Messages
Message Formats
There are two main message formats: internal and external. The internal format is designed to maximise processing speed. Only internal messages are processed by MPFs. External messages - messages which have come in from other PC's on a network or com link - are converted to internal format. External systems cannot know the internal addresses of MPFs. Therefore, messages from outside must specify the 'action' as an action number instead of as a pointer to an MPF. The internal structure of a message is defined within the message processing function that handles it.
Structure of A Message
A message (in the context of ROBOS) is a request for something to be done - for an ACTION to be performed. It is a command or instruction.
An action is performed by a function. The name of an action may therefore be synonymous with the name of the function which performs the action. A function's name is in effect its address. A message's 'action' field therefore contains merely a pointer *pa to the function that carries out that particular action.
However, a message is more than just a request for something to be done. It is a request for something to be done to something - for a particular action to be performed on a specific piece of data. In addition to its action field, therefore, a message has a data field which contains the data on which the action is to be performed.
This data can vary in length (number of bytes). It is therefore accommodated in a dynamically allocated area of memory which is pointed to by a pointer *pd.
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