Context handle semantics vary according to the application role. On the server side, the semantics are those of a full pointer. To the client application, a context handle has similar semantics to a fully bound server binding handle, except that the client may not perform any operations to modify it. To the client it represents a binding to context maintained by a specific a server instance. Because the context handle may also specify an object UUID, it may also bind to a specific type manager in the server instance; that is, a context handle refers to context maintained by a specific type manager in a specific server instance. It is valid over a series of calls within this scope. To enforce this, a context handle is intended to be passed as an explicit binding parameter for each operation that refers to the maintained context. Any attempt to use a context handle outside this scope will fail. Context handles are described in more detail in the OSF DCE Application Development Guide - Core Components.