Named Pipe

What Does Named Pipe Mean?

A named pipe is a one-way or duplex pipe that provides communication between the pipe server and some pipe clients. A pipe is a section of memory that is used for interprocess communication. A named pipe can be described as first in, first out (FIFO); the inputs that enter first will be output first.

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A named pipe differs from an anonymous pipe in that it can exist beyond the life of its associated processes and must be explicitly deleted.

Techopedia Explains Named Pipe

Named pipes provide communication between related or unrelated processes that are subject to security checks. They can be used for communication between processes on the same computer or different computers. Named pipes are identified by their access points, which are stored in a file on a file system.

Every instance of a named pipe shares the same name but each instance has its own buffers and handles.These instances also provide a separate medium for communication between the client and server, allowing the use of the same named pipe for multiple pipe clients.

Named pipes are very because any process can access them.

There are two ways to create a named pipe: by command line and within a program. On the Unix command line, a named pipe is created using either the mknod or the mkfifo command.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…