[E-Lang] Re: Distributed Toontalk (was: VLS for everyone)

[Ken Kahn]

From: "Bill Frantz" <frantz@pwpconsult.com>
>
> In E, and in the product build on old-E (EC Habitats), the signatures are
> transparent to the user (except for the CPU time involved).  Basically
each
> VAT uses a key pair as an identity, and the low-level code signs the
> connection protocol whenever a connection is made.  The other end of the
> connection (validation is bidirectional) checks the signature and only
> proceeds if the signature is valid.
>

Vats aggregate and so the overhead is acceptable. I don't see how to
aggregate birds and nests in a general way. Isn't the overhead too high for
what are often very ephemeral connections. For example, the "incomplete
messages" of Concurrent Prolog translate to giving a bird a box with a
freshly hatched bird in it. The fresh bird will typically be given something
like a "return value" and then discarded. Aren't signatures too heavy for
such a use?

Best,

-ken