TCP/IP Guide

NFS Client/Server Operation Using Remote Procedure Calls (RPCs)

Almost all applications deal with files and other resources. When a software program on a particular computer wants to read a file, write a file, or perform related tasks, it needs to use the correct software instructions for this purpose. It would be inefficient to require each software program to contain a copy of these instructions, so instead, they are encoded as standardized software modules, sometimes called procedures. To perform an action, a piece of software calls the procedure. The procedure temporarily takes over for the main program and performs a task such as reading or writing data. The procedure then returns control of the program back to the software that called it, ...