Inter-Process Communication

Inter-process communication (IPC) is a critical operating system abstraction that allows processes to interact with each other to share data and signal events. It allows programmers to write modular programs that perform simple tasks, so that more complex programs may be developed using composition of these smaller, simple utilities, in line with the core UNIX philosophy of “Do One Thing, and Do It Well”.

In the previous modules, we touched on some fundamental IPC concepts, such as the filesystem, which allows processes to store and share data via different types of files, and signals, which can be used to notify processes of different types of events. In this module, we will take a closer look at these mechanisms as well as some others that have not been introduced yet, such as shared memory. By the end of this module, you should be familiar with several different types of IPC, and be able to select and use the appropriate method(s) to achieve different programming outcomes.

Module Learning Outcomes

After successful completion of this module, you should be able to

  1. Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of fundamental IPC mechanisms, including signals, file systems, shared memory, and sockets.

  2. Compare and contrast different IPC techniques in terms of their use cases, advantages, and limitations, particularly within the context of POSIX-compliant systems.

  3. Demonstrate the ability to implement both asynchronous and synchronous signal handling in C.

  4. Apply IPC techniques to develop C programs that effectively utilize signals, pipes, shared memory, and sockets to enable communication between processes.

  5. Establish and manage TCP/IP connections using networking sockets in C, including the setup of client-server communication and the handling of multiple concurrent connections.

  6. Identify and resolve common IPC-related problems, such as deadlocks, race conditions, and synchronization issues, using appropriate programming strategies and tools.