 
			| GNU/Linux | CentOS 2.1AS(Slurm) | |
|  | pvmfsetcontext(3) |  | 
pvm_newcontext
− Request new context. 
pvm_setcontext − Change context. 
pvm_freecontext − Free existing context. 
pvm_getcontext − Get current context.
| C | int ctx = pvm_newcontext( void ) | ||
| int old_ctx = pvm_setcontext( int new_ctx ) | |||
| int info = pvm_freecontext( ctx ) | |||
| int ctx = pvm_getcontext( void ) | 
Fortran
| call pvmfnewcontext( ctx ) | |
| call pvmfsetcontext( new_ctx, old_ctx ) | |
| call pvmffreecontext( ctx, info ) | |
| call pvmfgetcontext( ctx ) | 
| ctx | Context value. | 
new_ctx
New context value.
old_ctx
Prior context value.
| info | Result code. | 
The context functions provide a system-wide unique context and the means to manipulate this context.
Contexts provide the ability for communicating tasks to automatically differentiate messages by the context in which they were sent. Thus a message sent in context A by the sender must be received in context A by the recipient. A sender may send in any context. However, a recipient will not accept a message sent in a context that differs from its own.
One such use of contexts is with library routines. Using contexts, library routine inter-communication may be logically seperated from the user’s application inter-communication. This will prevent the inadvertent receipt of one another’s messages.
Spawned tasks inherit the spawn-time context of their parent. Existing PVM applications work unchanged using the default context.
pvm_newcontext returns a newly allocated context. However, this new context is not yet active.
pvm_setcontext changes the current context from old_ctx to new_ctx.
pvm_freecontext frees ctx so that it may be reused. Contexts are a system resource that will be exhausted if not recycled.
pvm_getcontext returns the current context of the requesting task.
/* parent task with context */
| int cc, context0, context1; | ||||||
| char buf[25]; | ||||||
| context0 = pvm_getcontext(); | /* get my current context */ | |||||
| context1 = pvm_newcontext(); | /* get a new context */ | |||||
| pvm_setcontext(context1); | /* set my context to new context */ | |||||
| printf("My context is: %d", context1); | ||||||
| pvm_spawn("child", (char**)0, PvmTaskDefault, "", 1, &tid); | ||||||
| cc = pvm_recv(-1, -1); | /* receive message from child - in context1 */ | |||||
| pvm_upkstr(buf); | ||||||
| printf("%s", buf); | ||||||
| pvm_setcontext(context0); | /* reset my context to my original context0 */ | 
/* child task with context - child inherits parent’s context as default */
| int context; | |||||
| int ptid; | |||||
| char buf[25]; | |||||
| ptid = pvm_parent(); | |||||
| context = pvm_getcontext(); | /* get my current context */ | ||||
| sprintf(buf, "Greetings from child who’s context is: %d.", context); | |||||
| pvm_initsend(PvmDataDefault); | |||||
| pvm_pkstr(buf); | |||||
| pvm_send(ptid, 1); | 
Only system resource errors will be returned as the context programs themselves do not generate errors.
|  | pvmfsetcontext(3) |  |