BILEL DERBEL

Associate professor (Maître de conférences) -- Computer Science.
USTL (Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille, France).
LIFL (Laboratoire d'Informatique Fondamentale de Lille CNRS-UMR8022, France).

LIFL Office 230; Tel: (33) 3.28.77.85.52; Fax: (33) 3.28.77.85.37
INRIA Lille - Nord Europe Office 209; Tel: (33) 3.59.57.79.70; Fax: (33) 3 59.57.78.50

Mail: Bilel.Derbel [at] lifl.fr 


Research Publication Teaching Software Other
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ViSiDiA : Visualization and Simulation of Distributed Algorithms

ViSiDiA overview Top

  • ViSiDiA is a software tool (written in java) which provides an easy to use GUI (graphical user interface) and a rich java API (abstract programming interface) which allow you to: 
    1. write your distributed algorithm
    2. draw a graph
    3. load your distributed algorithm
    4. visualize the execution of the algorithm
    5. make experiments.

  • Please visit the visidia project home page for further information
  • The ViSiDiA project is motivated by the fact that "the availability of toolkits for simulation, visualization and evidence support becomes essential in the design and validation of programs in distributed environments".
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Contributions Top
I have been working on ViSiDiA since the beginning of my Ph.D. Thesis (2002). These are the most important features I and my students have contributed in visidia:
  • The distributed version of visidia:
    • This version allows to distribute the threads simulating a distributed algorithm over a network composed of several remote hosts. It works only with asynchronous message algorithms.
  • The synchronous message passing model in visidia:
    • This version provides a new api in order to simulate synchronous message passing algorithms. From the end user point of view, the instructions which takes one time unit in a given theoretical synchronous model, must be encapsulated between two calls to the ViSiDiA "nextPulse()" method. 
  • The mobile agent model in visidia:
    • This version provides a new api in order to simulate synchronous and asynchronous mobile agent algorithms. A mobile agent in ViSiDIA is an autonomous computation entity which is able to move from node to node.  Each node can be equipped with a white-board which is a memory place where agents can read and write informations
  • The radio network model in visidia:
    • This version provides a new api in order to simulate synchronous wireless algorithms. Three models are implemented : The graph-based model, the protocol model, and the SINR model.
BFS synchrone
agent handshake

Downloads Top

People Top
  • Who is using ViSiDiA ?
    1. Researchers : e.g., To test new ideas, To get experimental results, e.g., complexity measures.
    2. Professors : to teach the art of desiging distributed algorithms.
    3. Students : e.g., To get a better understanding of distributed algorithms.

Tutorials Top
  • Please visit the visidia project home page for extended ressources.
  • A brief introduction to the main features of the visidia platform.
  • Here are some practical advices for using visidia for the first time. It is intended to beginners. Take at most one hour and you are ready to write and experiment your own algorithms: