ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Active message

Active Message is like giving someone a very specific task to do. First, you have to write down exactly what you want that person to do, step by step. Then you have to send that message to them, either by talking to them directly or writing it down and sending it through the mail or email. Once they get the message, they will do exactly what you asked them to do, without changing anything.

For example, let's say you want your friend to make you a sandwich. You would write down exactly what kind of sandwich you want, what ingredients you want on it, and how you want it prepared. Then you would give that message to your friend, and they would make you that sandwich exactly as you asked for it, without changing anything.

In the world of computers, active messages work in a similar way. When one computer wants to send a message to another computer, it has to be very specific about what it wants to say. It has to include things like the exact memory locations it wants to access, and how it wants the other computer to process that information. Once the message is sent, the other computer will receive it and do exactly what it was asked to do, without making any changes.

So basically, active messages are like giving a very specific task to someone or something, and making sure that task gets done exactly as you asked for it.