Difference between revisions of "Interprocess Communication (IPC)"

Latest revision as of 22:15, 10 March 2024

Official Definition: Interprocess communication (IPC) is used for programs to communicate data to each other and to synchronize their activities. Semaphores, shared memory, and internal message queues are common methods of interprocess communication.

What it means:
IPC is a method for two or more separate programs or processes to communicate with each other. This avoids using real disk-based files and the associated I/O overhead to pass information. Like a file, you must first create or open the resource, use it and close it. Like real files, the resources have an owner, a group, and permissions. Until you remove the resource it continues to exist. Unlike real disk-based files, semaphores, message queues and shared memory do not persist across reboots.^[1]

source: Tutorials Point

Synchronization in Interprocess Communication^[2]
Synchronization is a necessary part of interprocess communication. It is either provided by the interprocess control mechanism or handled by the communicating processes. Some of the methods to provide synchronization are as follows −

Semaphore: A semaphore is a variable that controls the access to a common resource by multiple processes. The two types of semaphores are binary semaphores and counting semaphores.
Mutual Exclusion: Mutual exclusion requires that only one process thread can enter the critical section at a time. This is useful for synchronization and also prevents race conditions.
Barrier: A barrier does not allow individual processes to proceed until all the processes reach it. Many parallel languages and collective routines impose barriers.
Spinlock: This is a type of lock. The processes trying to acquire this lock wait in a loop while checking if the lock is available or not. This is known as busy waiting because the process is not doing any useful operation even though it is active.

References

↑ What is Interprocess Communication (IPC)? IBM
↑ Synchronization in Interprocess Communication Tutorials Point

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-'''Interprocess communication (IPC)''' is used for exchanging [[Data|data]] between multiple threads in one or more processes or programs. The Processes may be running on single or multiple computers connected by a network. It is a set of programming interface which allow a programmer to coordinate activities among various program processes which can run concurrently in an operating system. This allows a specific program to handle many user requests at the same time. Since every single user request may result in multiple processes running in the operating system, the process may require to communicate with each other. Each IPC protocol approach has its own advantage and limitation, so it is not unusual for a single program to use all of the IPC methods.<ref>What is Interprocess Communication (IPC)? [https://www.guru99.com/inter-process-communication-ipc.html Guru99]</ref>
+Official Definition: '''Interprocess communication (IPC)''' is used for programs to communicate data to each other and to synchronize their activities. Semaphores, shared memory, and internal message queues are common methods of interprocess communication.
+What it means:<br />
+IPC is a method for two or more separate programs or processes to communicate with each other. This avoids using real disk-based files and the associated I/O overhead to pass information. Like a file, you must first create or open the resource, use it and close it. Like real files, the resources have an owner, a group, and permissions. Until you remove the resource it continues to exist. Unlike real disk-based files, semaphores, message queues and shared memory do not persist across reboots.<ref>What is Interprocess Communication (IPC)? [https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/interprocess-communication-ipc-overview#1.3 IBM]</ref>
-'''Approaches to Interprocess Communication<ref>Approaches to Interprocess Communication [https://www.tutorialspoint.com/what-is-interprocess-communication Tutorials Point]</ref>'''<br />
-The different approaches to implement interprocess communication are given as follows −
+[[File:Interprocess Communication.png|400px|Interprocess Communication]]<br />
-*Pipe: A pipe is a data channel that is unidirectional. Two pipes can be used to create a two-way data channel between two processes. This uses standard input and output methods. Pipes are used in all POSIX systems as well as Windows operating systems.
+source: Tutorials Point
-*Socket: The socket is the endpoint for sending or receiving data in a network. This is true for data sent between processes on the same computer or data sent between different computers on the same network. Most of the operating systems use sockets for interprocess communication.
-*File: A file is a data record that may be stored on a disk or acquired on demand by a file server. Multiple processes can access a file as required. All operating systems use files for data storage.
-*Signal: Signals are useful in interprocess communication in a limited way. They are system messages that are sent from one process to another. Normally, signals are not used to transfer data but are used for remote commands between processes.
+'''Synchronization in Interprocess Communication<ref>Synchronization in Interprocess Communication [https://www.tutorialspoint.com/what-is-interprocess-communication Tutorials Point]</ref>'''<br />
-*Shared Memory: Shared memory is the memory that can be simultaneously accessed by multiple processes. This is done so that the processes can communicate with each other. All POSIX systems, as well as Windows operating systems use shared memory.
+Synchronization is a necessary part of interprocess communication. It is either provided by the interprocess control mechanism or handled by the communicating processes. Some of the methods to provide synchronization are as follows −
-*Message Queue: Multiple processes can read and write data to the message queue without being connected to each other. Messages are stored in the queue until their recipient retrieves them. Message queues are quite useful for interprocess communication and are used by most operating systems.
+*Semaphore: A semaphore is a variable that controls the access to a common resource by multiple processes. The two types of semaphores are binary semaphores and counting semaphores.
+*Mutual Exclusion: Mutual exclusion requires that only one process thread can enter the critical section at a time. This is useful for synchronization and also prevents race conditions.
+*Barrier: A barrier does not allow individual processes to proceed until all the processes reach it. Many parallel languages and collective routines impose barriers.
+*Spinlock: This is a type of lock. The processes trying to acquire this lock wait in a loop while checking if the lock is available or not. This is known as busy waiting because the process is not doing any useful operation even though it is active.
+== See Also ==
+== References ==
+<references />
+== Popular Articles ==
+<div style="column-count:4;-moz-column-count:4;-webkit-column-count:4">
+*[[Personnel Management]]
+*[[Architecture Development Method (ADM)]]
+*[[IT Operating Model]]
+*[[Strategic Intent]]
+*[[Data Governance]]
+*[[Business Capability]]
+*[[IT Strategic Plan (Information Technology Strategic Plan)]]
+*[[IT Ecosystem]]
+*[[Information Technology (IT)]]
+*[[International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)]]
+*[[Economic Value Added (EVA)]]
+*[[Strategic Business Unit]]
+*[[Business Process Architecture]]
+*[[Configuration Item (CI)]]
+*[[IT Operations Management (ITOM)]]
+*[[Organizational Goals]]
+*[[Business Process Engineering (BPE)]]
+</div>