A rendezvous abstraction that is used to correlate messages within message exchange. The rendezvous abstraction may be instantiated to correlate messages regardless of the type of message exchange pattern, and regardless of the underlying protocols used to communication message. Messages exchanges of primitive protocols are modeled as unilateral message exchanges. The rendezvous abstraction is used to correlate messages of the unilateral message exchange, and serves as an abstraction that is used to represented the rendezvous point where the message of the message exchange pattern are handled. Accordingly, instead of focusing on the protocol-specific mechanisms for correlation, if even available, the application author may simply work with a standard rendezvous abstraction.