ipc-tutorial

An Advanced 4.3BSD Interprocess Communication TutorialSamuel J. LefflerRobert S. FabryWilliam N. JoyPhil LapsleyComputer Systems Research GroupDepartment of Electrical Engineering and Computer ScienceUniversity of California, BerkeleyBerkeley,California 94720Steve MillerChris TorekHeterogeneous Systems LaboratoryDepartment of Computer ScienceUniversity of Maryland, College ParkCollege Park, Maryland 20742ABSTRACTThis document provides an introduction to the interprocess communication facili-ties included in the 4.3BSD release of the UNIX* system.It discusses the overall model for interprocess communication and introduces theinterprocess communication primitives which have been added to the system. The major-ity of the document considers the use of these primitives in developing applications. Thereader is expected to be familiar with the C programming language as all examples arewritten in C.* UNIX is a Trademark of Bell Laboratories.PS1:8-2 Advanced 4.3BSD IPC Tutorial1. INTRODUCTIONOne of the most important additions to UNIX in 4.2BSD was interprocess communication. These facilitieswere the result of more than two years of discussion and research. The facilities provided in 4.2BSD incor-porated many of the ideas from current research, while trying to maintain the UNIX philosophy of simplic-ity and conciseness. The current release of Berkeley UNIX, 4.3BSD, completes some of the IPC facilitiesand provides an upward-compatible interface. It is ...