Streams is an I/O library designed to eventually replace the current I/O facilities based on using Handles. The main advantage is its strong modular design using typeclasses. It consists of small independent modules, each implementing one type of stream or one part of common stream functionality .
A kernel mechanism that provides the framework for network services and data communication. It defines interface standards for character input/output within the kernel, and between the kernel and user level. The STREAMS mechanism comprises integral functions, utility routines, kernel facilities, and a set of structures.