Message-passing channel

A communication object with an output port used to send values and an input port used to receive them. Its contract specifies ordering, capacity, sharing and closure. In synchronous message passing, a send completes through a matching receive; a buffered message-passing channel can retain accepted values until a receiver is ready.

A process with finite positive capacity whose output sequence is a prefix of its input sequence and whose input-output length discrepancy never exceeds that capacity. While active, it offers input whenever non-full and output whenever nonempty; upstream closure drains retained data, while downstream closure cancels delivery.