Validation and mismatch repair of workflows through typed data streams

Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci. 2011 Aug 28;369(1949):3285-99. doi: 10.1098/rsta.2011.0135.

Abstract

The type system of a language guarantees that all of the operations on a set of data comply with the rules and conditions set by the language. While language typing is a fundamental requirement for any programming language, the typing of data that flow between processing elements within a workflow is currently being treated as optional. In this paper, we introduce a three-level type system for typing workflow data streams. These types are parts of the Data Intensive System Process Engineering Language programming language, which empowers users with the ability to validate the connections inside a workflow composition, and apply appropriate data type conversions when necessary. Furthermore, this system enables the enactment engine in carrying out type-directed workflow optimizations.