Consider Example 
on page .
One computes the ``absolute address'' of the structure components, using calls
to MPI_ADDRESS, then subtracts the starting address of the array to
compute relative displacements. When the send operation is executed, the
starting address of the array is added back, in order to compute the send buffer
location. These superfluous arithmetics could be avoided if ``absolute''
addresses were used in the derived datatype, and ``address zero'' was
passed as the buffer argument in the send call.
addressderived datatype, address
MPI supports the use of such ``absolute'' addresses in derived datatypes. The displacement arguments used in datatype constructors can be ``absolute addresses'', i.e., addresses returned by calls to MPI_ADDRESS. Address zero is indicated to communication functions by passing the constant MPI_BOTTOM as the buffer argument. Unlike derived datatypes MPI_BOTTOM with relative displacements, the use of ``absolute'' addresses restricts the use to the specific structure for which it was created.
The use of addresses and displacements in MPI is best understood in the context of a flat address space. Then, the ``address'' of a location, as computed by calls to MPI_ADDRESS can be the regular address of that location (or a shift of it), and integer arithmetic on MPI ``addresses'' yields the expected result. However, the use of a flat address space is not mandated by C or Fortran. Another potential source of problems is that Fortran INTEGER's may be too short to store full addresses.
Variables belong to the same sequential storage if they belong to the same array, to the same COMMON block in Fortran, or to the same structure in C. addressderived datatype, address sequential storage Implementations may restrict the use of addresses so that arithmetic on addresses is confined within sequential storage. Namely, in a communication call, either
