We discuss the Web Operating System (WOS) approach to global computing. We show that the heterogeneous and dynamic nature of the Web or Internet makes it impossible to define a fixed set of operating system services, usable for all services. Rather, we propose that generalized software configuration techniques, based on a demand-driven technique called eduction, can be used to define versions of a Web Operating System that can be built in an incremental manner. This net-centric approach considers communication as the central issue as opposed to the common notion of central servers. We present the communication mechanisms as well as the WOS node architecture and components to achieve this.

The success of the World Wide Web has broaden the way for general distributed computing using a large set of heterogeneous computers. Unfortunately the resources made available on the Web are almost information only and interaction between users is limited to a few special applications. A Web Operating System (WOS) [8] tries to provide solutions for this problem and generalizes the use of different resources on the Web. Core components of the WOS include resource presentation and user interaction that go beyond the capabilities offered by today's HTML based technology. In this paper we solve the problem of resource presentation on the Web by developing resource sets that act as an interactive meeting point of users and (Internet) resources. Resources can range from abstract concepts such as CPU-power to physical resources such as printers. Multiple users can participate in a resource set and share their local resources through a graphical user interface similar to today's de...

We summarize the interaction between the theory behind intensional programming, as seen in Lucid; and intensional versioning, as seen in Lemur, Intensional HTML, ISE, VMAKE, etc. These two concepts can be seen to be duals of each other, and they rely on dual notions of store, the warehouse for caching values, and the catalog for providing definitions. Catalogs contain intensional objects, which are openable boxes labelled by Lucid contexts. Finally, Lucid contexts are now first-class values. 1

We describe the interaction and relation between entities in distributed systems, as proposed in the Web Operating System (WOS). Every entity in the system is a versioned object which depends on its current context, which itself is programmable and can be effected by the objects circulating within it. These entities interact through mechanisms of requests/answers and negotiations. Those who exhibit functional and behavioral affinities may dynamically associate themselves to form communities. This positional paper states the basic ideas of the notion of communities in distributed systems.