programming language as native constructs (Swift). We describe some of our extensions to the language and our experiences with the development, and evolution, of our prototype implementation