Overview of the channel model

In our model a channel supports bi-directional communication of data (with unbounded buffering). Access to logical channels is provided through a Java class called a Port¹. Networks of Java applications connected by channels are created through the following operations

• A pair of locally defined ports can be connected, creating a local channel between a pair of connected channel ends.
• A remote procedure call mechanism allows initiation of a Java application on a remote processor, and creates an initial channel between the parent and the remote application.
• Channel ends can be communicated over other channels, on much the same footing as data.

These primitives are sufficient to create sets of processes with arbitrary channel connectivity.

A functionality similar to the ``merge'' in Fortran-M is provided through the ``merge pool'' class, Merge. Channel ends can be added to or removed from the pool by passing their ports to suitable member functions. A blocking select operation returns a handle to a port in the pool which presently has input data ready. Merge pools enable non-deterministic patterns of communication.