This paper describes a communication system designed to support highly asynchronous application or system software on a distributed-memory multicomputer such as a hypercube. The system is called generalized signals because it is based on the signal facility in System V UNIX, with enhancements to allow signals to carry data.
Any processor can send a signal to any other processor at any time.
Signal interrupts happen in a controlled manner, thereby simplifying the programmer's task. There is a facility for protection of critical sections in user programs. Reliability The Digital Library is published by the Association for Computing Machinery.