Purpose
This guide describes the following types of operating system features that are accessed using programming languages:
-
Features that enable processes to initiate, monitor, and control other processes include the CALL, PROCESS, and RUN statements, task variables, and task attributes. Features related to job restarting and process history also are this category.
-
Interprocess communication features
Features that enable user-defined information to be passed between processes, or that help regulate the timing of parallel processes include events, libraries, and parameter passing.
Audience
The audience for this guide consists of applications programmers familiar with at least one high-level programming language, such as ALGOL, C, COBOL74, COBOL85, FORTRAN77, Pascal, or WFL.
Terminology Conventions
Statements about ALGOL in this guide apply also to DCALGOL, DMALGOL, and BDMSALGOL unless otherwise specified.
Two different ANSI levels of COBOL are supported: ANSI-74 and ANSI-85. These implementations are referred to in this guide as COBOL74 and COBOL85, respectively. Statements in this guide about COBOL are true of both COBOL implementations unless otherwise specified.
The term library, which was used in previous editions of this guide, has been replaced by the term server library. The term user process (when used in the context of libraries) has been replaced by the term client process. The library as it is declared in the client process is now referred to as the client library.
These changes resulted from the implementation of a new type of libraries, called connection libraries. The term library is now used as a general term referring to a server library, a client library, or a connection library.
