FORTRAN Reference Manual

Interprocess Communication
FORTRAN Reference Manual—528615-001
14-2
The processes described in the preceding paragraphs are called server processes. A
server process accepts requests from other processes, carries out the requests
received, and sends replies to the requesting processes.
A process that issues requests to a server process is called a requester process. A
requester process is frequently referred to as a requester. A server process is
frequently referred to as a server.
A server process provides services to requester processes. In the preceding examples,
the server processes provide controlled access to databases. Servers can provide
controlled access to any device or might provide services such as a computation
without necessarily accessing any device.
Figure 14-3 on page 14-3 shows multiple requesters and multiple servers that access
three different databases. Requesters A and B access server processes A1 and A2
respectively. Server process A3 is not currently active. Requesters C and D are
accessing server B. Requester E is accessing server C2. Server C1 is not currently
active. When you design your application, you can specify whether you want a given
server to accept more than one request at a time, as is the case with server B.
Figure 14-2. Multiple Processes Accessing the Same Databases
VST1402.vsd
Server A
Process 1
Server A
Process 2
Server A
Process 3
Database
I
Database
I I
Server B
Server C
Process 1
Server C
Process 2
Database
I I I