Method and system for optionally registering a local process to allow participation in a single system semantic

A method and system for providing communications services between multiple processes running in multiple computer systems is provided. A single system semantic can be used to access processes, whether such processes reside on a local or remote computer. A mechanism is provided to allow processes to register as part of a distributed context. Registration may be accomplished explicitly by any child process to name its parent in the hierarchy, or automatically by the parent process when spawning children. This mechanism allows the additional flexibility that destination nodes in the distributed environment may be selected at run time without requiring knowledge on the part of the executing process. This allows the ability to cause processes to be distributed based on machine type, facilities available on a specific node or load balancing considerations. This registration mechanism is expandable to allow general purpose server implementations in a distributed environment, thus providing to the user system transparent facilities for control in a distributed environment.