A number of MPE V/E-based systems use the MAIL facility to 
direct the communication of information between processes. 
This information transfer, however, is restricted to upward or 
downward paths through the process tree structure, so that any 
process can communicate only with its parent or children. 
Between 
any parent/child pair, only one such transfer is allowed at any 
particular time. 
The MAIL facility should not be confused with message files, which 
can be used to transfer information between unrelated processes.