Abstract

Stream processing is a term that is used widely in the literature to describe a variety of systems. We present an overview of the historical development of stream processing and a detailed discussion of the different languages and techniques for programming with streams that can be found in the literature. This includes an analysis of dataflow, specialized functional and logic programming with streams, reactive systems, signal processing systems, and the use of streams in the design and verification of hardware. The aim of this survey is an analysis of the development of each of these specialized topics to determine if a general theory of stream processing has emerged. As such, we discuss and classify the different classes of stream processing systems found in the literature from the perspective of programming primitives, implementation techniques, and computability issues, including a comparison of the semantic models that are used to formalize stream based computation.

Citations

2970	Communication and Concurrency - Milner - 1989
1497	The Definition of Standard ML - Milner, Tofte, et al. - 1990
1182	A structural approach to operational semantics - Plotkin - 1981
429	Theory of Self-Reproducing Automata - Neumann - 1966
362	Introduction to VLSI Systems - Mead, Conway - 1980
294	Calculi for synchrony and asynchrony - Milner - 1983
181	Theory and applications of cellular automata - Wolfram - 1986
166	The High-Level Synthesis of Digital Systems - McFarland, Parker, et al. - 1990
135	Miranda—a non-strict functional language with polymorphic types - Turner - 1996
72	Steele CONSTRAINTS - A Language for Expressing Almost-Hierarchical Descriptions - Sussman, G - 1980
43	Programming and verifying critical systems by means of the synchronous data-flow programming language Lustre - Ratel, Halbwachs, et al. - 1991
33	The alpha language and its use for the design of systolic arrays - Verge, Mauras, et al. - 1991
29	Universal algebra in higher types - Meinke - 1992
28	Zucker [1988] Program Correctness over Abstract Data Types, with Error-State - Tucker, I
25	An Extensional Treatment of Dataflow Deadlock - Wadge - 1981
20	Terminal call processing in Esterel - Murakami, Sethi - 1992
20	The Art of Digital Design - Prosser, Winkel - 1978
16	Algebraic specification of synchronous concurrent algorithms and architectures (Revised - Thompson, Tucker - 1991
13	Transformational rewriting with Ruby - Sharp, Rasmussen - 1993
13	Proof techniques for recursive programs - Vuillemin - 1973
11	On flowchart theories: Part II. The nondeterministic case - Stefanescu - 1987
10	Hydra: hardware description in a functional language using recursion equations and high order combining forms - O’Donnell - 1988
10	An example of interactive hardware transformation - Zhu, Johnson
9	Equational Specification of Abstract Types and Combinators - Meinke - 1991
7	All Solutions Predicates in Prolog - Naish - 1985
7	Retiming and slowdown - Sheeran - 1988
7	On flowchart theories. Part I: The deterministic case - Stefanescu - 1987
6	Models of LCF - Milner - 1973
6	An algebraic framework for data abstraction in hardware description - Zhu, Johnson - 1990
5	a language for VLSI design - FP - 1984
4	Algebraic semantics of rewriting terms and types - Meinke - 1992
4	Timing Constraints: Formalizing Their Description and Verification - Milne - 1989
4	A Fixed-point Semantics For Nondeterministic Data Flow - Staples, Nguyen - 1985
3	A recursive second order initial algebra speci cation of primitive recursion - Meinke - 1994
3	Specification and representation of synchronous concurrent algorithms - Meinke, Tucker - 1988
3	Eine Zeigerimplementierung von Graphreduktion fur eine Datenflusprache - Nueckel - 1988
3	Categories for the working hardware designer - Sheeran - 1990
3	Cartesian Stream Transformer Composition - Stephens, Thompson - 1992
3	A mathematical theory of synchronous concurrent algorithms - Thompson - 1987
3	Stream orientated computation in recursive data flow schemas - Weng - 1975
2	Coroutines'. Internal report, Bell Telephone Laboratories - McIlroy - 1968
2	A Graph Theoretic Model of Synchronous Concurrent Algorithms - Meinke - 1988
2	Deadlock Avoidance in Data Flow Architecture - Misunas - 1975
2	On Schematological Equivalence of Dataflow Networks - Rabinovich - 1993
2	Implementation of Structured Lucid on a Dataflow Computer - Sargeant - 1982
2	A Subset of Concurrent Prolog and it Interpretor - Shapiro - 1983
2	a Language of Relations and Higher Order Functions - RUBY - 1986
2	K Silbermann and B Jayaraman. A domain-theoretic approach to functional and logic programming - S - 1992
2	FUNLOG = Functions + Logic: A Computational Model Integrating Functional and Logic Programming - Subrahmanyam, You - 1984
2	Artificial Neural Networks as Synchronous Concurrent Algorithms: Algebraic Specification of a Feed-Forward Backpropogation Network - Thompson, Tucker, et al. - 1992