Actor Model of Computation
Carl E. Hewitt · 2015
The Actor Model is a mathematical theory that treats “Actors” as the universal conceptual primitives of digital computation. Hypothesis: All physically possible computation can be directly implemented using Actors. The model has been used both as a framework for a theoretical understanding of concurrency, and as the theoretical basis for several practical implementations of concurrent systems. The advent of massive concurrency through client-cloud computing and many-core computer architectures has galvanized interest in the Actor Model. Message passing using types is the foundation of system communication: •Messages are the unit of communication •Types enable secure communication with any Actor When an Actor receives a message, it can concurrently: •send messages to (unforgeable) addresses of Actors that it has; •create new Actors; •for an exclusive Actor, designate how to handle the next message it receives.