Protocols coordinate interaction amongst concurrently executing processes. Most general purpose programming languages do not provide syntax for expressing these protocols explicitly. The absence of such syntax requires programmers to implement their protocols by manually via locks and semaphores. Given such implicit implementation of the protocol, it is very hard, if not impossible, to reason about its correctness and efficiency of the protocol.

Reo, an exogenous coordination language designed by prof. dr. F. Arbab at the Centre for Mathematics and Computer Science (​CWI) in Amsterdam, addresses this problem by providing syntax that allows explicit high-level construction of protocols. This syntax consists of graph-like structures, such as the figure above. It is much easier to develop correct protocols that are free of dead-locks, live-locks and data races. The compiler of the coordination language is able to optimize the actual implementation of the protocol.

1. Install Java SDK 1.6+. You can check if the correct java version is installed by running java -version.
2. Download the reo compiler corresponding to your operating system (linux, mac, or windows).
3. Unzip the archive in the directory you want reo to be installed, and run the install script.
4. Test the installation by running reo.

The Reo documentation.

If you wish to contribute to the development of Reo, use the following instructions to obtain your own copy of the source code:

1. Install Git.
2. Install Java SDK 1.6+. You can check if the correct version is already installed via java -version.
3. Install Maven.
4. Install Eclipse.
5. Change directory to eclipse workspace cd ../workspace
6. Clone this repository via git clone https://github.com/kasperdokter/Reo.git
7. Change directory cd Reo
8. Build the project: mvn clean install.
9. Generate Eclipse configuration via mvn eclipse:eclipse
10. Import project to Eclipse: File > Import..., select General > Existing Projects into Workspace, hit Next, select root directory and point to the cloned repository, hit Finish.
11. Start coding :)