@part( conclude, root "text" )
@Section(Conclusions)

We have presented a model of naming which illustrates how
distributed system naming can be treated as an aspect of
most services rather than as a separate service in itself.
We argue that this approach has advantages in efficiency,
consistency, extensibility, and reliability because of the
distributed interpretation of a name done local to the implementation
of the named object.
Uniform access, which is one motivation for separated standard
name servers,
is provided by standard conventions on message formats and name formats
plus a context management system that logically unifies different
name spaces via the context prefix server.

This model has been implemented and in use in the V-System for several months,
running on multiple diskless SUN workstations.
The performance is good.
The functionality matches well with our multiple window and executive
system and the flexibility they provide.

The current deficiencies lie in reverse name mapping,
e.g., determining the name of a file from an open file,
and handling error conditions in name mapping.
As an example of the latter case,
if a name lookup fails after the name has been forwarded through
a series of servers,
it is difficult to properly inform the user,
especially when the failure occurred at a level which is outside
his model of the system operation.

Our future work in the naming area is focusing on context directories
and handling of queries for a variety of different types of objects.
We are also hoping to develop a concise semantic model of the V-System
naming.  A near-term project is to replace the low-level service naming
using @p[GetPid] and @p[SetPid] with a mechanism based on
multicast @p[Send].@cite[CHERI84a]
Using this mechanism, a single context could be
implemented transparently by a group of servers working in cooperation.

In general,
we continue to see naming as an important aspect of a distributed system
design.
We put forward our model as one that has produced a successful
implementation and provides greater uniformity and extensibility
than we have enjoyed in any other system.