Method and apparatus for timing information flow in a distributed system

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A computer and software method and apparatus for distributed data processing which provides agreement between data sources (sensors) and data sinks (actuators) as to what data has been written into a shared buffer. The invention further provides methods and means for meeting data timeliness requirements. Invention employs a programming primitive which recognizes semantics so as to provide a consistent view of computation modules over prescribed time intervals, called “epochs”. Application-level control of the asynchrony and timing of information flow between various computation modules is realized. The invention has applications which include sensor fusion and network gaming.