Research at the Department of Computer Science

Since the middle of the nineteen eighties the Department has, from the academic perspective, focused in an increasing degree on the challenges connected with distributed data processing. In recent years all the academic staff have directed their efforts towards distributed projects where experimental methods predominate. In the early years this form of data processing might have appeared to be a niche within the field, whereas today the distribution issue dominates all aspects of modern computer science. The Department’s carefully planned focusing over time upon this key issue has led to our presence today as a highly visible international player within the core area of modern computer science.
The academic orientation of the Department of Computer Science will continue to be directed towards the architecture of tomorrow’s distributed IT-infrastructure although the focus will be upon far more heterogeneous environments where the ordinary user is the central issue. It is no longer the technology’s needs that define the mission but how we, in a transparent manner, can integrate distributed systems into the everyday life of modern human beings. The assumption is that the users of tomorrow will surround themselves with countless numbers of computers although without them necessarily having traditional keyboards and monitors. Such scenarios inspire research projects in such prominent academic institutions as, for example, M.I.T., Cornell University and Xerox Parc. The thesis is that an ordinary user will be able to do more with far less effort, e.g. M.I.T.’s “Oxygen project”. The distributed system is to be almost invisible whilst at the same time always available. The Departments current and future plans are therefore very much forward looking in as much as:

• We are working with the problems connected to light clients in distributed systems. An ordinary user’s computer is typically something between a mobile telephone and a web browser. We are focusing on aspects that range widely from security to user-friendliness.


• Light client machines require even more support from the distributed infrastructure and so the problems with scalable servers are being focused upon. In this context the Departments activities are also wide ranging, from the construction of dedicated operating systems for servers to how a set of operating system kernels can be connected together to achieve higher performance.


• These heterogeneous units must be coupled together as transparently as possible with a high degree of security, reliability and accessibility. Here our work also embraces a wide range from interconnect technology and mobile agents, to interoperability and database solutions.