Abstract: In an Object Oriented Programming System, a Communications Interface Packet (CIP) enables processing in either a remote system or in a batch environment. A CIP is an object in an Object Oriented Programming System, and like any other object, the CIP object contains data or attributes surrounded by or encapsulated by methods or actions for those data or attributes. Unique to a CIP, however, are attributes which contain an action, an object and parameters. An Application Programming Interface (API) method enables remote processing. An IPA method, which is the reverse of the API method, creates the CIP object which is to be executed in a remote or batch system through the application programming interface. After a CIP object has been created, it must be flattened or formatted prior to submission to the batch system or prior to sending the CIP object to a remote system.