Looking for ISO/IEC 11578:1996?

ISO/IEC 11578:1996

ISO/IEC 11578:1996 Information technology — Open Systems Interconnection — Remote Procedure Call (RPC)

Remote Procedure Call (RPC) is a protocol that allows a computer program to request a service from another program located in a different address space, typically on another computer. It is like a telephone call where the called party responds to the caller’s request.

What is ISO/IEC 11578:1996?

ISO/IEC 11578:1996 is an international standard that defines a generic interface for Remote Procedure Calls (RPC). RPC is a mechanism that allows a program to execute a procedure or function on another computer system without the need for the program to be directly invoked on that system.

The ISO/IEC 11578:1996 standard is commonly used in distributed systems, such as those based on client-server architecture. It defines a set of abstract data types and operations that can be used to develop RPC-based applications.

ISO/IEC 11578:1996 is divided into two parts:

Part 1: Specification of the abstract data types and operations
Part 2: Mapping onto specific programming languages
The first part of the standard defines a set of abstract data types that are used to represent the parameters and results of remote procedures. These data types include integers, strings, floating point numbers, and structures.

The second part of the standard defines how these abstract data types can be mapped onto specific programming languages. Currently, there are mappings defined for C, Pascal, and FORTRAN.

What are the requirements of ISO/IEC 11578:1996?

The standard defines the RPC interface and programming model in terms of a set of abstract C language data types which are mapped to equivalent types in specific programming languages. The model provides for both synchronous and asynchronous message passing.

A remote procedure call is initiated by the client and is executed at the server. The server may either return a value to the client or produce a result that is visible to the client. The client usually invokes an RPC by issuing a request message; however, it is also possible for the server to initiate an RPC on behalf of the client.

An RPC consists of three parts:

A message header, which includes information about the message type, sender, and receiver.
A message body, which contains the actual data being exchanged.
A message trailer, which includes error-checking information.