Distributed algorithms over communicating membrane systems

This paper presents fundamental distributed algorithms over membrane systems with antiport carriers. We describe distributed algorithms for collecting and dispersing information, leader election in these systems, and the mutual exclusion problem. Finally, we consider membrane systems producing correct results despite some failures at some of the components or the communication links. We show that membrane systems with antiport carriers provide an appropriate model for distributed computing, particularly for message-passing algorithms interpreted here as membrane transport in both directions, namely when two chemicals behave as input and output messages and pass the membranes in both directions using antiport carriers. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.