Constructing distributed Unix utilities in Regis

REGIS is an environment for constructing distributed programs and systems. A characteristic of REGIS programs is separation of structure from algorithm, often referred to as the `software integrated circuit´ approach to program construction. Programs consist of components connected by links. Components are of two types: they may be primitive, or composed from other components. Primitive components in REGIS are single-threaded C++ objects and their compositions are described in the structural language DARWIN. A variety of communication objects and paradigms is supported. The authors provide a brief introduction to writing REGIS programs followed by a detailed description of the design of a real program called red, with particular emphasis on the advantages of the REGIS approach