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A Formal Model of Provenance in Distributed Systems

A Formal Model of Provenance in Distributed Systems
A Formal Model of Provenance in Distributed Systems
We present a formalism for provenance in distributed systems based on the π-calculus. Its main feature is that all data products are annotated with metadata representing their provenance. The calculus is given a provenance tracking semantics, which ensures that data provenance is updated as the computation proceeds. The calculus also enjoys a pattern-restricted input primitive which allows processes to decide what data to receive and what branch of computation to proceed with based on the provenance information of data. We give examples to illustrate the use of the calculus and discuss some of the semantic properties of our provenance notion. We conclude by reviewing related work and discussing directions for future research.
Souilah, Issam
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Francalanza, Adrian
54969262-cc3c-4636-a284-3140ec009b0a
Sassone, Vladimiro
df7d3c83-2aa0-4571-be94-9473b07b03e7
Cheney, James
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Souilah, Issam
3b40036e-cec0-4f3f-b666-29caecfa3236
Francalanza, Adrian
54969262-cc3c-4636-a284-3140ec009b0a
Sassone, Vladimiro
df7d3c83-2aa0-4571-be94-9473b07b03e7
Cheney, James
12e97098-3a1b-4231-bc34-b8cfc5e4637d

Souilah, Issam, Francalanza, Adrian and Sassone, Vladimiro (2009) A Formal Model of Provenance in Distributed Systems. Cheney, James (ed.) Workshop on the Theory and Practice of Provenance.

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

We present a formalism for provenance in distributed systems based on the π-calculus. Its main feature is that all data products are annotated with metadata representing their provenance. The calculus is given a provenance tracking semantics, which ensures that data provenance is updated as the computation proceeds. The calculus also enjoys a pattern-restricted input primitive which allows processes to decide what data to receive and what branch of computation to proceed with based on the provenance information of data. We give examples to illustrate the use of the calculus and discuss some of the semantic properties of our provenance notion. We conclude by reviewing related work and discussing directions for future research.

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More information

Published date: 2009
Venue - Dates: Workshop on the Theory and Practice of Provenance, 2009-01-01
Organisations: Web & Internet Science

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 268600
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/268600
PURE UUID: c03b5e7d-16cf-4e65-9e6b-3558a99c4803

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Date deposited: 12 Mar 2010 12:19
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 09:14

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Contributors

Author: Issam Souilah
Author: Adrian Francalanza
Author: Vladimiro Sassone
Editor: James Cheney

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