An Active message (in computing) is a messaging object capable of performing processing on its own. It is a lightweight messaging protocol used to optimize network communications with an emphasis on reducing latency by removing software overheads associated with buffering and providing applications with direct user-level access to the network hardware.
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This contrasts with traditional computer-based messaging systems in which messages are passive entities with no processing power.[3]
- ^ Thorsten von Eicken, David E. Culler, Seth Copen Goldstein, Klaus Erik Schauser, "Active messages: a mechanism for integrated communication and computation", Proceedings of the 19th annual international symposium on Computer architecture (ISCA'92), May 1992, ACM.
- ^ Alan M. Mainwaring and David E. Culler, "Active Message Applications Programming Interface and Communication Subsystem Organization" (AM-2 Specification), EECS Department, University of California, Berkeley Technical Report No. UCB/CSD-96-918, October 1996.
- ^ "The operational semantics of an active message system", ACM Portal. Accessed July 20, 2009