This API varies from Tyler Closes ref_send in the following ways:

• Promises can be resolved to function values.
• Promises can be resolved to null or undefined.
• Promises are distinguishable from arbitrary functions.
• The promise API is abstracted with a Promise constructor that accepts a descriptor that receives all of the messages forwarded to that promise and handles the common patterns for message receivers. The promise constructor also takes optional fallback and valueOf methods which handle the cases for missing handlers on the descriptor (rejection by default) and the valueOf call (which returns the promise itself by default)
• near(ref) has been changed to Promise.valueOf() in keeping with JavaScript's existing Object.valueOf().
• post(promise, name, args) has been altered to a variadic post(promise, name ...args)
• variadic arguments are used internally where applicable. However, I have not altered the Q.post() API to expand variadic arguments since Tyler Close informed the CommonJS list that it would restrict usage patterns for web_send, posting arbitrary JSON objects as the “arguments” over HTTP.