Interaction Protocols - It's All About Good Manners

Explore the critical role of interaction protocols in distributed and concurrent systems through this insightful conference talk. Delve into the parallels between social etiquette and system communication, examining how protocols form the foundation for quality attributes like performance, resilience, and security. Learn about the evolution of communication in biology and society, and how these concepts apply to software development. Discover the importance of proper protocol design, including binary codecs, versioning, and synchronous vs. asynchronous communication. Examine common pitfalls and "snake oil" protocols to avoid, while understanding the significance of feedback and recovery mechanisms. Gain valuable insights into the scientific approach to protocol development and the relevance of Conway's Law in system design. This comprehensive presentation offers a unique perspective on creating effective, efficient, and well-mannered distributed systems.

Introduction
Interaction Protocols
How significant are protocols for software development?
Evolutionary Biology & Communication
Facial Expressions
Manners & Etiquette
Hygiene Disease
Courtesy Society
Formal Protocols
Good conditions to succeed
Concurrent & Distributed Systems
How should components Interact?
418 "I'm a teapot"
How should we document our protocols?
API vs Protocol
What could possibly go wrong?
Multicast Example
ACK / NAK Implosion
Who cares about waste?
Don't use text codecs! Please please use binary codecs
Versioning
Sync vs Async
Synchronous = Blocking
it's about managing state via feedback
O-RIT and replay attacks
Batching
Etiquette of a request
Snake Oil Protocols
Two-Phase Commit is not fault tolerant
Guaranteed Delivery
Applications should have feedback & recovery protocols
Are protocols significant to software development?
Question, Hypothesis, Prediction, Experiment, Analysis
Falsifiability
Conway's Law