Application Endpoints
At the most abstract level, an FTL application is a collection of endpoints. FTL applications can send and receive message streams through their endpoints.
Programmer’s View
Programmers use endpoints to publish and subscribe to message streams. The program determines its publish and subscribe behavior with respect to its endpoints.
Administrator’s View
Administrators determine the host computers where application processes run. An application could run as a single process: for example, a central repository application. Or an application could run as many processes: for example, a workstation interface application for stock market traders.
Administrators also determine a set of transports that connect application endpoints, allowing message streams to flow.
Administrators can also determine a set of stores to back application endpoints.
Yet this set of transports and stores is external to the program. Only the endpoints are visible to programmers.