Understanding Pipes in Inter-Process Communication

Pipes are fundamental tools in inter-process communication (IPC), allowing for efficient data transfer between system processes. This chapter provides a comprehensive understanding of pipes, their functionality, and their application in various programming scenarios, particularly focusing on their use in Go.

By the end of this chapter, you will have a clear understanding of how pipes function in IPC, their significance in system programming, and how to effectively implement them in Go. The chapter aims to equip readers with the knowledge to utilize pipes for efficient process communication in their programming projects.

In this chapter, we’re going to cover these main topics:

• What are pipes in IPC?
• The mechanics of anonymous pipes
• Navigating named pipes (Mkfifo())
• Best practices – guidelines for using pipes
• Developing a log processing tool