What is the simplest analogue of a global variable in a distributed computing system? Since the system only exists as a set of sub-global contexts, it should be non-trivial. Blockchains and root dns servers seem too complex
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My answer comes from social & complex adaptive system perspective. The only mutable state shared across the entire distributed system is either a) composite of local states; b) emergent state; or c) meta-state (i.e. functioning as a virtual machine) 1/
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If "global variable" in distributed setting means "any node can modify the global variable, and then that new value is readable by all the other nodes", then none of these three global state mechanisms qualify. 2/
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