Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!rutgers!sri-unix!sri-spam!ames!sdcsvax!ucsdhub!jack!man!nu3b2!rwhite From: rwhite@nu3b2.UUCP (Robert C. White Jr.) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.lans,comp.protocols.tcp-ip Subject: Re: Streams TCP/IP Message-ID: <1124@nu3b2.UUCP> Date: Fri, 24-Jul-87 20:48:47 EDT Article-I.D.: nu3b2.1124 Posted: Fri Jul 24 20:48:47 1987 Date-Received: Sun, 26-Jul-87 00:53:45 EDT References: <725@hjuxa.UUCP> <649@houxa.UUCP> <278@unixprt.UUCP> Organization: National University, San Diego Lines: 35 Keywords: TCP/IP, Streams Summary: Just a quickey... Xref: mnetor comp.dcom.lans:688 comp.protocols.tcp-ip:708 This is a semi-informed retelling... As I understand it, STREAMS is/are intelegent filter devices. As such some of the filters can be "multiplexing". You can "open" a "stream head" to a multiplexing STREAMS module and then connect a potentally infinite number of other STREAMS and still only have one "open" counting against your allowed maximum. Since all files are STREAMS you can pass whole file descriptors between processes through an IOCTL call [FD_GIVE and FD_RCV or somesuch]. The flexability is very interesting, and seems to allow recursive nesting of STREAMS modules such that you decide which "layer" you wish to work with depending what stream head you open. i.e. Starlan support for the 3B2 [from program level] requires you use a strange set of primitives to establish the link [they are all in a library] but after you have the link you ay "push" a module on the stream which makes read, write, putsg, and getmsg the [only] valid primitives against the stream. [you can't use read etc. while you are useing the deeper t_primitive calls] What this means is, you can open a connection accross a/the network then "push" the module and pipe the connection through any normal means. when the subtask/pipe exits you pop the module off the stream and terminate the connection. It all looks very interesting, I am watching this stuff carefully, but I havn't been able to upgrade my OS yet so I don't know how well it works first hand. Robert. Disclaimer: My mind is so fragmented by random excursions into a wilderness of abstractions and incipient ideas that the practical purposes of the moment are often submerged in my consciousness and I don't know what I'm doing. [my employers certainly have no idea]