Speaker: Dr Stephen Kell, University of Cambridge

Title: A dynamic object model in Unix processes, and what it can do for us

Abstract: Today's diversity of languages, libraries and virtual machines ought to be a boon for programmers, but instead,they fragment our infrastructure, creating integration problems which limit the re-usability of code and the insight of tools. This is particularly evident in how language virtual machines (VMs) continue to exist within Unix processes rather than (as originally anticipated) replacing them. I'll motivate an alternative approach of embracing and extending Unix-like services, and illustrate this with two pieces of technical work: the libcrunch system for run-time type checking (to appear at OOPSLA this year), and an in-progress extension to support spatial memory safety using a technique reminiscent of safe virtual machines. Finally I'll highlight some other potential and/or in-progress applications of the underlying infrastructure, including a precise whole-process garbage collector and a "wide-spectrum" multi-language programming environment.