Actionable Data Structure (ADS)

program actionable_ds;

var

   ADS:big_integer;

begin

   //The appropriate concurrent action magnifies data and structure

   ADS := Action * ( Data + Structure );

end.

Only Wirth could have said it better! Here are a few thought questions for you.

• What if the pop or push of a Stack S of objects implicitly invokes another behavior on the object popped or pushed?
• What if the dequeue of the first element in a queue Q implicitly invokes a behavior on that object and this exiting object triggers a subsequent dequeue?
• What if the second behavior described continues until Q is empty? Is that complex counter control?
• What happens when someone creates an assembly of such objects for performing a computation and then starts them with the tip of a domino?
• Does any value exist in this form of computation?

What we do know is that computing started with data. Then data obtained structure. Then data became more sophisticated and incorporated behavior in its primary structure. And, we have had data and action floating around in traditional data structures for sometime in the form of objects. But, this action has been dormant for the most part. The goal of the actionable data structures project is investigating the potential of invoking implicit actions stored within objects when the structures which hold them behave.