title: Meaning of "Primitive" in Operating System/Algorithm context
body: <p>I am used to the word <em>primitive</em> being used for basic data types: boolean, integer, float, etc. However, in William Stallings' <em>Operating Systems: Internals and Design Principles</em>, he uses it in the context of operating system algorithms referring to some callable (function or instruction); for example, he says that <code>send</code> and <code>receive</code> is the pair of primitives which "is the minimum set of operations needed for processes to engage in message passing" (7<sup>th</sup> edition, 233). Am I rightly understanding this to mean "a basic building block" (just as when referring to data types), an operation which is taken for granted in the construction of an algorithm? Is this a widespread usage, or something peculiar to Stallings? What is the best way to define <em>primitive</em> given this usage?</p>