Plasma

Plasma is a system for platform- and language-independent data encapsulation and distributed, multipoint transmission. Its principal implementations are in C and C++, though 'bindings' exist for (at least) Java, Python, Javascript, Clojure (sort of), and Guile (mm!).

Arbitrarily complex -- in the senses of aggregation and nesting -- data structures are represented by objects called 'Slawx' (the plural of 'Slaw') and, when intended for cross-process relay, by elaborated Slawx called 'Proteins'. Slawx and Proteins are schemaless but self-describing, meaning that a recipient can interrogate any of these objects to discover its structure, the component data types at each sublocation, and of course the data itself.

A process deposits Proteins into, and retrieves Proteins from, network-soluble ring buffers called 'Pools'. Multiple processes can be simultaneously connected (via 'Hoses') to a single pool, with each both depositing and retrieving Proteins. The ordering of Proteins stored in a Pool is monotonic and immutable, such that all retrieving processes observe the same sequence. Processes most typically read from Pools in something like real time, with Proteins being retrieved immediately after being deposited; but Pools are also 'rewindable' so that, for example, a new process joining a distributed system might attach to a Pool already in use and begin reading Proteins from a time far enough in the past to be able to reconstruct system context.

The Plasma framework embodies a philosophy of system design that appeals to an endocrinology (rather than telegraphy) metaphor. The name 'Plasma' accordingly refers not to the superheated & ionized intrastellar substance but rather to the liquid medium by which biological organisms' messaging molecules are transported and diffused.

building the thing

Building Plasma requires

• ninja
• cmake
• libyaml
• boost
• icu4c
• openssl
• libavahi-client-dev (on linux)

Use your package manager (brew, apt, yum, zypper, etc) to install them.

On Ubuntu using apt, this translates to:

ninja-build #installed with -y flag, but probably unnecessary cmake libyaml-dev libssl-dev libboost-all-dev #a narrower install would save space + time

libavahi-common-dev #may be preinstalled libavahi-client-dev #may be preinstalled icu-devtools #already installed openssl-dbgsym

To build on linux/intel mac, assuming you're in the same directory as this README:

• mkdir build
• cd build
• cmake -GNinja ..
• ninja

Building on arm macs is a bit more complicated:

• brew install ninja cmake libyaml boost icu4c openssl
• export CXXFLAGS="-I/opt/homebrew/opt/openssl@3/include -I/opt/homebrew/opt/icu4c/include"
• export CFLAGS="-I/opt/homebrew/opt/openssl@3/include -I/opt/homebrew/opt/icu4c/include"
• export LDFLAGS="-L/opt/homebrew/opt/openssl@3/lib -L/opt/homebrew/opt/icu4c/lib -L/opt/homebrew/lib"
• mkdir build
• cd build
• cmake -GNinja ..
• ninja

... aaaaaand it gets even worse, with versions of OSX (yeah, that's what this sentence calls it) at 13.6 or later, or with the M2 chip, or both, or something. Anyway, somewhere along the way homebrew starts putting yaml in a different place, requiring the further enbloatening of the compile (but not link) environment variables with -I/opt/homebrew/opt/libyaml/include -- that is, replace the first two in the sequence above with the following:

• export CXXFLAGS="-I/opt/homebrew/opt/openssl@3/include -I/opt/homebrew/opt/libyaml/include -I/opt/homebrew/opt/icu4c/include"
• export CFLAGS="-I/opt/homebrew/opt/openssl@3/include -I/opt/homebrew/opt/libyaml/include -I/opt/homebrew/opt/icu4c/include"

N.B.: it's not a problem to use the two overspecified compilation flags-exports foregoing with an Apple Silicon machine for which the simpler one would suffice.