Multidimensional arrays and offsets.

The C and Fortran languages define a straightforward mapping (or ``sequence association'') between their multidimensional arrays and equivalent one-dimensional arrays. So in C or Fortran a multidimensional array passed as a message buffer argument is first interpreted as a one-dimensional array with the same element type as the original multidimensional array. Offsets in the buffer (such as offsets occuring in derived data types) are then interpretted in terms of the effective one-dimensional array (or--equivalent up to a constant factor--in terms of physical memory). In Java the relationship between multidimensional arrays and one dimensional arrays is different. An ``$n$-dimensional array'' is equivalent to a one-dimensional array of $(n - 1)$-dimensional arrays. In mpiJava, message buffers are always one-dimensional arrays. The element type may be an object, which may have array type. Hence multidimensional arrays can appear as message buffers, but the interpretation is subtly different. In distinction to the C or Fortran case offsets in multidimensional message buffers are always interpretted as offsets in the outermost one-dimensional array.