Concert/C: supporting distributed programming with language extensions and a portable multiprotocol runtime

Abstract

We describe the design and implementation of the Concert/C compiler and runtime. We describe solutions to the problems of (1) how to extend a language without compromising the use of legacy source and object code and tools, (2) how to extract language-neutral interface information from native language type declarations, (3) how to make function pointers into first-class values transmissable over a network while retaining runtime compatibility with plain C, and (4) how to interoperate with multiple RPC and messaging protocols, selecting protocols at runtime, with little sacrifice of efficiency.