dynamic updates for web and cloud applications
The center of mass for newly-released applications is shifting from traditional, desktop or server programs, toward web and cloud computing applications. This shift is favorable to end-users, but puts additional burden on application developers and service providers. In particular, the newly emerging development methodologies, based on dynamic languages and multi-tier setups, complicate tasks such as verification and require end-to-end, rather than program-local guarantees. Moreover, service providers need to provide continuous service while accommodating the fast evolution pace characteristic of web and cloud applications. A promising approach for providing uninterrupted service while keeping applications up-to-date is to permit dynamic software updates, i.e., applying dynamic patches to running programs. In this paper we focus on safe dynamic updates for web and cloud applications; we point out difficulties associated with dynamic updates for these applications, present some of our preliminary results, and lay out directions for future work.
cloud computing dynamic software updating web applications online updates end-to-end properties on-the-fly upgrades